Urgent Letters needed to Congress!!!!

[David]

Gimpy

Registered to :Aug 23, 2001
Messages :70
From :Tampa, FL
Posted 26-03-2002 at 23:56
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Below is an Action Alert from the DAV (Disabled American Veterans) it deals with MAJOR LEGISLATION for veterans Claims. You can read
the message for yourself, but it will force the VA to be more honest, and give the Courts more Jurisdiction to act.

I urge you to write your Congressman and Senators TODAY and ask them to co-sponsor H.R. 4018. You can send letters from the DAV
Website (although the DAV website is somewhat confusing to navigate), or your own email lists. Be sure to write at least one paper letter to
your Congressman, and email them all.
(If you don't include your name and address, the Congress will have no way to know you are a voter in
their district and State).

The DAV form letter follows the Information below.

****START****

WRITE TODAY AND TELL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE TO COSPONSOR AND SUPPORT H.R. 4018, ONE OF THE MOST IMPORTANT
VETERANS? BILLS OF THE 107TH CONGRESS
PLEASE DO NOT ENTER YOUR ZIP CODE ON THIS PAGE! Please follow the instructions below to send a prepared e-mail message.



For most of the twentieth century, veterans had no choice but to accept
VA?s decisions on their claims, no matter how wrong, because the law barred review of VA decisions by the courts. When Congress enacted
legislation in 1988 to authorize judicial review, veterans believed they would finally ?have their day in court.? For most, the judicial review process
has been very disappointing, however. It is merely another step where VA seems to have an unfair advantage and can use the powers of the
government to defeat veterans? legal rights or at least to delay justice for additional long periods of time. The process is simply not working at it
was envisioned by Congress, and it does not serve veterans or the cause of justice very well. The Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims actually
decides the merits of veterans? appeals very rarely, and only then to uphold the decision of the Board of Veterans? Appeals (BVA) in most
instances. The Court does not enforce the rule that veterans are to be given the benefit of the doubt and almost never orders VA to grant
veterans the benefits they seek. When the Court does not uphold BVA?s decisions, it usually vacates but does not reverse the BVA decision,
which requires that the case be sent back to VA for additional development or consideration. This merely prolongs the process. Although
veterans my appeal the Court?s final decisions to the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, that court?s jurisdiction is so limited
that it prevents veterans from seeking remedies for many common errors.

Congressman Lane Evans and several other House members have agreed with the DAV that something must be done to correct this
situation. Congressman Evans, with cosponsorship from these House members, introduced H.R. 4018, the ?Veterans Judicial Review
Improvement Act of 2002.? This bill would (1) require the Court to enforce the benefit-of- the-doubt rule, (2) permit the Court to decide a case in
a veteran?s favor when the VA?s attorneys do not respond to the veteran?s meritorious arguments in the time allowed by the Court?s rules, (3)
expand the jurisdiction of the Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit to include ordinary questions of law or application of the law to the facts,
(4) mandate expeditious decisions by BVA on cases remanded by the Court and mandate expeditious decisions by VA regional or other field
offices in cases remanded by BVA, and (5) permit the Court to order payment of interim benefits during the time a case is pending on remand
from the Court if VA does not decide the claim within 180 days after the remand.

The laws governing benefit programs for veterans are effective and serve their intended purposes only to the extent veterans are able to
enforce them in the courts. That is why H.R. 4018 is one of the most the important veterans? bills to be introduced in several years. That is why
it is so important for us to take the action necessary to ensure this bill receives wide bipartisan support in the Congress and is passed this year.
Let?s take one step further toward real justice for veterans. Please follow the instructions below to send a prepared e-mail message to urge
your member of Congress to cosponsor and support H.R. 4018. (If your representative is already a cosponsor, you will have a prepared thank
you letter.)

Click on ?Issues and Legislation.?
Click on ?Current Legislation.?
Scroll down to the ?Miscellaneous? category?near the bottom of the page.
Click on the description for H.R. 4018
Enter your zip code, and follow the steps to send an e-mail.

The appropriate e-mail will be chosen for you, based on your zip code.

As always, thank you for your support.
http://capwiz.com/dav/home/
http://dav.org/main.html
http://dav.org/voters/index.html

### DAV Form Letter #####
(Your Name and Mailing address)

I write to urge you to cosponsor and support an extremely important bill for our Nation?s veterans, H.R. 4018.

Currently, veterans are frustrated with the frequent errors and long delays in their benefit claims. Even with a proficient claims process, an
effective appellate process is essential to give veterans the means to seek remedies for the errors that inevitably occur in a mass adjudication
system like that of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Although Congress, in 1988, gave veterans the right to have VA decisions reviewed by
the courts, that process has proven ineffective for the purposes of having erroneous VA decisions corrected, and corrected in a reasonable
period of time. The Court established to review VA decisions, the Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims, makes very few decisions that actually
resolve veterans? appeals. The Court avoids deciding appeals, preferring instead to return veterans? claims to VA on procedural grounds, only
to allow additional months and sometimes years to pass before the claim is eventually decided. In addition, the Court does not enforce the rule
that VA must give veterans the benefit of the doubt, a fundamental rule for fairness in decisions on veterans? claims.

The provisions of H.R. 4018, the Veterans Judicial Review Improvement Act of 2002, strengthen the judicial review process to make it serve
veterans, rather than the VA and Court?s own purposes. The provisions of H.R. 4018 make judicial review meaningful and effective for those
who have been wrongly denied the benefits to which they are rightfully entitled. H.R. 4018 is one of the most important veterans? bills of the
107th Congress.

Please let me know whether you will cosponsor this bill and support it to ensure America?s veterans receive the justice they are entitled to
receive.

(signed by your name)

##### END #####


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Gimpy RIVERENE**MUD-GRUNT "I ain't no fortunate son"


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Profile Email Qoute
David

Registered to :Aug 21, 2001
Messages :604
From :San Diego, CA.
Posted 27-03-2002 at 00:13
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Libertyfiles.com is online at http://www.libertyfiles.com Although not fully set up yet ( we need an editor still to post political viewpoints ) the petition functions do work. It might be a helpful to run a couple petitions on these items. The petition function will supply a url you can send out to mailing lists to gather the signatures and will also alert the petition starter when the petition has ended. Once the petition has ended it will send the petition stater another url to print out the results which can then be sent to elected officials.


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Profile www Qoute
Gimpy

Registered to :Aug 23, 2001
Messages :70
From :Tampa, FL
Posted 28-03-2002 at 16:06
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Thanks David---I'll give it a try.



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Gimpy RIVERENE**MUD-GRUNT "I ain't no fortunate son"