Write this commision

[Gimpy]

if you value your VA benefits! From all earlier indications it appears this commission may be on a fast track to dismantle the hard fought for VA disability benefits that have been awarded this nations military veterans and their dependents.

Also, write your congressmen and Senators with your concerns about this commission!

Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission Holds Its 2nd Meeting on June 9 2005.

-- WASHINGTON, June 2, 2005 /PRNewswire/

-- The Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission will hold its second public meeting on June 9, 2005, at the Shriners Almas Temple, 1315 K Street, NW, Washington, D.C., from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m.

The Commission has been appointed by the President and the leaders of Congress to study the benefits and services intended to compensate and assist veterans and their survivors for disabilities and deaths attributable to military service.

As Chairman Terry Scott said at the first meeting on May 9, 2005: "We will conduct a thorough and objective analysis of the full range of programs that are intended to meet the needs of veterans. We'll have to address many issues that are complex and sensitive, and we'll do so impartially. ... We take very seriously the fact that the level and nature of future benefits and services depends to some extent on us and on this Commission. We all believe that veterans have earned their Nation's support with their sacrifices, and we intend to be sure that they are looked after."

The Commission will ultimately have thirteen members, seven of whom must hold one of the highest three awards for valor: the Congressional Medal of Honor; the Distinguished Service Cross, the Navy Cross, or the Air Force Cross; or the Silver Star.


Currently, eleven members have been appointed and five have these awards, including two who have the Medal of Honor.

The members of the Commission are:

Chairman: James Terry Scott, LTG, USA (Ret) of Texas

Members:

Nick D. Bacon, 1SG, USA (Ret) of Arkansas

Larry G. Brown, Col, USA (Ret) of Oregon

Jennifer Sandra Carroll, LCDR, USN (Ret) of Florida

Donald M. Cassiday, Col, USAF (Ret) of Illinois

John Holland Grady of Texas

Charles "Butch" Joeckel, USMC (Ret) of Florida

James Everett Livingston, MG, USMC (Ret) of South Carolina

Dennis Vincent McGinn, VADM, USN (Ret) of Maryland

Rick Surratt of Virginia

Joe Wynn of Washington, D.C.


The agenda for the June 9 meeting includes descriptions of veteran, military, and survivor populations receiving benefits, studies undertaken by the VA Office of Inspector General, and a briefing on the issue of concurrent receipt of benefits.

Interested parties may provide written comments at any time for review by the Commission to -- vetscommission@va.gov or to:

Mr. Ray Wilburn, Executive Director,
1101 Pennsylvania Avenue NW,
5th Floor,
Washington, DC 20004.

Source: Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission
http://biz.yahoo.com/prnews/050602/dcth039.html?.v=13

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[Gimpy]

Three more days until this commision meets to discuss and possibly start the process to recommend changes to the current Code Of Federal Regulations determining military veterans and their dependents health care and disability benefits.

PLEASE WRITE THEM AND YOUR ELECTED REPRESENTATIVES AND SENATORS WITH YOUR CONCERNS BEFORE IT"S TOO LATE!

[Gimpy]

Below is an article from Military.com regarding the Bush Administrations newest attempt at dismantling disabled veterans disability benefits!

Folks better wake up and write your Senators and Congresspersons if you value your benefits!

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VA Benefits Commission a ?Stacked Deck? (Expect big benefits cuts from ?bipartisan? VDBC)

Military.com. ^ | 2005 by Larry Scott

Are you really a veteran? I asked that question in an opinion piece published here at Military.com last month.

Rep. Steve Buyer (R-IN), Chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, has proposed sweeping changes to VA benefits. Buyer does not believe that ?a veteran is a veteran? and has said so in no uncertain terms. As you might expect, the changes are not for the positive. The driving force for these changes is the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission.

The following is from the VA website: "In November 2003, the President signed Public Law 108-136 that established the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission. This commission will conduct an independent study of the benefits provided to compensate and assist veterans and their survivors for disabilities and deaths attributable to military service. The commission will examine and make recommendations concerning the appropriateness of the benefits, the appropriateness of the level of the benefits, and the appropriate standard(s) for determining whether a disability or death of a veteran should be compensated." (Emphasis is mine.)

The VDBC Charter uses the same language with a few clarifications.

From the outset, the VDBC has been stacked AGAINST veterans.

The very words used in the Charter confirm this. To consider the ?appropriateness of?[VA] benefits? falls somewhere between the absurd and the criminal . And, to even question ?whether a disability or death of a veteran should be compensated? shows the clear, immoral intent of the VDBC and those who formed it.

Who is the VDBC?

The Commission is widely touted as a bipartisan effort. But, a quick look at how the Commission was formed will show differently. The Commission is made up of 13 appointed members. Two Commission members each are appointed by the Speaker of the House, House Minority Leader, Senate Majority Leader and Senate Minority Leader. So far, so good. Eight members, four appointed by each Party.

What about the five remaining members? They are appointed by the President. This is bipartisan? From the outset the VDBC is stacked 9-4 in favor of those who formed the Commission and propose the sweeping changes that will gut VA benefits.

So, what's on the table? What VA benefits stand to be cut back or eliminated? This question was asked of Rep. Buyer and he said, "I think everything should be on the table.?


Buyer believes that current VA benefits were not the ?intent of Congress,? and feels that Congress went too far in passing legislation that authorizes current benefits and benefit levels.

Rep. Buyer has also said that the VA should serve a ?core constituency? of ?disabled and indigent veterans.? What about the remaining millions of veterans? This clear majority of veterans are those who stand to lose if Buyer's recommendations become legislation.

The sad hypocrisy so clearly illustrated in the forming of the VDBC is that the Commission is not representative of those veterans who Rep. Buyer claims to want to serve. I cannot find a ?core constituency? of ?disabled and indigent veterans? being named to the Commission.

The VDBC is not even representative of the veteran population, in general. Some members are former military who are politically powerful individuals. And, just to round things out, there are politicians on the Commission, as well. The Commission is the perfect example of the Washington power elite who are as far removed from the daily concerns of the average veteran as the man in the moon.

Maybe I am being politically na?ve. But, where, on the VDBC, are the ?just plain folk? who make up the vast majority of veterans in this country? Where are the infantrymen? Where are the nurses? Where are the drill sergeants? The cooks? The unit clerks? The people who will be affected most by the findings of the VDBC have no voice on the Commission!

I used to play poker with an old Supply Sergeant who knew how to stack a deck. He was very, very good at what he did. But, because all the players were aware of his particular skills, the Sarge never got to deal. Not so with the Veterans' Disability Benefits Commission. The deck is stacked and the Sarge is dealing.

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About the Author:

Larry Scott (former E-5) served four-plus years in the U.S. Army with overseas tours as a Broadcast Journalist at AFKN HQ, Seoul, Korea and AFN Lajes Field, The Azores, Portugal and a stateside tour as a Broadcast Journalism Instructor at the Defense Information School(DINFOS).

Larry was decorated four times including the Joint Service Commendation Medal with Oak Leaf Cluster. He was awarded DOD's First Place Thomas Jefferson Award for Excellence in Journalism. After the Army, Larry went back to radio news, working in Indianapolis as a News Anchor on WIFE Radio and then in New York City as a News Anchor on WNBC Radio.

He receives VA compensation for a service-connected disability and uses the Portland, Oregon/Vancouver, Washington VA facilities for healthcare. Today, Larry resides in Southwest Washington and operates the veteran's help website

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