High-security germ labs not so high security
GAO concerned about lack of cameras, alarms, armed guards at key sites
Congressional investigators have expressed concern about security levels at labs including the Southwest Foundation for Biochemical Research facility in San Antonio, Texas.
updated 5:42 a.m. ET, Thurs., Oct. 16, 2008
WASHINGTON - Intruders could easily break into two U.S. laboratories where researchers handle some of the world's deadliest germs, according to congressional investigators. The Associated Press identified the vulnerable lab locations as Atlanta and San Antonio.
The serious security problems at the two labs were described by the Government Accountability Office in a report expected to be released publicly as early as Thursday. The GAO, Congress' investigative and auditing arm, did not identify the labs except to say they were classified as Biosafety Level 4 facilities, but the report included enough details for the AP — and others knowledgeable about such labs — to determine their locations. Biosafety Level 4 labs do research on deadly germs and toxins.
In Texas, the Southwest Foundation for Biomedical Research features an outside window that looks directly into the room where the deadly germs are handled. The lab, which is privately run, also lacks many security cameras, intrusion detection alarms or visible armed guards at its public entrances. Officials there said they will tighten security.
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"We already have an initiative under way to look at perimeter security," said Kenneth Trevett, president of the lab in San Antonio. "We're waiting for additional input but we're not waiting long. The GAO would like us to do some fairly significant things. They would like us to do it sooner rather than later."
Unguarded loading dock
The other lab described with weak security in the report is operated by Georgia State University in Atlanta. That lab lacked complete security barriers and any integrated security system, including any live monitoring by security cameras. During their review, investigators said they watched an unidentified pedestrian enter the building through an unguarded loading dock.
"Georgia State clearly wants its BSL-4 to be as safe as possible," said DeAnna Hines, assistant vice president for university relations. "We are already taking steps that will enhance the lab's safety and security standards." Hines did not confirm the school's research lab was the one mentioned in the congressional report as lacking proper security.
Investigators said the lab in San Antonio used unarmed guards inside antiquated guardhouses with a gate across the access road. An outside company monitors alarms at the lab and calls police in emergencies, which investigators said could delay a quick response in a crisis. They called the San Antonio lab the most vulnerable of all the labs they studied.
Click for related content
Senator: Suspect had help in anthrax attacks
Anthrax case spurs new germ-gene sleuthing
U.S. labs mishandling deadly germs
The federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention approved the labs in San Antonio and Atlanta to handle the deadly organisms despite the security weaknesses. The three other BSL-4 labs in the U.S. feature impressive security, the report said. Those include the CDC's own facility, also in Atlanta; the Army's lab at Fort Detrick, Md.; and the University of Texas Medical Branch in Galveston.
Fort Detrick is on a secure military base, but it is known for a recent internal problem. Bruce Ivins, a scientist at the Army's biodefense lab at Fort Detrick, killed himself in July as prosecutors prepared to indict him for murder in the anthrax letter attacks, which killed five people.
Ebola research
The CDC lab is on the agency's high-security campus.
The viruses researched in the highest security labs include ebola, marburg, junin and lassa. All can cause incurable illnesses.
The chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, Rep. John Dingell, D-Mich., urged the CDC to quickly identify all security weaknesses at the high-containment research labs and fix any problems. Dingell has been investigating security problems associated with such labs around the country. He said at least six additional high-containment labs are under construction.
The Associated Press reported in October 2007 that U.S. laboratories working with deadly organisms have experienced more than 100 accidents and missing shipments since 2003 — and the number is increasing as more labs do the work.
A CDC spokesman, Von Roebuck, said each of the five labs described in the new report has its own security plan designed to fit the lab's particular security assessments.
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Given what happened in 2001 with the Anthrax letters, there is no excuse in 2008 for any labs that should be guarded, not to be. Not given this governments obsession with possible terrorism, inside these labs are some of the most deadly pathogens, germs and biological germs known to man. There should be video camera's everywhere, employees should all work in multiple person teams, there should be armed guards, there should be common sense in protecting these facilities, who ever thought putting a Level 4 lab on Galveston Island as they just recently opened the newest lab in the US should be fired and their supervisors should have their heads examined, hello we own land in New Mexico, where they do stuff like this all the time Los Alamos they even have guards already, fences, security camera's the place where they do nuclear research, not on the coast where Cat 4 hurricanes put the nation at risk. President Bush ultimately you are RESPONSIBLE for this, the BUCK stops on your desk.
Thursday, October 16, 2008
High-security germ labs not so high security
5.8 percent COLA for SS and VA
Benefits for Social Security recipients and many federal government retirees will increase by 5.8 percent next year, the largest cost of living adjustment in a quarter century, following a year of rising food and energy prices.
COLA Raise
COLA increase is 5.8%, biggest since 1982
By Rick Maze - Staff writer
Posted : Thursday Oct 16, 2008 11:10:27 EDT
The Dec. 1 cost-of-living adjustment for military and federal civilian retirees, disabled veterans and survivors will be 5.8 percent, with the increase first appearing in Jan. 1 checks.
The same increase will go to Social Security recipients.
The 5.8 percent hike is a little less than some expected. In the last few months, rising crude oil prices had a broad effect across the economy — increasing not only the cost of filling up gas tanks but also boosting transportation costs to drive up the price of retail goods and food.
But oil prices have fallen as the overall economy has suffered a major meltdown, resulting in a final COLA that is still the biggest increase since 1982.
The COLA also is far bigger than the 3.9 percent military pay raise signed into law earlier this week by President Bush. That is because the two increases are based on different concepts.
Retired pay automatically increases each year to keep pace with inflation, measured by the change in the cost of goods and services. Increases in military and federal civilian pay, which generally involve an act of Congress, are designed to match private-sector wage growth.
Retirement COLAs, which also apply to survivor benefits, take effect automatically. Recipients do not have to do anything to get the extra pay. Annual adjustments in veterans’ disability pay, low-income pensions and dependency and indemnity compensation for survivors of deceased service members and veterans are not automatic, but Congress usually passes legislation guaranteeing veterans’ benefits will increase by the same rate as Social Security.
President Bush signed the 2009 veterans’ COLA measure Sept. 25.
Army Times
Wednesday, October 15, 2008
Bush Declares Exceptions to Sections of Two Bills He Signed Into Law
Bush Declares Exceptions to Sections of Two Bills He Signed Into Law
By CHARLIE SAVAGE
WASHINGTON — President Bush asserted on Tuesday that he had the executive power to bypass several parts of two bills: a military authorization act and a measure giving inspectors general greater independence from White House control.
Mr. Bush signed the two measures into law. But he then issued a so-called signing statement in which he instructed the executive branch to view parts of each as unconstitutional constraints on presidential power.
In the authorization bill, Mr. Bush challenged four sections. One forbid the money from being used “to exercise United States control of the oil resources of Iraq”; another required negotiations for an agreement by which Iraq would share some of the costs of the American military operations there.
The sections “purport to impose requirements that could inhibit the president’s ability to carry out his constitutional obligations,” including as commander in chief, Mr. Bush wrote.
In the other bill, he raised concerns about two sections that strengthen legal protections against political interference with the internal watchdog officials at each executive agency.
One section gives the inspectors general a right to counsels who report directly to them. But Mr. Bush wrote in his signing statement that such lawyers would be bound to follow the legal interpretations of the politically appointed counsels at each agency.
The other section requires the White House to tell Congress what each inspector general said about the administration’s budget proposal for their offices. Such a requirement, Mr. Bush wrote, would infringe on “the president’s constitutional authority” to decide what to recommend to Congress.
Mr. Bush will not submit another budget request before his administration ends in January, so his objections are unlikely to face a test on his watch. Still, the bill’s sponsor, Representative Jim Cooper, Democrat of Tennessee, said he hoped that the next president would overturn Mr. Bush’s signing statements.
“These things create uncertainty in the law that should not be there,” Mr. Cooper said.
The White House has defended Mr. Bush’s use of signing statements as lawful and appropriate. But in 2006, the American Bar Association called the device “contrary to the rule of law and our constitutional system of separation of powers.”
Mr. Bush has used the signing statements to assert a right to bypass more than 1,100 sections of laws. By comparison, all previous presidents combined challenged about 600 sections of bills.
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I am not a lawyer just an old infantryman, but seeing that in over 200 years all 43 previous Presidents signed "exceptions" or "signing statements" to laws passed by Congress totaled 600 and in the past 7 1/2 years President Bush has signed 1100 of them himself, you have to ask yourself, didn't he remember the part of his oath of office, to defend the United States and obey all of it's laws, not just the ones he wanted to but all of them, being President does not mean you can change laws or write yourself exceptions to the ones you don't like, you either veto them, or take your case to the Supreme Court and have the law over turned.
I want a President that realizes his place in our nation, as the leader not the "king" this is not a dictatorship, our elected President is accountable to us the public, he is not "above the law" he is supposed to be enforcing our laws, not making his own. Somehow I expect to see "King George" to decree "pardons" for all of his "inner circle" and advisors legal and defense, intelligence and anyone else that is determined to have violated the laws of the US during the Bush administration, and Scooter Libby will get a clean bill of health, on W's way out the door.
As an NCO I was expected to follow all of the laws in the US plus the UCMJ, I was responsible to make sure my soldiers did the same, I was responsible if they made mistakes under my command, I was accountable, why isn't anyone in this administration accountable? Is there anyone reading this that would have allowed this kind of behavior in your command? I doubt it. The words Duty, Honor and Country meant something to us, they are not just words, they are a way of life.
VET'S FAMILY STILL SEEKS VA COMPENSATION FOR
VET'S FAMILY STILL SEEKS VA COMPENSATION FOR
ILLNESS THAT KILLED HIM -- Matt Bumpus' family
says his illness and death were caused by
exposure to depleted uranium.
For more about veterans and depleted uranium, use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch.p
hp?q=depleted+uranium&op=ph
Story here... http://www.sacbee.c
om/341/v-print/story/1214622.html
Story below:
Vet's family still seeks compensation for illness that killed him
sstanton@sacbee.com
They'll hold a fundraiser in Auburn next Friday to help pay Matt Bumpus' medical bills.
The Roseville man and his family worked on the event for months in hopes of raising money to treat his leukemia.
But Bumpus won't be there. The 31-year-old father of two died a month ago after a series of battles with his disease.
He believed – and his family still does – that he became ill because he was exposed to depleted uranium at a chemical weapons site while serving with the Army in Iraq.
"All of them were very concerned about what they were exposed to, very concerned," said his stepmother, Laura Bumpus.
The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs rejected one claim Bumpus filed seeking compensation for his illness. But on Friday, a VA official told The Bee the agency will revisit the case and see whether Bumpus' widow, Lisa, and their two sons are eligible for assistance.
"Lisa and Matt's parents all have the right to come in and file a claim, and I would really welcome that," said Lynn Flint, the VA's regional director in Oakland.
The family plans to file another claim but has seen firsthand the difficulty of proving that an illness diagnosed post-service may have stemmed from wartime conditions.
Veterans from the 1990-91 Gulf War worked years to convince officials that Gulf War syndrome illnesses were real.
And just last month, researchers at UC Davis Cancer Center said veterans exposed to Agent Orange are twice as likely to get prostate cancer as are other veterans – a finding that comes decades after the herbicide was used in Vietnam.
Bumpus, a staff sergeant in the Army's 3rd Infantry Division, was sent Dec. 23, 2003, to guard the Al Muthanna Chemical Weapons complex in Iraq and spent two nights there, his family said.
When they arrived, Bumpus and his comrades encountered a sign that read "Welcome to Mustardville," and eventually were moved because of radiation readings emanating from the site, according to his family.
Bumpus, a 1995 Roseville High School graduate and defensive lineman for the school's football team, was a strapping young man who never had been seriously ill, family members said. He joined the Army in August 1996.
He returned from Iraq in late 2004 and left the Army the following year, coming home to Roseville to be with Lisa, his wife and high school sweetheart, and their son, Nathaniel.
Soon, Lisa was pregnant with their second son, Aaron, and Bumpus was working as a technician for Comcast.
"In July of 2006, I was home, had a job with a bright future, we were expecting our second child, we had just moved into a house, and life was good!" Bumpus wrote this year on www.iraqradiation.com, a Web site his family set up to alert veterans of potential health risks from service in Iraq.
After returning from Iraq, Bumpus worried he might have been exposed to something at the weapons site that could have long-term effects, his family said, but was assured by the Army there was no reason for concern.
Everything seemed fine until one July night in 2006, when he was having trouble sleeping.
"We thought he had the flu, and he got up to use the bathroom," his wife said. "I heard a bang and went to check, and he had hit the floor."
Bumpus was rushed to Sutter Roseville Medical Center, where doctors diagnosed appendicitis. Tests done there also found he suffered from a rare form of leukemia – acute myeloid leukemia. According to his medical records, his doctor told him the illness "was related to radiation exposure."
He began a regimen of chemotherapy and other treatments and eventually racked up $1 million in medical bills, most of which were covered by his health insurance. His illness was in remission by late 2006.
"I returned to work and an almost normal life," he wrote on the Web site. "I was alive, in remission, and very thankful."
When his leukemia returned in 2008, he filed a claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs saying the illness was related to his service. The VA denied the claim, noting in the rejection letter that his diagnosis had come more than a year after his separation from the Army.
The VA's Flint said the original claim did not specifically indicate that Bumpus was claiming he had been exposed to radiation. She said the agency indicated at the time it would consider new information if Bumpus provided it.
Bumpus' stepmother, Laura, said he told the family he had not mentioned the exposure in the claim because he believed that information was classified. He assumed VA officials would ask him about it, she said.
Earlier this year, Bumpus wrote to Congress seeking help, and he and his family set up the Web site detailing his case and others they had heard of. He was hoping for a bone-marrow transplant, and from his hospital bed helped plan Friday's silent auction and dinner.
Bumpus died Aug. 3. Two weeks later, his widow received notice from the VA that his case had been the subject of an inquiry from Sen. Barbara Boxer, D-Calif., and that Bumpus could pursue benefits.
The VA asked Bumpus to schedule a new examination at a VA hospital. His widow is drafting a reply noting that "obviously as he is now deceased he cannot comply with this request." Today, his family waits to see whether the VA will provide compensation to Lisa and their sons, 11-year-old Nathaniel and Aaron, who turns 2 in October.
Nathaniel, who started sixth grade earlier this week, is old enough to understand his father is gone.
"The youngest, I don't think he really understands. He just thinks (his dad) hasn't come home from the hospital," Lisa Bumpus said this week. She sat crying on the deck of Laura Bumpus' Foresthill home. Around her neck hung a chain that holds her husband's wedding ring.
The VA's regional director said the Bumpus family is eligible for benefits if the leukemia can be tied to Bumpus' service. His widow could receive $1,091 in tax-free benefits monthly, and her children $271 a month.
"I'm so sorry this happened," Flint said, adding that she hopes Bumpus can be recognized as having sacrificed much for his country.
REP. BOB FILNER TALKS ABOUT "BLUE WATER
UPDATE: REP. BOB FILNER TALKS ABOUT "BLUE WATER
NAVY" LEGISLATION -- House Vets' Chair intends to include
all veterans exposed to Agent Orange in new bill.
For background on the "Blue Water Navy" legislation, known as the "Agent Orange Equity Act" (H.R. 6562), use the VA Watchdog search engine... click here...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sesse
arch.php?q=h.r.+6562&op=ph
This interview came to me from the good folks at BlueWaterNavy.org. The interview was conducted by John Rossi.
Interview below:
Rossie: When 6562 was initially presented in July, it read as if its intention was to re-establish what the Agent Orange Act of 1991 had in place, specifically reinstating the Blue Water Navy and the air services overhead to a presumptive exposure status.
Filner: Yes, that was the intention, to restore what was originally intended by Congress.
Rossie: But in your discussion of this, including your remarks at the July 23rd introduction of the bill, you talked about including the veterans of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia. Was that your original intention for 6562 or did you see this as a second bill, as a follow-on to the first?
Filner: The veterans of Thailand, Laos and Cambodia should have been included in the original enactment. So we plan to re-introduce this bill with those veterans included. They would be included when 6562 is re-introduced and there won’t be any second, follow-on bill.
Rossie: Then the discussion began to include an even wider range of veterans; veterans everywhere, who had been exposed to Agent Orange anywhere in the world, such as Guam, and cargo handlers everywhere including on stateside bases.
Filner: Yes, we’re interested in doing that. We will research this and, if warranted, these veterans will be included in 6562.
Rossie: So, those veterans wouldn’t be written into some follow-on legislation?
Filner: No, they will all be included in this bill when it is re-introduced.
Rossie: When 6562 was initially introduced, it was already near the end of July. Did you intend to have this bill passed in the 110th Congress session, or did you see this carrying over to the 111th Congress?
Filner: We knew in July that there wouldn’t be enough time to get anything finished this year. We wanted to get this out on the table so people could start preparing for it. That would give us a chance to test the political scene for this. We will have this entire bill ready to re-introduce right off in January.
Rossie: When I look at the various places on-line that show the text of the bill, it still reads like it did at the initial presentation. Have any of the changes you refer to been made to the bill already?
Filner: No, the bill currently reads as it did. The change will be something we’ll be working on over these coming months to get it ready for re-introduction.
Rossie: It appears that your list of sponsors is continuing to grow.
Filner: That’s because of the great grass roots activity that has been going on. That’s where this kind of legislative interest begins. That’s the result of efforts like yours, and that’s the way you’re going to be able to get more sponsorship, so that effort has to be kept up.
Rossie: We’re concerned about the Senate side of this bill. When a bill like this is introduced in the House, is there an active effort on your part to work with the Senate to get their support?
Filner: Yes, we will be actively working with the Senate to help get something similar written on that side. But their awareness and interest for this will ultimately come from the efforts and activities at the grass roots level. You have to keep talking with them, and getting their support.
Rossie: I imagine that, with a new Congress, with possibly a lot of new faces, something like this would have to be held off until everything settles down, until maybe February or later before this is brought forward.
Filner: No, we’re going to re-introduce this bill in January. We have from now until then to get everything in order, and we should be ready to bring it out right at the first of the year.
Rossie: And that would be including all of the elements of this broader picture….?
Filner: Our intent will be to have it all in one bill. We don’t have any plans for any follow-on bill. This would be all packaged together when we re-introduce it.
Rossie: Is there any intention of specifying that the ports and harbors of Vietnam would be written in as part of the inland waters?
Filner: I don’t know. I haven’t heard anything about that. What would the reason be for that?
Rossie: Well, it would separate the ports and harbors from the “open seas” of off-shore. Some of the harbors, like DaNang, sit well back within the inland of Vietnam, perhaps nearly a mile from entrance to the inner docks. I’d think those should be distinguished from the Blue Water of off-shore and considered as inland waterways.
Filner: I don’t know. We’ll have to look into that and see if that makes sense… see if there is any support for that.
Rossie: I’d like to get some idea of how this process of development takes place. When your own staff does research regarding these issues, is there an outreach function? Do you contact the various veteran organizations for their ideas?
Filner: Yes, the staff will work with various veteran organizations to get their input. These organizations will tell us what they want.
Rossie: I’d like to ask you about some of the activity of the State Department and their recent efforts of proposing to work with the Vietnamese people who are victims of Agent Orange. Do you think that is appropriate, given that we still have veterans in this country trying to get their AO-related disabilities taken care of?
Filner: I think this is all well and good, because every victim of Agent Orange should be taken care of. But I also think we need to get our own house in order. I realize there are individuals who have had claims pending with the VA for 20 years. This is a bad situation. It’s our intent to eliminate those kinds of problems. I realize that Vietnam veterans didn’t get a very good reception when they returned from duty in the 60’s and 70’s. I think this is the best kind of “Welcome Home” they could get now, because it’s not just words; we’ll actually be doing something for them.
Rossie: When we look at the ambitious plans for 6562, where you’ll be attempting to offer this broad range of “something for everybody” and will be including all that in one bill, how will that effect the ability to get this bill passed?
Filner: I’ve had meetings all around the country, and there is very strong support at the grass roots that is now showing up by how many cosigners we are getting. I’m confident we can present this so that nobody is going to be against this. That’s the result of the great efforts of veteran organizations in meeting with local representatives and convincing them of the importance of this bill. You’ve got to tell them you really want this. You’ve got to keep that up and even increase your efforts. That’s what will get this bill passed.
Tuesday, October 14, 2008
Bob Hope auction offers more than memories
Bob Hope auction offers more than memories
7:00 PM, October 14, 2008
If you're a golfer -- or are shopping for someone who is a golfer -- pay attention.
As The Times' Bob Pool reported today, the Bob and Dolores Hope Charitable Foundation is auctioning off a treasure trove of Bob Hope's earthly belongings, with the proceeds going to veterans' organizations.
Auctioneer Darren Julien said that the Oct. 18-19 sale will be streamed on the Internet and could raise as much as half a million dollars for the charities. Here's a link to the online catalog along with directions on how to bid. (Clock on Day 1 and scroll down toward the bottom where the sporting gear is listed and click on whatever catches your eye.)
Hope, who died five years ago at age 100, never threw anything out at his Toluca Lake office. "He was a bit of a pack rat," daughter Linda Hope told Pool. "If he were here, he'd have something to say about everything here."
What does "here" mean from a golfer's perspective?
Golf hats, for starters, including one big, floppy affair with brown, crème, pink, yellow, orange, and light brown sections on top. Hope wore it during the 1953 Bing Crosby’s National Pro-Amateur Golf Championship at Pebble Beach.
Shoes, including a delight pair of wooden clogs with golf cleats on them -- and Hope's face painted on one shoe, a cocktail glass and a "19th hole" pennant on the other.
Clubs. Dozens and dozens of clubs, many of them one-of-a-kind. There's a "caricature" club with a paper mache model of Hope's familiar face where the club head would normally be. A gold-plated practice putter (with carrying case) that breaks down into three pieces. Handmade putters. Engraved putters. Sterling silver clubs. A putter with a white marble and brass mallet head.
And knick-knacks from seemingly every course Hope ever played.
And if you tire of golf, scroll down a bit further and you'll find autographed footballs, boxing gear, baseballs, baseball bats footballs and what-not. Then go back to the starting page and click on "Day 2."
-- Greg Johnson
Photo: From left, Bing Crosby, Bob Hope and Frank Sinatra clown around on a golf course in an undated photo. Credit: File photo received by Los Angeles Times Library on Jan. 7, 1946
Bob Hope auction offers more than memories
NEWS FROM…CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER
NEWS FROM…
CHAIRMAN BOB FILNER
HOUSE COMMITTEE ON VETERANS’ AFFAIRS
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: October 14, 2008
http://veterans.house.gov
Filner Victorious in Fight for Expansion of Veterans’ Health Care and Benefits
New Laws Help Veterans Prevent Foreclosure, Access Needed Health Care and Earned Benefits
Washington, D.C. – On Friday, October 10, 2008, Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, announced that two bills, S. 2162 and S. 3023, have been signed into law. S. 2162 is a comprehensive measure to expand treatment for mental health care, provide counseling for family members of veterans, and address the needs of rural veterans. S. 3023 provides essential reforms to bring the claims processing system up-to-date for more accurate and timely delivery of benefits while expanding the benefits provided.
Chairman Filner provided the following statement on the enactment of this sweeping legislation to better care for our service members and veterans:
“Over the course of the 110th Congress, we have learned much about the needs of our Nation’s veterans and these new laws go a long way to address them. When I became Chairman of the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, the VA was strained to its breaking point and we set an aggressive agenda to fix that. We passed historic increases to the VA budget and provided the resources to better address the health care needs of our veterans and wounded warriors. Our aggressive agenda culminated in the enactment of comprehensive legislation to improve health care and benefits for our veterans.
“The Veterans' Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008 expands mental health services, increases research through the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and provides much needed counseling for families of veterans. This new law also mandates a program to help rural veterans get the health care they need closer to home.
“There are hundreds of thousands of new veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. More than 40% of our veterans of Operation Enduring Freedom and Iraqi Freedom are entering the VA health care system. Of these veterans, 41% are seeking mental health care. It is simply our duty as a Nation, when we put our men and women in harm’s way, to care for them when they return.”
“The Veterans’ Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 provides essential reforms to bring the claims processing system up-to-date for more accurate and timely delivery of benefits to veterans, families, and survivors. We passed a pilot program to dramatically alters the way claims are processed for veterans. Fully-developed claims certified by a Veterans Service Officer are eligible for expedited processing allowing veterans to receive their benefit more expeditiously.
“The backlog of claims at the VA totals more than 600,000 and this is a national disgrace! Our men and women should not get first-class weapons to fight only to come home and receive third-class benefits. This bill takes a major step to ensure that the benefits provided to our veterans are first-rate and uncompromised.
“The Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 adds job protections for returning veterans, increases the opportunity for injured veterans to participate in independent living programs, allows deploying service members to terminate or suspend cell phone contracts without penalty, and provides additional support to veteran-owned small business when contracting with the government. The Veterans' Benefits Improvement Act of 2008 also provides grants to allow severely injured veterans and service members participate in the United States Olympic Paralympics program.
“This new law will make home loans more accessible to veterans by easing restrictions on the VA home loan guaranty program and increasing loan amounts for purchase and refinancing. The bill eliminates the equity requirements for refinancing in response to the declining home values which prohibit many veterans from qualifying for the benefit. The bill also reduces the VA guaranteed home loan funding fees to one percent and eliminates the funding fees for veterans seeking to refinance a home loan.
“For many of our returning service members and veterans, the stress of deployment is still prevalent when they return home. Congress provided these heroes with not only the necessary time to readjust, but also ensured they have the opportunity to do this in the comfort and security of their own home.”
###
The following bills were signed into law:
S. 2162 – The Veterans’ Mental Health and Other Care Improvements Act of 2008
Provisions of the bill include (but are not limited to):
Expanding treatment for substance use disorders and mental health care;
Conducting research into co-morbid PTSD and substance use disorders through the National Center for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder;
Providing mental health care, including counseling, for families, of veterans;
Providing reimbursement for a veteran for the costs of emergency treatment received in a non-VA facility;
Establishing a pilot program to allow a highly rural veteran to receive non-VA health care;
Designating at least four VA health care facilities as epilepsy centers of excellence;
Mandating the VA to centralize third party billing functions at consolidated centers;
Eliminating a rule prohibiting VA from conducting widespread testing for HIV infection;
Expanding health care benefits provided to the children of Vietnam and Korean war veterans born with spina bifida;
Developing and implementing a comprehensive policy on pain care management;
Expanding referral and counseling services for certain at-risk and transitional veterans;
Providing support services for very low-income veteran families residing in permanent housing; and,
Authorizing major medical facility projects for 2009.
S. 3023, as amended – The Veterans’ Benefits Improvements Act of 2008
Provisions of the bill include (but are not limited to):
Directing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to modernize the disability benefits claims processing system of the VA to ensure the accurate and timely delivery of compensation to veterans and their families and survivors;
Establishing an Office of Survivors Assistance within the VA;
Allowing temporary disability ratings for certain veterans;
Addressing employee training for those responsible for processing claims by redeveloping the certification exam and requiring an evaluation of the training and quality assurance program;
Decreasing the equity requirement to refinance a home loan;
Extending two pilot programs that offer adjustable rate loans;
Reforming the USERRA (Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act) complaint process and ensuring that equitable relief is available to all USERRA victims when appropriate;
Increasing the number of veterans that can participate in the independent living program;
Updating housing construction and design guidelines to take into account any new or unique disabilities for veterans in need of specially adaptive housing;
Providing assistance to the United States Paralympic Program for veterans and members of the Armed Services;
Extending Servicemember Civil Relief Act protections to help service members with deployment orders to more easily terminate or suspend cell phone contracts without fee or penalty; and,
Repealing the sunset provision for the Advisory Committee on Minority Veterans.
