Research - Rehabilitation - Re-Employment

Sgt. Shaft 10/01/2009

Dear Sgt. Shaft,
Sarge, what is the status of H.R. 1428?

Will Parkinson's disease ever be added to the presumptive list of diseases approved by the VA? I submitted a claim and was turned down. I submitted a Notice of Disagreement.

I found four claims that were approved by the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) for Parkinson's disease. How can it approve some and turn down others? I served in Vietnam from June 1966 to June '67, assigned to the brown-water Navy. I returned the following year with the blue-water Navy.

Any advice will be appreciated.

Respectfully,
George G.

Dear George,
I don't know the status of H.R. 1428, which would create a presumption of service connection for certain disabled veterans living with Parkinson's disease who fought in Vietnam. However, here is information regarding Parkinson's disease and VA benefits:

VA extends the presumption of herbicide exposure to all veterans who served within the country of Vietnam or on its inland waterways between Jan. 9, 1962, and May 7, 1975. The Agent Orange Act of 1991 established a procedure for adding diseases to the list of disabilities associated with this herbicide exposure. The procedure requires the secretary of Veterans Affairs to consider reports received from the National Academies' Institute of Medicine (IOM) and all other sound medical and scientific information and analysis on the health effects of herbicide exposure. The studies reviewed by IOM are available on the Internet at: www.nap.edu.

VA has established a causal relationship between the Agent Orange or herbicides used in Vietnam and the subsequent diagnosis of several disabilities in veterans who were exposed to those chemicals, including type 2 diabetes, prostate cancer and AL amyloidosis.

Parkinson's disease is not currently recognized as one of the conditions related to herbicide exposure. A determination as to whether or not a condition is related to herbicide exposure is made by IOM after it conducts a comprehensive review and evaluation of the available literature. Recent IOM reports concluded that there is inadequate or insufficient evidence of an association between herbicide exposure and Parkinson's disease. However, VA is reviewing the most recent IOM report and other evidence. In the coming months, the secretary will determine whether a presumption of service connection is warranted for each condition covered by the report.

Direct service connection for Parkinson's disease may still be established if the evidence shows the disease was incurred or aggravated during military service.

VBA has a toll-free telephone number (800/749-8387) dedicated to assisting veterans and members of the public who have questions regarding Agent Orange. VA representatives answer questions and assist veterans in applying for VA benefits.

Shaft Notes
A Shaft shot to OPM Director John Berry and his fellow travelers at the Office of Personnel Management for kowtowing to the federal unions by withdrawing the final rule, titled Time-in-Grade Elimination, published in the Federal Register on Nov. 7, 2008. After considering all of the comments, OPM has determined that it would be more productive to consider the merits of the time-in-grade issue as part of a more comprehensive review of pay, performance and staffing issues than to regulate this particular issue in piecemeal fashion.

Effective Aug. 11, the final rule, published in November 2008 at 73 FR 66157, extended March 9 at 74 FR 9951, and further extended May 18 at 74 FR 23109, is withdrawn.

This action by Mr. Berry, a former director of the National Zoo, hurts highly qualified, dedicated federal employees who may not qualify for a position only because they were a few months short of the time-in-grade requirement. The OPM director should not have monkeyed around with this provision, which had been properly modified by the previous administration.

The Sarge joins the new national commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S. in expressing concern over the August unemployment data, which was released recently by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS). The data reflects 185,000 current war veterans as unemployed, an all-time high.

"The economic downturn has impacted the entire nation, and nowhere is it more demoralizing than in our armed forces," said Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., who was elected Aug. 20 to lead America's largest organization of combat veterans.

The BLS data increased the nationwide unemployment average to 9.7 percent for the general population and dramatically increased the unemployment rate of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans from 9.8 percent to 11.3 percent. Equally disturbing is the increase in the total number of unemployed current war veterans, from 160,000 in July to 185,000, which almost equals the total U.S. military strength currently serving in Iraq and Afghanistan.

"Hundreds of millions in stimulus money has now flowed to the states and commercial businesses, yet nowhere was there an attached stipulation regarding veterans employment or preference," said Mr. Tradewell, a Vietnam veteran from Sussex, Wis. "That has to be corrected immediately."

Mr. Tradewell said the VFW strongly believes that any entity that accepts federal stimulus money, regardless of amount, should be required to adhere to federal veterans laws, in particular the Jobs for Veterans Act and the Veterans Employment Opportunities Act.

"The current state of the economy has today's military seriously questioning if they should separate or retire," he said. "That means they and their families are choosing between staying in uniform - and possibly returning for another combat tour - and standing in line at a job fair. There must be a better alternative."

With more than 2.1 million members located in 7,900 VFW posts worldwide, the VFW and its auxiliaries are dedicated to "honor the dead by helping the living" through veterans service, legislative initiatives, youth scholarships, Buddy Poppy and national military service programs.

"The economic downturn has impacted the entire nation, and nowhere is it more demoralizing than in our armed forces."

Thomas J. Tradewell Sr., national commander
Veterans of Foreign Wars of the U.S.

Send letters to Sgt. Shaft, c/o John Fales, P.O. Box 65900, Washington, D.C. 20035-5900; fax to 301-622-3330; call 202-257-5446 or email sgtshaft@bavf.org.

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