IAVA | October 30, 2020
IAVA Weekly SITREP
As the leading voice for the post-9/11 community, IAVA continues to create awareness on issues and topics impacting our community. Below are articles and news sources from the past week:
Friday, October 30
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
Inside Sources: Fixing the VA Made America Stronger During COVID-19
By VA Secretary Robert Wilkie
The record is clear: The historic transformation of the VA was timely not just for veterans, but for all Americans. The VA’s assistance during COVID-19 also connected the department to non-veterans like never before, and we are eager to build upon these connections as we work with companies, states, faith-based groups and others to end suicide in this country.
KPBS San Diego: Veterans Usually Vote Strongly Republican, But Polls Suggest That May Change This Year
By Jay Price
In a poll released this week, 52 percent of veterans said they would vote for President Trump, while 42 percent backed former Vice President Joe Biden. Others favored a third party candidate, or planned to not vote.
Atlanta Journal-Constitution: Patient shot himself to death inside Georgia veterans’ home
By Jeremy Redmon
A patient shot himself to death at the Georgia War Veterans Home in Milledgeville this year, two months before a patient died following a violent confrontation with another resident there, according to records obtained by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution.
Consumer Health Day: Burn Pit, Waste Exposure Linked to Anti-CCP Antibodies in RA
By Staff
For patients with rheumatoid arthritis (RA), military burn pit and military waste disposal exposures are associated with the presence of anti-cyclic citrullinated peptide (anti-CCP) antibodies, according to a study published online Oct. 15 in Arthritis & Rheumatology.
Military Times: Check-in calls to new veterans could become a permanent VA program
By Leo Shane III
A new Veterans Affairs program requiring phone calls to all recently separated service members to discuss potential benefits and support services could be made into a permanent mandate for the department under plans being supported by lawmakers in the House and Senate. The Veterans Affairs’ Solid Start program, launched last December, has drawn praise from lawmakers as critical outreach to the new veterans, among the most vulnerable groups for increased stress, mental health issues and suicidal thoughts.
Philadelphia Inquirer: Some see Trump as a ‘protector.’ Others have ‘had enough.’ Military voters in Pa. are deeply divided.
By Allison Steele
Strong military support helped elect Trump in 2016, and national polls show he remains the preferred candidate of the nation’s military households. But the same surveys show Trump has lost ground with both active-duty service members and veterans since taking office.
Thursday, October 29
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
Wall Street Journal: U.S. Investigating Veterans Nursing Homes in New Jersey for Possibly Understating Covid Deaths
By Christopher Weaver
The U.S. Department of Justice has opened a civil-rights investigation into New Jersey veterans homes’ handling of deadly coronavirus outbreaks earlier this year, according to a letter from the department to the state’s governor, Phil Murphy.
*Also reported in POLITICO
ConnectingVets.com: Senators, advocates warn VA isn’t following Trump executive order on veteran suicide prevention
By Abbie Bennett
Veteran advocates and Democrat lawmakers on Capitol Hill say they’re concerned the Department of Veterans Affairs isn’t following through with promises made by President Donald Trump in a 2018 executive order intended to help prevent veteran suicide.
Ripon Advance: Gardner proposes bill to authorize new Colorado Springs VA medical center
By Staff
U.S. Sen. Cory Gardner (R-CO) introduced legislation to authorize the construction of a major medical facility for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Colorado Springs, Colo.
Stars and Stripes: Report: Veterans Crisis Line ‘remarkably successful’ at handling increase in calls at start of pandemic
By Nikki Wentling
The coronavirus pandemic prompted an increase in calls to the national crisis hotline for veterans, but not enough to overwhelm call centers, an independent watchdog agency reported Wednesday.
Military.com: Veterans in the US Senate and the 2020 Election: What You Need to Know
By Hope Hodge Seck
Of the 100 U.S. Senate seats, 18 are now held by a military veteran. (One member of the 116th Congress, Georgia Republican and Air Force veteran Johnny Isakson, retired from the Senate in 2019.)
Wednesday, October 28
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
ConnectingVets.com: Veterans Affairs active COVID-19 cases up 77% from last month as virus spreads
By Abbie Bennett
Active cases of the coronavirus among Department of Veterans Affairs patients and staff have reached levels not seen since the spike in cases in July, rising 77% in the last 30 days.
Military.com: VA Says It Has Already Awarded More Than Half a Billion in ‘Blue Water Navy’ Claims
By Richard Sisk
Nearly half of the more than 69,000 claims for “Blue Water Navy” Agent Orange benefits have been processed, and about 71% of those have thus far been approved for more than $664 million in retroactive benefits, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced Monday.
Ripon Advance: McSally bill modernizes VA IT systems to improve processing of veterans’ benefits
By Staff
To help improve the delivery of benefits for United States military veterans who are students during the pandemic, U.S. Sen. Martha McSally (R-AZ) on Oct. 23 sponsored legislation to transfer federal pandemic-relief funds to the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA).
Military.com: Three More VA Employees Dead from COVID-19 as Cases Spike
By Patricia Kime
Three more Veterans Affairs employees have died of COVID-19 in the past few days, bringing the department’s staff death toll to 61, while cases of the virus among VA patients have risen nearly 75% in the past month.
Federal News Network: Veterans group teaming up with DHS to fight foreign election interference
By Eric White
A 2019 report by Vietnam Veterans of America documented numerous ways disinformation campaigns targeted military and veteran communities. VVA and DHS’ Cybersecurity and Infrastructure Security Agency now say they’re trying to head off that sort of thing in advance of next week’s election.
9to5Mac: Apple sets next Apple Watch Activity Challenge for Veterans Day on November 11
By Chance Miller
Apple has scheduled its next Apple Watch Activity Challenge for November 11 in honor of Veterans Day. In order to complete this challenge, you simply have to complete a workout that is 11 minutes or longer.
Boston Herald: Holyoke Soldiers’ Home staff detail lack of PPE, putting veterans into body bags during coronavirus outbreak
By Lisa Kashinsky
As the virus began its silent creep through the wards in March, staff and union representatives detailed inadequate personal protective equipment and a lack of “urgency” in preparing for what was to come.
Rolling Stone: Jon Stewart to Launch Current Affairs Series on Apple TV+
By Althea Legaspi
Since Stewart’s departure as host for Comedy Central’s The Daily Show in 2015, he has advocated for 9/11 survivors and first responders, including his support for the 9/11 Victim Compensation Fund. In September, he advocated for congressional aid for sick veterans exposed to military burn pits.
POLITICO: Feds launch investigation into New Jersey veterans homes, seek more info from New York
By Sam Sutton
The U.S. Department of Justice has launched a civil rights investigation into New Jersey’s state-run veterans homes, citing a lack of cooperation with an earlier probe as well as concerns over the quality of care at the facilities.
FOX San Diego: Owner of technical school sentenced for defrauding VA of nearly $30M
By Staff
Prosecutors say Nimesh Shah perpetrated the scheme in order to receive funds from the VA under the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, which requires the school to have at least 15% non-veteran students for each course in which the VA was paying educational benefits, a requirement known as the “85/15 rule.”
Tuesday, October 27
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
Stars & Stripes: Senate Democrats claim Trump’s 2018 veteran suicide prevention order was never implemented
By Nikki Wentling
Trump signed the order, titled “Supporting Our Veterans During Their Transition from Uniformed Service to Civilian Life,” on Jan. 9, 2018. At the time, White House officials said the order would allow exiting troops to be enrolled automatically in the VA for mental health care. Veterans who use VA services are less likely to succumb to suicide than other veterans, VA data shows.
Washington Post: Veterans have been targets of foreign manipulation. Now they’re fighting it before the election
By Alex Horton
A joint effort by the Department of Homeland Security and a leading veterans group seeks to combat foreign disinformation in the final days before the election, more than a year after a report issued to lawmakers concluded that veterans are economically efficient targets of such efforts.
*Also reported in ConnectingVets
Military.com: VA Falls Short on Providing Specific Health Care to LGBT Veterans, GAO Report Finds
By Arnab Mondal
The Department of Veteran Affairs can’t systematically analyze the health of LGBT veterans because it doesn’t consistently collect data on sexual orientation or self-identified gender identity, according to a recent report by the Government Accountability Office.
FierceHealthcare: First VA medical center (finally) goes live on Cerner EHR as part of $16B project
By Heather Landi
The Department of Veterans Affairs’ achieved a major milestone in its decadeslong, multibillion-dollar effort to upgrade its aging health IT systems. Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, went live with a new Cerner EHR system, the first site as part of VA’s massive medical records project.
Military Times: More than 5,000 VA patients are dealing with active cases of coronavirus
By Leo Shane III
Active coronavirus cases among Veterans Affairs patients topped 5,000 on Sunday, the first time the total has surpassed that mark since the department’s massive spike in cases in mid-summer.
By Catherine Herridge, Jessica Kegu
A CBS News investigation reveals new evidence in the cases of service members who believe their rare cancers and other illnesses stem from their time served on a remote base after 9/11. They say they were exposed to toxic materials at Karshi-Khanabad, or K2, a former Soviet base in Uzbekistan.
Reuters: Veterans answer call to staff U.S. voting stations amid COVID-19
By Elijah Nouvelage
A decade after Dan Berschinski deployed to Afghanistan to fight for freedom and lost his legs in battle, the former Army infantry officer is training for a key role in U.S. democracy: manning a voting station in place of elderly poll workers at risk of COVID-19.
Federal News Network: Two Black federal employees, two totally different experiences
By Tom Temin
“The documents show a consistent pattern of discrimination against African Americans applying for jobs within the VA,” Ellis said in a Federal Drive interview. Nationally, AFGE has reported on a FOIA-produced finding that Whites are twice as likely to be promoted at VA than Blacks. We asked VA for a response, but couldn’t get an interview on this topic.
Ripon Advance: Moran, Ernst introduce bipartisan bill authorizing joint U.S.-Israel PTSD research
By Staff
U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Joni Ernst (R-IA) on Oct. 21 introduced a bipartisan bill that would direct the U.S. Department of Defense (DOD) to carry out a grant program aimed at increasing research cooperation on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) between the United States and Israel.
Monday, October 26
IAVA NEWS COVERAGE
WIBW Kansas: President Trump signs Moran backed veteran mental health, suicide prevention law
By Sarah Motter
President Donald Trump has signed Senator Jerry Moran’s veterans mental health and suicide prevention bill into law. “Battling veteran and military suicide has been, and remains, a very personal priority for our organization, and we greatly appreciate the incredibly bipartisan response to this national crisis. Time and again, we are proud of the work that you do to rise above partisanship on behalf of our community” said Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America CEO Jeremy Butler.
VETERAN NEWS COVERAGE
New York Daily News: Feds to restore millions they took from sick FDNY 9/11 heroes
The Trump administration will finally pay back millions the federal government took from the FDNY’s 9/11 treatment program over the last four years. The Treasury Department will return $3.3 million that was docked from the program that cares for firefighters, paramedics and emergency medical technicians sickened by exposure to the toxic rubble of the Twin Towers.
Military.com: New Law Extends VA Mental Health Counseling to More Guard and Reserve Members
By Arnab Mondal
The Vet Center Eligibility Expansion Act extends Department of Veterans Affairs readjustment counseling and related mental health services to National Guard and Reserve troops who did not deploy to combat areas but instead participated in drug interdiction or fighting national disasters or emergencies.
Military Times: Understanding the economic impacts of COVID-19 on veterans and military families
By Nick Armstrong
Along with many Americans, COVID-19 has dealt a blow on veterans’ and their families’ health. But the economic impacts have hit our community hard and have garnered far less attention.
Post-9/11 veterans (7.5 percent) and younger veterans ages 25-to-34 (9.4 percent) are experiencing higher rates of unemployment. So too, the Black veteran unemployment rate sits at 7.8 percent, strikingly higher than that of white veterans (6.1 percent).
Federal News Network: VA marking milestone with initial EHR rollout, but long-term road ahead still unclear
By Nicole Ogrysko
After years of preparations and a few false starts, the Department of Veterans Affairs is expecting to achieve a major milestone in its decade-long, multi-billion-dollar effort to adopt a modern electronic health record. The department is set to roll out an initial set of EHR capabilities to its first site, the Mann-Grandstaff VA Medical Center in Spokane, Washington, on Saturday.
Military Times: Poll: Trump backed by majority of veterans, but not younger ones
By Leo Shane III
Altogether, about 52 percent of veterans surveyed said they plan to back Trump (or have already backed him, in early voting) in his re-election campaign this year. About 42 percent said they have voted or plan to vote for Biden instead, with the remainder split between third-party candidates and sitting out the election. The findings — which overall echo other public polls of veterans’ voting preferences — show a stark divide among different age, race and gender groups within the veterans community, even as most share broader views on national security and dissatisfaction with the country’s political environment.
The Herald-News: Underwood bill aiming to reduce veteran suicide signed into law
By Alex Ortiz
Underwood’s law directs the Government Accountability Office to assess the effectiveness of agreements the VA has entered with entities providing mental health and suicide prevention services. The law also calls for a statistical breakdown of entities which serve veterans who are women, people of color and seniors.
AG Insider: Why food insecurity is a huge problem among active-duty military and veterans
By Karina Piser
The Military Dependents School Meal Eligibility Act, unveiled by Reps. Susan Davis and Mike Levin, California Democrats, would authorize the Department of Defense to work with state agencies to certify children of active duty service members in school meal programs. Even before the pandemic, many military families and veterans struggled financially. And while advocates have welcomed the bill as a step in the right direction, they say their demands for structural changes to policies that exclude service members from government benefits have gone unanswered.
