IAVA Daily Brief 09.25.09

IAVA Daily Brief 09.25.09
Posted by Terrell Frazier [1] on September 25 [2] 2009

afghan_wide.jpg [3]

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.  Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking?  Follow us on Twitter @IAVAPressRoom [4]. 

MUST READS

1) Report: Too many vets wait a year for claim [5]

Too many veterans' disability claims take more than a year to process, the Veterans Affairs Department's inspector general said Wednesday. An audit released by the VA showed that a year ago, 11,000 veterans had claims pending more than a year. It says the agency awarded retroactive payments totaling about $43 million for about a third of them. Of that total, it says about $14 million was unnecessarily delayed because of deficient claims processing. "These delayed benefit payments have the potential to adversely affect the economic status and quality of life for veterans who are eligible for benefits," the IG said. The report said the VA has made progress in reducing lingering claims, but it's still creating too much of a financial burden for veterans.

2) G.I Bill Backlog [6]

In a Thursday interview with CNN's Heidi Collins on CNN Newsroom, IAVA Executive Director and Founder Paul Rieckhoff discussed the delays in payments from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to the colleges and universities attended by student veterans pursuing their education on the new Post-9/11 GI Bill.

Rieckhoff echoed IAVA’s recent calls for the White House and VA to address this problem immediately and ensure that veterans are not forced to choose between footing the bill for their education or dropping out of school. Rieckhoff also expressed concern to the New York Times [7] about the impression this experience will leave on younger veterans and said this is a major test for the VA to prove it has become more efficient and reliable.  

3) Durbin discusses help for homeless vets [8]

Calling it "a national disgrace [8]" that veterans still constitute such a large share of Illinois' homeless population, Sen. Dick Durbin and members of the state's congressional delegation met with Veterans Affairs Assistant Secretary Tammy Duckworth yesterday to come up with a plan to address the problem. Last year alone, veterans filled an estimated 18,000 shelter beds in the Chicago area. Encouragingly, President Obama has proposed spending $3.2 billion to prevent and reduce homelessness among veterans, with $2.7 billion on medical services and $500 million on specific homeless programs. The VA now has about 500 partners nationwide working with it on homelessness issues. 

AFGHANISTAN

In an NPR interview, former President Clinton urged patience [9] while President Obama determines a way forward in the increasingly complex and deadly eight-year war in Afghanistan. "If he asks us to give him the time to see how the Afghan political situation resolves itself, and how that might affect his decision," Clinton said, "I think that's time we ought to give him.” " Clinton waded into the middle of the controversy over how to proceed militarily in Afghanistan. A leaked report from Gen. Stanley McChrystal, the commander of U.S. and NATO troops in Afghanistan, painted a dire picture of the chances for success there without an influx of as many as 40,000 troops. McChrystal's assessment is basically an "updated, applied Afghan version" of the military's successful Iraq troop buildup in 2007, the former president said. And that formula, he said, won't translate now in Afghanistan because of conditions on the ground, including the disputed Aug. 20 presidential election, a recount to determine the legitimacy of President Hamid Karzai, and deteriorating security.

The Obama administration is exploring new options for Afghanistan, including reassessing the Taliban's [10] role in the fight against Al-Qaida. Preventing the Taliban from gaining control again is a key premise of the Obama administration's current strategy for Afghanistan. But there are increasing questions about the threat the Taliban actually pose to U.S. national security interests.  Ted Galen Carpenter, a defense and foreign policy expert at the Cato Institute, asserts, "It has been a big mistake of U.S. policymakers to completely conflate al-Qaida and the Taliban. The former is a foreign terrorist organization with the United States in its cross hairs. The latter is a parochial insurgency. It is not a direct security threat to the United States," he explains.  Listen to NPR [10]’s full story on the complex nature of the Taliban.  

IRAQ 

There is more to the withdrawal in Iraq than just pulling out troops, according to an article in The New Republic [11]. Drawing from historical lessons of failed withdrawals, the piece argues for making a distinction between just and unjust withdrawals. The article advocates for the withdrawal in Iraq to include these two components: making a good-faith effort to leave a stable government behind and to do its best to help the Iraqi people restart their lives. The article's authors state that the withdrawal presents an opportunity to create a new model for how a modern occupation should end. 

MILITARY AFFAIRS 

A CNN story profiling IAVA member veteran Angela Peacock, highlights the increase in homeless female veterans [11] and the struggles returning vets face in light of the recent economic downturn. Peacock suffered from the effects of Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and, after her husband left her, she was evicted from her apartment . The rate of homeless vets is increasing in the United States and Peacock's profile is similar to that of many female veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. Meanwhile, the jobless rate for post-9/11 veterans is higher than the overall U.S. rate and has doubled in the last year alone to 11.3 percent. The article cites data from the VA that has pinpointed at least 3,717 homeless veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, but the nationwide total could be as high as 7,400.

The Army continues its effort to diversify its forces [12] and prepare the Army not just for the desert warfare of Iraq, but also for rugged mountain terrain common in Afghanistan. Since 2007, the Army has made a concerted effort to diversity its forces. At the forefront of this shift is the 3rd Infantry Division's 4th Brigade, the only mechanized unit ordered to abandon its tanks and relearn how to move through a war zone by foot.   The rigorous preparations include nearly 50 miles of zigzagging through the north Georgia mountains. The unit recently returned from its third tour in Iraq and its tank drivers, mechanics and gunners were transferred to other units. The hope is that these light infantry units can be deployed faster and will be able to more easily navigate Afghanistan's rugged terrain. The Pentagon's shift toward light brigades began in late 2007, before the current surge.

Women should be allowed to serve aboard submarines [13], and the Navy is "moving out aggressively" to make it happen, according to the service's top civilian. "I believe women should have every opportunity to serve at sea, and that includes aboard submarines," Navy Secretary Ray Mabus said Thursday in a statement to Navy Times. His comment comes one week after Joint Chiefs Chairman Adm. Michael Mullen told congressional lawmakers he thought it was time to end the ban of women on submarines. "As an advocate for improving the diversity of our force, I believe we should continue to broaden opportunities for women," Mullen wrote. "One policy I would like to see changed is the one barring their service aboard submarines." Officials have said the lack of privacy and the cost of reconfiguring subs already tightly packed with gear and crewmembers make it difficult to introduce female crew.

INSIDE WASHINGTON 

A bill to keep the government running for another month while Congress continues work on the 2010 budget includes a provision that would prevent an abrupt end next week to stop-loss allowances for deployed soldiers. The so-called “continuing resolution [14]” that will keep the government funded when the new fiscal year begins Oct. 1 includes a one-month extension of several programs that otherwise would end, including the $500 monthly allowance for people under stop-loss orders. The Army is the only service currently using stop loss. The extension lasts only through Oct. 31. At that point, payments would cease unless another extension is approved. 

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE      

 

The Senate will convene at 9:30 a.m.  

SENATE FLOOR ACTIVITY of  INTEREST    

Resume consideration of  H.R.3326, Defense Appropriations.

 

There will be no roll call votes on Friday. 

THE HOUSE of  REPRESENTATIVES     

The House will convene at 10:00 a.m.



HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST       

Conference Report on H.R. 2918 - 2010 Legislative Branch Appropriations Bill and Continuing Resolution (Rep. Wasserman Schultz – Appropriations) (Subject to a Rule)

FUTURE  HOUSE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of  INTEREST



September 30, 2009  Full Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing:  Energy Efficiency at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon

October 1, 2009  Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health Hearing:  Legislative Hearing on H.R. 1017, H.R. 1036, H.R. 2504, H.R. 2559, H.R. 2735, H.R. 3073, H.R. 3441, and Draft Discussion on Homelessness and Graduate Psychology Education  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

October 7, 2009  Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Roundtable:  Implications of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ PTSD Rule-Making   1:00 p.m.; 334 Cannon

October 8, 2009  Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity Markup of Pending Legislation   1:00 p.m.; 334 Cannon

October 14, 2009  Full Veterans’ Affairs Committee Hearing:  Update on the State of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs  10:00 a.m.; 334 Cannon HOB

October 15, 2009  Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Health Hearing:    Identifying the Causes 

A wide-range of views, positions, and publications are represented in these articles. These views, positions and publications are not endorsed by nor do they necessarily represent the views of IAVA.

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