Why Not The President?, Maybe he can help. Options

[sgmdae]

I used the 800 number, get the results each time, copies of exam, letters and rating
The best source for me, from start to finish 5 months

[sixthscents]

I use the 1-800 number, or used to, but there was an amazing amount of people working them who simply had NO clue as to what they were doing. You can tell just by the tone of their voice when you start asking questions.

Generally I trust the 1-800 people to tell me where my claim is, of if they recieved a letter I sent etc. Other than that I just don't listen to anything they say. They screw these two things up as well, but if you get one who has been with the VA for a while they can normally find this screen with the right info. Normally.

(sigh)

[john999]

800 number people told me once I had a big award retro coming. It turned out to be a denial. They are just guessing.

[carlie]

800 number told me it finally went to ratings after 4 + years....so somebody did something, I hope!

Fosk,

VA 101 - NEVER BELIEVE THE 800 NUMBER on the status of a claim.

carlie

[Fosk]

800 number told me it finally went to ratings after 4 + years....so somebody did something, I hope!

[Fosk]

I'd like to take a poll. How can this be done? (IMG:http://www.hadit.com/forums/style_emoticons/default/cool.gif)

[timetowinarace]

I agree with John. Veterans will not march.

They will continue to write letters, pay their VSO, take individual stories to the media. I personally believe that these actions have done little for change. If anything major had changed I would not need to be at Hadit helping each individual veteran.

I believe a march would bring change. Change on the day of the march? Of course not. But real change. Change that would help all veterans, not trying to help each individual but all.

I cannot plan such an event. My brain is broken. But I know it can be done, has been done. And I will go.

So, I will continue to suggest it though I know it will not happen.

Inflated and inflamatory numbers do nothing to help. It actually hurts. Over-exagerating the problem does not bring attention to the problem but turns people off. The VA's underestimated numbers and/or lack of accountability is bad enough. People will and do pay attention to the hard facts. Shreddergate is old news. Bringing it up everyday, at every post, makes people ignore it. When it is ignored, it is of no use to us.

[john999]

Fosk

It would take months of planning to get a 10 million vet march on Washington. Word has to be passed all around the vet community. All the vet actions in the past have failed because vets are all over the place politically. All the Vet Organizations would have to promote it unless it was an underground mass movement like Woodstock or something. Vets are taken out on Veteran's day and put back in the attic the day after even with a war going on 8 years. Vets getting discharged now will have no jobs so maybe there is enough discontent to get something going. If majority of vets really wanted radical change in the way they are treated I think it could happen. In general vets are not radicals or activists. The radicals and acitvists are the people who used to have money and status in our society but have lost it or are in fear of losing it. Poor and downtrodden people don't start revolutions.

[broncovet]

Carlie...
Very well, as you wish. Please amend my statement from "millions of homeless Veterans" to read "millions of homeless Veterans/their family members" so that I am not "inflating" the numbers. Sadly, the children/spouses and other family members often suffer even more than the homeless Vet.

This post has been edited by broncovet: Nov 6 2009, 09:07 AM

[Fosk]

Maybe a 10 million vet march on a holiday.... Veterans day, Memorial day or the 4th of July. In this day and age the national media would be all ears if the generals sent tanks,as well as an angered population. I would like to meet all of you there, instead of us grumbelly'ing that it wouldn't work.... even if I had to stand alone, but, I'd rather be with my brothers and sisters. Just a thought for now!

Jmho
Fosk

[Testvet]

edit: your way more excited than I am. maybe i'll send ya a pm.

The last time veterans marched on Washington was the WW1 veterans who were promised a bonus payable years later during the depression they wanted the govt to pay it sooner so they moved to the mall and Dc and protested I think MacArthur was the Chief of Staff and Eisnehower was a Major and he was in command of the tanks they sent in to tear down the shanty town and run the marchers out of Washington DC and end the "march"

http://www.loc.gov/exhibits/treasures/trm203.html

[carlie]

bronco,
You posted "with millions more of homeless Veterans"
That means more that a million.
carlie

[broncovet]

Carlie...
Probably no one knows how many homeless there are. HOw many depends on who you beleive. According to the VA one third of homeless people are Veterans.
Here is one estimate of the number of homeless:
http://www.washprofile.org/en/node/2295

If you take this number, and divide it by 3, then you get more than a million Veterans homeless. Add Veterans families, plus the numbers are way worse with the present economy and all the statistics are old and do not reflect the current economy, so I think "millions of homeless Vets and their families" is more accurate than "thousands".
Of course, the VA minimizes the problem, claiming there are only 131,000 homeless Vets. Given the VA's history of lying to us, their numbers are highly suspect.
Shinseki has recognized there are more homeless Vets than "merely" 131,000, he just did not say so directly.
Even the Urban Institute that recognizes that 3.5 million homeless people (divide that by three and you get 1.16 million homeless Vets) many understate the problem, and the actual numbers may be higher.
Still another issue is how you define homeless. Some people refer to homeless as anyone who has been without a home during the past year. Others define homeless as to how many show up at a shelter on a given night. Especially on warm nights, those who show up at homeless shelters is only a small fraction of the people who are actually homeless.

This post has been edited by broncovet: Nov 6 2009, 07:04 AM

[blanco63]

can someone give me an update on this march? i sure hope that it isn't going to happen until winter is over because i am definitely not marching in the cold. also at where does this march end and how close does the bus get to this location? sorry, i shoudn't have written this because i don't know or remember why we are marching. thanks for listening.

[timetowinarace]

Timetowinarace:
I would be in favor of a "march" on Washington, and as I recall, Veterans have done so, and the National Guard was called to quiet them down. Someone else may be aware of the details or a link.
"Marches on Washington" have not been all that successful. For example, Pro Life Groups have marched hundreds of times, and, even tho public opinion favors Pro Life, but in more than 20 years, Roe Vs Wade has never been overturned, in spite of literally thousands of protests all over the country.
Ditto for same sex marriage. There have been thousands of "gay parades", but one more state voted down same sex marriage, just in the past few weeks.
I do think you are on to something, tho, and that is to "hit the VA where it hurts" which is right in the media. You see, the VA HATES bad publicity because they know they need the public and congress backing for them to get still more money next year.
However, the VA is an expert at keeping the media away. Did the national media say anything about shreddergate? No...merely VA watchdog, and they dont have enough readers to bother the VA that much. Dr. Phil went on TV about the horrible treatment Vets get, in one of his episodes, but the VA knows that show is seen mostly by housewives and not by congress so they let it slide, but did you notice that CBS or NBC or MSNBC did not pick it up?
The VA has their own media department and always releases flag waving prop Once recent spin was the Secretary making "emergency money" available to student Veterans waiting on their Gi Bill payments. They made it sound like the VA, out of the goodness of their heart, is helping Veterans, when the reality is that there are hundreds of thousands, or even millions of Veterans waiting on education, or disability compensation while the VA is compensating its executives bonuses in the millions for a "job well done". Vets are homeless and VA execs get bonuses for it. VA watchdog even reported that VA employees got bonuses for delaying Veterans claims. Rememeber: It the VA can get away with screwing up once, they know they can repeat it on a national scale. And, the facts are that the VA gets away with screwing over millions of Veterans each year, delaying their claims, shredding their evidence, and making more Veterans homeless, all while promising to do the opposite.

edit: your way more excited than I am. maybe i'll send ya a pm.

This post has been edited by timetowinarace: Nov 5 2009, 07:36 PM

[carlie]

Since there are 1,000,000 Veterans waiting on benefits, along with millions more of homeless Veterans many of whom have already given up on the VA,

Why do you refer to millions of homeless veterans.
Your stats are truly wayyyyyyy over inflated.
carlie

[broncovet]

Timetowinarace:
I would be in favor of a "march" on Washington, and as I recall, Veterans have done so, and the National Guard was called to quiet them down. Someone else may be aware of the details or a link.
"Marches on Washington" have not been all that successful. For example, Pro Life Groups have marched hundreds of times, and, even tho public opinion favors Pro Life, but in more than 20 years, Roe Vs Wade has never been overturned, in spite of literally thousands of protests all over the country.
Ditto for same sex marriage. There have been thousands of "gay parades", but one more state voted down same sex marriage, just in the past few weeks.
I do think you are on to something, tho, and that is to "hit the VA where it hurts" which is right in the media. You see, the VA HATES bad publicity because they know they need the public and congress backing for them to get still more money next year.
However, the VA is an expert at keeping the media away. Did the national media say anything about shreddergate? No...merely VA watchdog, and they dont have enough readers to bother the VA that much. Dr. Phil went on TV about the horrible treatment Vets get, in one of his episodes, but the VA knows that show is seen mostly by housewives and not by congress so they let it slide, but did you notice that CBS or NBC or MSNBC did not pick it up?
The VA has their own media department and always releases flag waving propoganda about how the department of Veterans affairs is helping Vetrans. Once recent spin was the Secretary making "emergency money" available to student Veterans waiting on their Gi Bill payments. They made it sound like the VA, out of the goodness of their heart, is helping Veterans, when the reality is that there are hundreds of thousands, or even millions of Veterans waiting on education, or disability compensation while the VA is compensating its executives bonuses in the millions for a "job well done". Vets are homeless and VA execs get bonuses for it. VA watchdog even reported that VA employees got bonuses for delaying Veterans claims. Rememeber: It the VA can get away with screwing up once, they know they can repeat it on a national scale. And, the facts are that the VA gets away with screwing over millions of Veterans each year, delaying their claims, shredding their evidence, and making more Veterans homeless, all while promising to do the opposite.

[broncovet]

Since there are 1,000,000 Veterans waiting on benefits, along with millions more of homeless Veterans many of whom have already given up on the VA, they have already gotten thousands of your letters before, and shredded them. One of those shredded was my application for an "Advance on the Docket" due to hardship and my impending home foreclosure. The VA didn't care and didnt even consider my application and my home was foreclosed upon in 2005. They deny that they ever got my application, and, since that way back when I still trusted the VA, I didnt keep copies, or send them certified mail return receipt requested.
The President selected Shinseki to head the VA and to reduce the backlog. When Shinseki increased the claims backlog by 16% instead of reducing it, the President has apparently decided to keep Shinseki, at least until election time, then he can hire a new Secretary who will also promise to reduce the backlog, and probably enough people will buy it to get him reelected.
Oh, yes, I wrote to my senator, and, since that caused further delay, next time I think I will try writing to the Easter Bunny or the Tooth Fairy. Sample Easter Bunny Letter:

Dear Easter Bunny
I have written to congress, the President and Santa, and since all of them were too busy to listen, I would like my VA benefits this Easter put in an egg, and I will find it no matter how well you hide it, because I have already waited so long I lost my home, and you can just hide the egg under the bridge where I now live.
Signed...Still Another Homeless Veteran waiting on Benefits.

[Fosk]

Called my Congressional office and asked them to stop with the inquisition, the man on the other end asked why? I explained that many others have gone this way and all it did was delay claims processing and that it is pulled out of a stack and put last again. He promised me he will send a liason to check and see where it is in processing and if they can expidite my claim, and he said he will call me back by Tuesday the 10th. I told him I have a ssa hearing on the 24th and whatever decision is made I may need the information for an alltogether different claim.

[timetowinarace]

I got quick results using my senator in a hardship situation. However I had used congresscritter in the past with no results. It was only after I informed the senator that my house was close to forclosure and the three year old claim was the problem.These facts alone did not do it. It was my statement that when I had bought my house I intended to own it untill I died in it and that those plans did not change. I made it clear that I would turn over my VA paperwork to the media when law enforcement tried to forcibly remove me from my home. That I would die in it whether I was evicted or not.

Veterans have been contacting their elected officials for decades. What has changed?

Veterans Service Orgs have been representing veterans for decades in government. What has changed?

Media has run stories about VA problems for decades. For the veterans that the stories are about, the VA fixes THEIR problem, then announces "We're sorry 'this' veteran fell through the cracks, we have fixed it". So, what has changed?

A widely used phrase- The definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over again, expecting a different result. The definition fits.

Consider this.

During the great depression, veterans marched on washington. It got national media attention for a GROUP of veterans as a group. The demands of the veterans were met. Are we not in another depression? Inflation has gone backwords, we see this in our COLA. I think depression is the correct word for our economy.

Groups such as green peace often not only write the elected officials and get media stories, they show up in large physical numbers at the G20 Summit. Are they making progress? You bet. Not only are they making progress, they are doing it with oppisition. Meaning a good portion of the population does not believe in their mission.

Veterans have very little puplic opposition right now. Read comments left by the public on stories about veterans and the VA. Almost 100% express a concern veterans are not treated well enough by the VA. This means nothing unless veterans do something to help themselves.

Show up in huge numbers in washinton. Not for your claim. For ALL claims. Who is going to oppose veterans getting timely and fair claims adjucation? Nobody. Who will support us as a group? Everybody.

Or, veterans can continue to meet the definition of insanity above.

[Fosk]

Maybe a march on washington as well...lol. Waiting years and being patient is wearing thin on the old bones here.

[Testvet]

I wrote Santa also, and he said he only deals with toys not Veterans claims. Although if Santa was working a claim it just might get done before Christmas. As far as writing the White House if all the vets on this website wrote in and took the time to write the President in general (counting on the thousands of members) instead of writing negative "it'll never work" blogs, then this will get the wheels turning once again. I am not taking it personally, just don't like to quit and I am not articulate enough to look up case law and write as well as some of you do. Please send or write the White House in lieu of gifts by Santa....lol.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

not writng it will never work just telling you what the results will be many of us have done what you are doing and all it did was delay our claims but help yourself write Joe Biden, nancy pelosi, Bob Filner, Senator Chairman Daniel K Akaka, HI Ranking Member Richard Burr, NC write them all it doesn't help all it does is delay the VARO from processing your claim been there done that and have the T shirt

[Testvet]

I got the former VA Secretary's email address off hadit a few years ago and wrote him. It seemed to help. I don't think they new guys posts his email address. Writing politicians never seemed to help me. They just vomit up what the VA tells them as if that is why you are writing your congressman to get boilerplate answer.

yup Principi would answer his e mail or his assistant Debi Bevins would, I had the privilege of writing him once on a snow day in DC no one was able to get to work he personally answered my e mail within 45 minutes none of the Secretary's since him have made themselves available to veterans I still correspond with Ms Bevins though she still works in the secretary's office lol she really is a nice helpful lady

[Testvet]

It's too bad that you didn't have a pocket recorder, and the ability to send a transcript and audio copy to the same offices that you had written to about the problem.
"I had the DRO scream at my wife and I for an hour"

they search you and all your bags and the wifes purse and confiscate recording devices at the door and they are returned when you leave

[john999]

I got the former VA Secretary's email address off hadit a few years ago and wrote him. It seemed to help. I don't think they new guys posts his email address. Writing politicians never seemed to help me. They just vomit up what the VA tells them as if that is why you are writing your congressman to get boilerplate answer.

[Fosk]

I wrote Santa also, and he said he only deals with toys not Veterans claims. Although if Santa was working a claim it just might get done before Christmas. As far as writing the White House if all the vets on this website wrote in and took the time to write the President in general (counting on the thousands of members) instead of writing negative "it'll never work" blogs, then this will get the wheels turning once again. I am not taking it personally, just don't like to quit and I am not articulate enough to look up case law and write as well as some of you do. Please send or write the White House in lieu of gifts by Santa....lol.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/contact

[jbasser]

It can be both a good thing and a bad thing. The good thing is action may be taken, The bad thing is the time to do the inquiry will definatly delay your claim.
Hang in there. That is about all you can do. Most of us here has had to do the same thing. Just hang and wait.


J

[broncovet]

Instead of writing to the President, why dont you write to Santa Claus? I hear he works for the show "Home Improvement" now during the summer. Sample letter:

Dear Santa
All I want for Christmas is my VA benefits approved and the check here so that my family wont be homeless like other Veterans. I watch Home Improvement every week, and I really think you are smarter than Al Borland. Oops..I am not supposed to lie, so instead, I think you are almost as smart as AL.
Signed...A Veteran

This post has been edited by broncovet: Nov 5 2009, 05:30 AM

[deltaj]

If a case is proceeding in a reasonable fashion, a presidential or congressional inquiry may not help. On the other hand, if denials have been made that are not justified, the inquiries may help. A letter with a copy of the denial and a very short proof of the medical condition along with no more than a one page referral to the appropriate regs & laws may get surprising results very quickly. While a high level inquiry can be "passed off", if it is done properly, by the right entity, and followed up, it will not be. A call in person by the "entity" to the VA Secretary, will usually cause the wheels to roll at very high speed. Consideration might be given to explaining the problem to such people as members of the committees that can impact VA funding, or have the responsibility of VA oversight. Ideally, the member should be elected from the veteran's state of residence.

When you combine politics and funding, and a governmental unit such as the VA, all sorts of unusual things happen.

I remember a funding issue with the B-52 that occurred during a time when congress was determined to keep the number of B-52s in service at about 100, and the AF wanted to reduce them to about 1/2 that amount. While this was going on, the AF was holding up funding for various B-52 related issues, many of which would have saved a lot of money over a few years time, and others that were required to modernize key equipment on the B-52.

One of the AF types involved in the funding requests became convinced that various funding requests were being turned down with out being investigated, simply because the AF had "more important" fish to fry than money for the B-52. Basically, he wrote a request for a "Force Shield" (right out of Star-trek) He was short, due to retire, and said that he didn't have anything to loose. At the very least, it prompted a serious look, a lot of humor, and likely funding of the more serious items on the same list.

Forty or so years ago, I had a small problem when I was in the Navy. I had been trained in a technical specialty by a private school that had previously trained many military members (Army & Navy) in the same field.

The Navy unit(a ship) and organization (division) was thinking about making a required examination/test disappear, and substituting one that would have retained me in that organization. Overall, the Navy had a shortage of the specialty in question, and was paying up to a 15k bonus. (Which I was not eligible for, since I was a "reserve" on active duty.
A quiet discussion on the ship's bridge with the appropriate division heads and the XO, with the Captain observing but not participating from his chair to one side of the bridge, solved the problem. I really would have liked to know what was said in the wardroom afterwords!

At the time the Chairman, Armed Forces Appropriations, was my state's senior senator, as well as one of the most senior senators in congress. I stated that if necessary, my father, a WWII vet., would be happy to bring the matter to the senator's personal attention, as he knew the senator quite well.

The result was a very rapid change in attitude by the officers involved, with copies of the test arriving as they should. When the results came in, I had passed by a very comfortable margin. The reward, besides getting the advancement, was shore liberty in Vung Tau, normally reserved for Chiefs and Officers. Once rated in the specialty, time in grade was waived, so that I was able to take the next level of test as soon as it became available. (Passed that one also.) In a way the whole thing was somewhat ironic, since I ended up training and supervising several individuals that had collected the bonus that I was not eligible for. (And all this in less than two years of active duty!)

Each regional office has a Special Processing Unit that handles inquiries from Congress. That SPU can bring problems to the attention of adjudicators and even the Director of each VARO. I found this information online. Search google under SPU AND inquiries from Congress AND veteran. The information is in a document entitled "Deliveery of veterans' benefits and services by the Pittsburgh Regional Office . . ." Scroll all the way to the end of the document and look at Section 29. Our family's personal experience in dealing with Congress follows. In November 1989 my husband was hospitalized for 3 weeks for his service connected mental condition. In February 1990 V.A. granted my husband 100% but reduced him back to 30% after about a month. In July 1990 they gave him 50% without a review of his claims folder. In September 1990 he had a hearing which granted him 70%. The hearing officer who had a heightened duty to assist never mentioned his hospitalization in November 1989 or the fact that in 1966 VARO had failed to obtain the records on 4 different hospitalizations before scheduling a V.A. examination on the veteran. In March 1992 V.A. denied my husband an increase beyond 70% and in January 1993 I wrote an extremely angry letter, signed by my husband, to then newly elected Bill Clinton, my husband's Congressmen, and the Joint Chiefs of Staff. The gist of the letter was something like, "How could V.A. say he was employable when . . ." Throughout the letter I contrasted various statements of case with the medical evidence that a V.A. doctor had determined in March 1989 in a letter that he could not be vocationally rehabilitated and some other medical statements his doctors had told him verbally. He was scheduled for another exam in 1993 after V.A. received medical records my husband requested in writing from Social Security that he had been receiving Social Security since 1986. He got 100% within a year of that exam. Years later after receiving his records from V.A. I disovered in 1965 V.A. hadn't obtained records from 4 hospitalizations while he was in service because this veteran had not listed those hospitalizations on his original claim for compensation. In November 1989 while he was again hospitalized he had made a claim under 38 CFR 4.29 for a temporary hospital rating and V.A. gave him the rating for one month and reduced him. Those jerks saddled me with a very sick husband and when I was newly married I had to deal with the stress of working fulltime with a heart condition and learning V.A. law and V.A. regulations. I have a condition called Wolff Parkinsons White Syndrome which causes very high heart rates and in 1992 after V.A.'s denial my heart condition worsened to the point that I required 2 radio catheter ablations and open heart surgery. After open heart surgery I developed blood clots in my right leg and my husband was notified his ex wife had filed fly an apportionment of his V.A. award so I propped my leg up and then wrote a letter on his behalf to V.A. which claimed hardship because I was hospitalized. VARO didn't care they ruined my health. They still gave his ex wife a minimal apportionment and years later I discovered they had previously given her an apportionment in 1987 when they were still married and were newly separated. I am still convinced he never would have won unless he had wrote Congress. I do have to admit, however, that what made the difference is that I found a footnote in a lawbook that V.A. had to consider evidence from Social Security that he was unemployable due to his service connected condition. I asked my husband what he was receiving Social Security for and he trusted me enough to explain what condition he was receiving it for. The next day we called his representative at DAV and he explained that my husband had to make a written request to Social Security to send copies of his medical records to V.A. Regional Office and Disabled American Veterans, my husband's appointment Power of Attorney, as new and material evidence in support of his pending claims. We submitted that evidence, VARO reviewed it and scheduled him for a new exam which was favorable [see 38 CFR 3.156 and 38 CFR 3.400 (q)].

This post has been edited by deltaj: Nov 5 2009, 05:35 AM

[Chuck75]

It's too bad that you didn't have a pocket recorder, and the ability to send a transcript and audio copy to the same offices that you had written to about the problem.
"I had the DRO scream at my wife and I for an hour"

I have to agree with carlie on this, I have done exactly what you have done, I wrote Congressmen and Senators and the President Bush and VP Cheney the VA has 60 days to respond to elected reps they have a 10 day window to respond to a WH inquiry and all it does is pizz off the VARO and yes they will pull the file and tell all that they are working dilligently on your claim and then your claim file is going back to the raters desk at the bottom of the pile so all you have managed to do is to delay your claim even longer and make the DRO mad, because they have to answer Congressional and Presidential inquiries they are just like the military they have people that do nothing but deal with political inquires and they cross the ts and dot the I's and cover the agencies azz, and everyone has done what they are supposed to do, except actually deal with the problem and now you have delayed the decision even longer so who has won? no one and you have lost time sorry been there and done that I have OCD my shrink told me I should wrote the President in Dec 2005 In Jan 2006 I had the DRO scream at my wife and I for an hour because I had the nerve to write Congressmen, Senators and the White House three months later he granted me 50% for PTSD and denied my heart problems a year later after I filed the NOD due to the lowball award they granted me the 100% for PTSD in May 2006 in April 2009 a BVA Judge awarded my CAD and hypertension leave elected officials out of it and file NODs and then a BVA appeal and DO NOT write elected officials they do NOT help

[Chuck75]

If a case is proceeding in a reasonable fashion, a presidential or congressional inquiry may not help. On the other hand, if denials have been made that are not justified, the inquiries may help. A letter with a copy of the denial and a very short proof of the medical condition along with no more than a one page referral to the appropriate regs & laws may get surprising results very quickly. While a high level inquiry can be "passed off", if it is done properly, by the right entity, and followed up, it will not be. A call in person by the "entity" to the VA Secretary, will usually cause the wheels to roll at very high speed. Consideration might be given to explaining the problem to such people as members of the committees that can impact VA funding, or have the responsibility of VA oversight. Ideally, the member should be elected from the veteran's state of residence.

When you combine politics and funding, and a governmental unit such as the VA, all sorts of unusual things happen.

I remember a funding issue with the B-52 that occurred during a time when congress was determined to keep the number of B-52s in service at about 100, and the AF wanted to reduce them to about 1/2 that amount. While this was going on, the AF was holding up funding for various B-52 related issues, many of which would have saved a lot of money over a few years time, and others that were required to modernize key equipment on the B-52.

One of the AF types involved in the funding requests became convinced that various funding requests were being turned down with out being investigated, simply because the AF had "more important" fish to fry than money for the B-52. Basically, he wrote a request for a "Force Shield" (right out of Star-trek) He was short, due to retire, and said that he didn't have anything to loose. At the very least, it prompted a serious look, a lot of humor, and likely funding of the more serious items on the same list.

Forty or so years ago, I had a small problem when I was in the Navy. I had been trained in a technical specialty by a private school that had previously trained many military members (Army & Navy) in the same field.

The Navy unit(a ship) and organization (division) was thinking about making a required examination/test disappear, and substituting one that would have retained me in that organization. Overall, the Navy had a shortage of the specialty in question, and was paying up to a 15k bonus. (Which I was not eligible for, since I was a "reserve" on active duty.
A quiet discussion on the ship's bridge with the appropriate division heads and the XO, with the Captain observing but not participating from his chair to one side of the bridge, solved the problem. I really would have liked to know what was said in the wardroom afterwords!

At the time the Chairman, Armed Forces Appropriations, was my state's senior senator, as well as one of the most senior senators in congress. I stated that if necessary, my father, a WWII vet., would be happy to bring the matter to the senator's personal attention, as he knew the senator quite well.

The result was a very rapid change in attitude by the officers involved, with copies of the test arriving as they should. When the results came in, I had passed by a very comfortable margin. The reward, besides getting the advancement, was shore liberty in Vung Tau, normally reserved for Chiefs and Officers. Once rated in the specialty, time in grade was waived, so that I was able to take the next level of test as soon as it became available. (Passed that one also.) In a way the whole thing was somewhat ironic, since I ended up training and supervising several individuals that had collected the bonus that I was not eligible for. (And all this in less than two years of active duty!)

Just for that extra boost to get it out of ratings I wrote to the White House, I tried a congressional inquire but its still taking forever even with a hardship. Hey I have nothing to lose and all to gain.

[john999]

The VAMC's are better which is sort of odd seeing they have many more vets going to the VA for care. When it was just for SC, and the indigent, the care was pretty awful. Clinton opened it up, but did not really provide the funding. That is still the problem. The funding is always behind the need. However, the constituency has gotten larger. The VA gets a lot more press than in the bad old days. We have had 8 years of war, so that has produced more disabled vets. Health care has gotten more expensive and more scarce. I think the VA health care system will grow, and the VBA is going to have to grow because vets in this day and age have no hesitation in filing a claim. They talk to each other and search the internet for information.

[carlie]

Do keep in mind that the VA machine wasn't nearly as huge and clogged in
1996 as it is now.
In some ways the system is better, especially the VAMC's.
jmho,
carlie

[Pete53]

In 1996 I wrote the President about my claim that had been sitting for over 2 years at the BVA and I had a Hearing and was awarded 100% in less than 2 months.I think that my good fortune happened cause it was an election year and lucky for me it landed on someones desk a Mrs Andrews that sent a nasty letter asking what was the status of my claim and to notify her as soon as a decision was made.

So I think if the President and the people who work for him are sympathetic to Veterans than it may work. In Texas my Representatives don't care a lick about Veterans.

[Testvet]

Fosk,
In my opinion, if you filed for expedition of rating decision due
to a hardship situation and then topped it off with a congressional
inquiry -
you just threw the brakes on a possible hardship expeditious rating
by filing the congressional inquiry.

When VA is contacted by some congress critter's ASSISTANT, they pull your file
out of whatever stack it's in - so someone can go thru it to find stuff to
rebutt what you told the congress critter.
Things like,
VA requested form 21-XXXX from the claimant - and the claimant has yet to
submit XXXX as requested.
VA is awaiting a C&P examination. The VA is working as diligently as possible
on claims for veteran's disabilities. Due to budget restraint's, blah, blah,blah.

Anyway,now that VA pulled your file out -- it won't get put back in
where it was before they had to rebutt your congressional inquiry.
It will not really, be returned there.

So, your thinking,
"Just for that extra boost to get it out of ratings"
whether it's the White House or a Congress critter, any and every level of
goobermint you contact,will actually cost you more time.

jmho,
carlie

I have to agree with carlie on this, I have done exactly what you have done, I wrote Congressmen and Senators and the President Bush and VP Cheney the VA has 60 days to respond to elected reps they have a 10 day window to respond to a WH inquiry and all it does is pizz off the VARO and yes they will pull the file and tell all that they are working dilligently on your claim and then your claim file is going back to the raters desk at the bottom of the pile so all you have managed to do is to delay your claim even longer and make the DRO mad, because they have to answer Congressional and Presidential inquiries they are just like the military they have people that do nothing but deal with political inquires and they cross the ts and dot the I's and cover the agencies azz, and everyone has done what they are supposed to do, except actually deal with the problem and now you have delayed the decision even longer so who has won? no one and you have lost time sorry been there and done that I have OCD my shrink told me I should wrote the President in Dec 2005 In Jan 2006 I had the DRO scream at my wife and I for an hour because I had the nerve to write Congressmen, Senators and the White House three months later he granted me 50% for PTSD and denied my heart problems a year later after I filed the NOD due to the lowball award they granted me the 100% for PTSD in May 2006 in April 2009 a BVA Judge awarded my CAD and hypertension leave elected officials out of it and file NODs and then a BVA appeal and DO NOT write elected officials they do NOT help

[carlie]

Just for that extra boost to get it out of ratings I wrote to the White House, I tried a congressional inquire but its still taking forever even with a hardship. Hey I have nothing to lose and all to gain.

Fosk,
In my opinion, if you filed for expedition of rating decision due
to a hardship situation and then topped it off with a congressional
inquiry -
you just threw the brakes on a possible hardship expeditious rating
by filing the congressional inquiry.

When VA is contacted by some congress critter's ASSISTANT, they pull your file
out of whatever stack it's in - so someone can go thru it to find stuff to
rebutt what you told the congress critter.
Things like,
VA requested form 21-XXXX from the claimant - and the claimant has yet to
submit XXXX as requested.
VA is awaiting a C&P examination. The VA is working as diligently as possible
on claims for veteran's disabilities. Due to budget restraint's, blah, blah,blah.

Anyway,now that VA pulled your file out -- it won't get put back in
where it was before they had to rebutt your congressional inquiry.
It will not really, be returned there.

So, your thinking,
"Just for that extra boost to get it out of ratings"
whether it's the White House or a Congress critter, any and every level of
goobermint you contact,will actually cost you more time.

jmho,
carlie

[Fosk]

Just for that extra boost to get it out of ratings I wrote to the White House, I tried a congressional inquire but its still taking forever even with a hardship. Hey I have nothing to lose and all to gain.