Many gave up good jobs to serve this nation, and now they are being discriminated against when they try to re-enter the work force, because they have a disability.

A number of recent court cases have enabled employers to say that a person is too disabled to do the job, but not disabled enough to be protected by the federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). Disabled veterans and other Americans with disabilities are caught in this ridiculous “Catch-22” bind.

VetsFirst, a program of United Spinal Association, believes that every disabled veteran has the right to work.

You can help too, by taking decisive action now. Twenty-one veterans and military groups, and more than 100 disability organizations are in full support of the passage of the ADA Restoration Act. In the coming weeks, we anticipate that the House of Representatives will vote on the ADA Restoration Act, after which the bill will go to the Senate.

Click here to read more, and to quickly send email messages in support of the ADA Restoration Act to your Congressional Representative and Senators – http://www.unitedspinal.org/publications/vetsfirst/disabled-veterans-should-have-the-right-to-work-2/.

Created by United Spinal Association, a non-profit organization that has been fighting for veterans rights for over 60 years, this publication advises that career active duty personnel should start planning 24 months in advance of their retirement and other members of the military should begin planning 12 months before their separation from service, because leaving the military is a complicated process.

Transition Assistance Programs are ongoing in each branch of the military, and these programs offer pre-separation counseling, employment workshops, veterans’ benefits briefings, and a Disabled Transition Assistance Program for disabled veterans. Persons retired or separated from the military are eligible for transition assistance for up to 180 days after leaving active duty.

United Spinal’s “Military Separation Guide” emphasizes the importance of the retiree and veteran having all of their military records in their possession, and of insuring that such records are correct, before they leave active duty status. The “Military Separation Guide” also provides detailed information concerning relocation assistance and Department of Veterans Affairs disability compensation, education and training benefits.

Other important issues in this publication for individuals leaving active duty military service include: health insurance for the retiree/veteran and family members/survivors; life insurance; mortgage protection life insurance for certain veterans with severe service-connected disabilities; VA/FHA home loans; business loans; rural loans; VA health care eligibility and services; VA compensation and pension; local Vet Centers; state veterans benefits; and, VA vocational rehabilitation and education for certain service-connected disabled veterans.

United Spinal Association reminds Americans in these circumstances that they must file an income tax return this year to receive their economic stimulus payment.

Under the Economic Stimulus Act, people may be eligible for the minimum payment of $300 ($600 for married couples) even if they have not filed a tax return in many, many years.

To receive this minimum economic stimulus payment from the government, people must have at least $3,000 in any combination of benefits payments or income from:
• Retirement, disability, or survivors’ benefits from the Social Security Administration
• Disability compensation, disability pension, or survivors’ benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs
• Tier 1 benefits from Railroad Retirement
• Certain combat pay and earned income from wages, salaries, tips or net earnings from self-employment that are included in taxable income.

Some 20.5 million Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits recipients who did not file a 2006 income tax return should receive in the mail a 1040A-3 package with a simplified form to complete and return to receive their economic stimulus payment.

Paul J. Tobin, President of United Spinal Association, noted that “many Americans with long-term disabilities may not be aware that they can qualify simply for this payment, but only if they file a tax return; all we are trying to do is to bring this message to a traditionally underserved segment of our society.”

United Spinal Association is the host organization for this important event.

Under the Economic Stimulus Act, people may be eligible for the minimum payment of $300 ($600 for married couples) even if they have not filed a tax return for many, many years. But, to receive the minimum payment, you must file a tax return this year.

To receive this minimum economic stimulus payment from the government, people must have at least $3,000 in any combination of benefits payments or income from:
• Retirement, disability, or survivors’ benefits from the Social Security Administration
• Disability compensation, disability pension, or survivors’ benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs
• Tier 1 benefits from Railroad Retirement
• Certain combat pay and earned income from wages, salaries, tips or net earnings from self-employment that are included in taxable income.

Some 20.5 million Social Security and Veterans Affairs benefits recipients who did not file a 2006 income tax return should receive in the mail a 1040A-3 package with a simplified form to complete and return to receive their economic stimulus payment.
Paul J. Tobin, President of United Spinal Association, noted that “many Americans with long-term disabilities may not be aware that they can qualify simply for this payment, but only if they file a tax return; all we are trying to do is to bring this message to a traditionally underserved segment of our society.”

To make matters worse, the squabbling has delayed critical legislation to help returning veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

July 1941, President Roosevelt ordered the Commonwealth Army of the Philippines into military service under the U.S. Armed Forces in the Pacific theater. At the time, the Philippines were transitioning from a U.S. possession to independence. Hundreds of Filipino soldiers, scouts, and guerillas were killed and wounded in battle.

Originally, Filipino troops serving under U.S. command were afforded pay and veterans’ benefits. In 1946, however, Congress passed the Rescission Act which stripped Filipino veterans of any “rights, privileges, or benefits” under U.S. law. For more than 60 years, Filipino World War II service members have sought recognition as veterans who fought for the U.S. Many are living with physical and psychological disabilities as a direct result of their service. There are approximately 60,000 World War II-era Filipino veterans living in the U.S. and the Philippines. Their numbers are dwindling so rapidly due to age and illness that only 20,000 are expected to be living by 2010.

In his letter to congressional leaders, United Spinal Association President and CEO Paul J. Tobin urged the swift passage of H.R. 760 and S. 57, the Filipino Veterans Equity Act of 2007, and S. 1315, the Veterans Benefits and Emoluments Act of 2007. The new laws would grant full recognition of the sacrifices that Filipino veterans made in the service of the U.S. during World War II by entitling them to VA health care, disability compensation, pensions, survivors’ benefits, and full burial benefits.

Expressing disappointment over the seemingly partisan opposition to the equity legislation, Tobin wrote that there is a “legal and moral compact between this nation and our defenders.” He called on Congress to do what is right. “We hope that all members of Congress are capable of rallying behind this just cause, and that they will refrain from holding our latest generation of veterans hostage by delaying important veterans benefits legislation in an attempt to block passage of legislation to assist Filipino veterans and their families,” Tobin concluded.

A Veterans’ Self-Help Guide informs veterans of all eras, including those who have recently been discharged from the military, about how to establish that a current disability or condition is related to military service, or existed prior to military service and was aggravated by such service.

To succeed in a claim for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability compensation for a disability or condition, there must be a medical diagnosis of a current disability; medical, or sometimes non-medical, evidence that the disability had its onset during active military service; and, medical evidence of a linkage between active military service and the current disability.

A Veterans’ Self-Help Guide also provides information about VA pensions for veterans whose disabilities are not related to military service, and the circumstances under which such pensions might be available. Other important VA programs covered in the Guide include benefits for dependents and survivors of veterans; the VA health care system; appeals of claims for VA compensation and pension; and, getting help from VA-authorized veterans service organizations like United Spinal Association.

Of particular note is that National Guard members and reservists who have served on active duty in a theater of combat operations have special eligibility for VA health care, including inpatient, outpatient, and nursing home care, for five years following their separation from active service.

While this publication contains some information particular to VA benefits for United Spinal veteran members with spinal cord injuries and diseases like multiple sclerosis and ALS, much of its content is applicable to any veteran of U.S. military service.

“It is impossible to read these two articles without reaching the simple conclusion that the federal government is not doing enough to care for returning Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with multiple injuries. This situation borders on a national disgrace,” said Paul J. Tobin, President and CEO of United Spinal Association.

At learn that polytraumic injuries are usually received from improvised explosive devices or rocket-propelled grenades, and they include traumatic brain injuries (TBI), spinal cord injuries, loss of limbs, burns, fractures, blindness, hearing loss, and cognitive disorders. TBI is the most common component to polytraumic injuries and recent studies show that for every death that occurs in Iraq or Afghanistan, there is about a 10-fold to 20-fold higher number of U.S. service members returning with at least moderate to severe TBI. Yet, the VA operates just four (4) specialized polytrauma rehabilitation centers, and 17 other polytrauma sites that offer only outpatient and long-term follow-up care. The situation is probably worse for members of the National Guard and Army Reserve who often forego medical exams to return to their families and civilian jobs.

discover the most important conclusions of this recently-issued study. Its most sweeping recommendation is that VA disability compensation payments should be increased immediately by up to 25%. Further, the Commission determined that the VA’s disability “rating schedule” is antiquated and vulnerable to great subjectivity by its employees who determine the severity of the disability on a scale of 0% to 100%. This rating schedule was formulated during World War II and it has changed very little since that time. “Unless the VA moves quickly to fix its broken disability rating system to reflect the nature of the wounds experienced by our Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, these brave men and women will not be compensated appropriately for the injuries that they received in service to their country,” Tobin added.

In April 2007, VA Undersecretary for Health, Michael Kussman, testified before Congress that 95 percent of veterans are provided with a medical appointment within 30 days of their request to see a VA doctor. VA Secretary James Nicholson’s 2006 annual report boasts a similar claim. However, in a report released earlier this week, the VA Inspector General’s (IG) Office determined that, on average, only 75 percent of veterans who require primary or specialty outpatient care receive their medical appointments within 30 days. The report concluded that the delayed waiting periods are in direct violation of the VA’s stated policy of providing medical appointments to all veteran patients within 30 days of their request for one.

“Even more deplorable is that the IG’s report found that of the veterans waiting for more than 30 days for an appointment, 27 percent of them had serious underlying service-connected medical and psychiatric conditions,” stated Tobin. “With approximately five million veterans seeking VA health care each year, the amount of delayed treatment becomes staggering. The solution to this crisis is not dependent on funding alone. The VA must critically examine the management and operation of its health care delivery system and immediately correct the deficiencies. There is little difference between the VA’s problems in this regard and the Defense Department’s problems at facilities like Walter Reed Army Medical Center,” Tobin remarked.
Despite the IG’s findings, the VA continues to say that things are not so bad. Undersecretary Kussman has challenged the validity of the report by criticizing the IG’s methodology and citing patient satisfaction surveys. United Spinal Association believes that Congress and the American people must not accept this injustice to veterans and we demand that the VA meet the needs of those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom.

United Spinal Association is a national 501(c)(3) nonprofit membership organization formed in 1946 to provide expertise, create access to resources and strengthen hope, thereby enabling people with spinal cord injuries and disorders (SCI/D) to fulfill their potential as active members of their communities. United Spinal advocated for and drafted significant portions of landmark federal legislation including the Americans with Disabilities Act and the Fair Housing Amendments Act, and we continue to provide critical health care and benefits counseling to military veterans from all wars with spinal cord injuries through our Vets First program. Membership is free and open to individuals with disabilities of the spinal cord of all ages. For more information, please visit www.unitedspinal.org or call 800-404-2898.