Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 12/27/2004

Dear Sgt. Shaft:
The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. would like to echo your kind words last week about outgoing Secretary of Veterans Affairs Anthony J. Principi. He is a true veterans’ advocate who worked tirelessly to improve VA services to all of America’s 25 million veterans. We welcome the opportunity to work with his successor and challenge him to continue to build upon Secretary Principi’s excellent roadmap for the future of veterans’ healthcare and benefits.

Your column mentioned legislation that failed in the 107th Congress to fund VA healthcare on a mandatory basis. The unfortunate result is that the VA’s Veterans Health Administration continues to bear the annual uncertainty of not knowing precisely what their budget will be or when it will become available. VHA operates the nation’s largest integrated healthcare system and serves more than five million military veterans annually, but their budget has been late the past seven years in a row due to political strife and a variety of other reasons in the funding process. This impacts everything from the hiring of sorely needed healthcare professionals to equipment acquisitions and construction projects, and also exacerbates waiting times and veterans’ access to healthcare.

We are a nation at war and thousands of new veterans are returning home with very severe injuries that may require a lifetime of care. We urge the new Congress to ensure VA healthcare is sufficiently funded in a timely manner because it’s clear the current funding process doesn’t work as well as it should.

The proper funding of healthcare is just one of many obstacles the new VA secretary will encounter. The VA serves America’s veterans with programs and services that also include disability compensation, educational assistance, home loans, vocational rehabilitation and cemeteries. The VFW has a genuine concern that, without proper funding, benefits claims from the current generation of veterans won’t be processed in a timely manner because a significant backlog already exists from previous generations.

Inscribed on the front of VA’s headquarters on Vermont Avenue in northwest Washington is a quote from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address. It reads: “To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.” As the Administration’s number one champion of veterans’ rights, new VA secretary nominee Jim Nicholson will do well to keep that quote close to heart as he leads his team and fights for all of America’s veterans in the halls of Congress.

Thanks also for mentioning phone cards for wounded troops at Walter Reed and Bethesda. As the nation’s largest organization of combat veterans, VFW members know all too well how important it is to morale to be able to call home. Our Operation Uplink program has donated more than seven million free phone cards to deploying military and to those recuperating from their injuries, and we would certainly welcome all donations to this very worthwhile program. Your readers can contact a nearby VFW Post to help.

Robert E. Wallace
Executive Director
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S

Dear Bob,
We have a sacred obligation to ensure that our nation's veterans receive the honors and benefits that they have earned through their service to this nation.

In the past decade, more and more veterans have turned to the Department of Veterans Affairs for medical services particularly World War II and Korean War veterans. It is becoming increasingly clear that Congress needs to look at mandatory funding in order to insure adequate health care for veterans.

Shaft Notes

The Sarge salutes the U.S. Department of Labor for its new investment in veteran’s careers.

Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao announced that more than 1,600 veterans in 17 communities in 15 states will be placed in new jobs thanks to $3.78 million in Department of Labor (DOL) grants recently awarded. In addition, DOL expects another 600 veterans to receive employment and training services as a result of these grants, which are awarded under the Workforce Investment Act (WIA).

"The Workforce Investment Act has expanded the eligibility criteria for veterans who might not be covered by other programs," said U.S. Secretary of Labor Elaine L. Chao. "This again demonstrates President Bush's commitment and resolve to help America's veterans who have so honorably served our nation."

"We can now offer services to any honorably discharged veteran that served on active duty during a war or received a campaign or expedition badge, in addition to those with service-connected disabilities or who have recently separated or faced other significant barriers to employment." said Frederico Juarbe Jr., DOL assistant secretary for veterans' employment and training.

The grants, which are being awarded in California, Florida, Indiana, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Nevada, New York, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, Texas and Wyoming, make possible a range of services for veterans including: assessing job skills, career counseling, current labor-market information, classroom or on-the-job training, skills upgrading or retraining, and job-placement assistance. The applicants this year have been asked to focus their training efforts on career fields where the lack of a license or a certification has become a barrier to employment. The grants are administered by public agencies and nonprofit organizations that the Secretary of Labor determines have an understanding of veterans' unemployment problems.

Authorized by Section 168 of the WIA, the grants are being awarded on a competitive basis by the department's Veterans' Employment and Training Service (VETS). At the end of these six-month, first-year grants, VETS will award second-year funding to the grantees that meet or exceed the performance criteria set forth in their original award

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-462-4430 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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