A retired USAG MSgt sent this to me. These are questions he has asked his representatives in Congress. Please feel free to cut/paste this letter and forward it to yours. We need to band together to get this travesty killed. We all need to fight together and help all we can before we die from our ailments associated with AO and other chemicals that were used all over the Southeast Asia Theater.
As a disabled Vietnam-era veteran, suffering from numerous illnesses both primarily and secondarily related to potential exposure to Agent Orange, both while traversing Vietnam and in several locations where the Board of Veterans Appeals (BVA) and the Court of Appeals for Veterans (CAV)deemed there was sufficient evidence to award disability, I have questions both related to the duties of the Senate Committees for Veterans Affairs and Armed Services and their submission of legislation as they effect veterans like myself.
Most recently, Senator Akaka introduced legislation which seeks to "legislate away" the gains of veterans exposed to Agent Orange who suffer from chronic lymphatic leukemia and awards of back disability pension by the 9th Circuit Court and the potential gains of Navy Bluewater personnel potentially exposed through the desalination process of drinking water by the CAV in Haas.
In my case, they have delayed my adjudication claiming it somehow related to Haas, although I am an Air Force retiree. Although it seems clear to a layperson the VA actions do not appear legal and that this legislation is a violation of not only constitutional issues of the democratic process and separation of power, but a violation of ethical and moral values I believe the Committee which the Senator chairs are sworn to uphold. I ask the Senator to respond to reasonable questions such as:
1.Is not this legislation specifically introduced to overturn Appellate Court decisions unfavorable to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and their belief they cannot win on Appeal?
2.Is this legislation not an affront to all Vietnam veterans who have for years battled the VA to have them comply with and pay disability compensationintended in the original Agent Orange Act of 1991 considering the fact thatevery attempt to provide relevant medical information from allies in the Vietnam War has been discounted?
3.Will you not introduce legislation requiring peer review of these reports?
4.Is this legislation in favor of the veterans to whom you swear admiration and support?
5.Do youintend to introduce legislation which overturns every duly ordered Court remedy in favor of veterans your committee is supposed to support?
6.Will you provide under the law, the person(s), organization(s), or other entities who asked you to sponsor and recommend this legislation?
Recently, Senator Craig and four Republican Senators on the Committee for Veterans Affairs submitted legislation to prohibit veterans from seeking legal aid from the onset of claim submission as recommended by the Lead Judge of the CAV. While the VFW and DAV position to these Senators is understandable, it in no way solves the problems noted by the CAV which causes such gridlock for the Court and the veterans it seeks to serve.
1.Do these Senators believe that the testimony and recommendations of the CAV, real practical analysis of the backlogs in the VA, and the obvious confusion of veterans attempting to traverse the purposely complex regulatory requirements is secondary to the obvious "turf protecting" of the VFW and other organizations which today are less relevant to Vietnam, Gulf, and Iraq/Afghanistan War veterans?
As my claim goes through the adjudication process I am faced with the problems of being a patient, a lawyer, a physician, and a researcher as well as having to face a Veterans Affairs process which fails to comply with the law, seeks to delay and deny my claim without sufficient and logical explanation, and fails to abide by its own regulations.
I am also confronted with an administration and Congress clearly while making decisions for improved veteran’s healthcare are proposing changes and legislation unfavorable to providing disability compensation quickly and favorably to veterans. While the Committee has oversight duties for the VA, the VA continuesto not provide appropriateassistance under the Veterans Claim Assistance Act of 2001, it refuses to give the benefit of doubt to the veteran, as required by their own regulations, and they give instructions specifically in contradiction to their mission. With that in mind I ask:
1.Is it not the duty of the VA and the Committee to err in favor of veterans?
2. Is it not the duty of the VA to assist veterans in locating military, military health, and retiree health records under the law?
3. If this is the case, why is it apparent to every veteran in the system and no one else that neitheris beingaccomplished?
4. Is it the objective of the VA, the Administration, and the Congress to continue to lie to current members of the Armed Forces and veterans by declaring their thanks and support while fighting every effort of these honorable people to live their lives with dignity and promise through denial of compensation for injuries, diseases, and mental illness until they die?
I for one do not know how long I have left while fighting the ravages of diabetes, neuropathy, and chronic degenerative joint disease. I have friends who are dying of cancer, renal failure, and who are losing their jobs due to their health. I do not want to fight without help, I do not want my wife to lose everything just as I win my case because it took so long, and I am asking every person involved to act with the utmost honesty and ethical behavior no matter what it costs.