When a disabled veteran gets well enough to rejoin the workforce, it’s a slap in the face to run into employment discrimination. The honorable men and women who have become disabled in the service of our country deserve our support in every way.
Often the best healing agent is to return to the workforce with a decent job at a living wage.
That’s why United Spinal Association, with help from Vietnam Veterans of America, took the lead in pointing out to veterans and military groups how important it is to support the ADA Restoration Act – to restore the employment protections of the Americans with Disabilties Act.
The result – 22 veterans and military organizations have signed letters to Congress supporting a bill that protects people with disabilities from discrimination on the job.
VetsFirst United Spinal Association
Disabled American Vets
Jewish War Veterans
Veterans of Modern Warfare
Veterans of Foreign Wars
Blinded Veterans of America
Federation of Govt. Employees
National Assoc for Uniformed Services
Reserve Enlisted Association
Naval Reserve Association
Non-Commissioned Officers Association
Vietnam Veterans of America
Paralyzed Veterans of America
AMVETS
Military Order of the Purple Heart
Military Officers Association of America
National Association for Black Veterans Amer.
Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans of America
American GI Forum of the U.S.
Air Force Sergeants Association
Enlisted Association of the National
Take Action Now! A vote in the House is expected in April. Then it will go to the Senate. Tell your Senators and Representative to support the ADA Restoration Act. Click here to take action now.
What is the problem with employment of veterans and others with disabilities? The problem is that many employers have not hired, not promoted or fired a person because of a disability – whether or not the person is a veteran. Then the employer gets away with it by successfully arguing in court that the person does not have a disability under the Americans with Disabilities Act.This means that the courts have set up a bizarre Catch-22 whereby an employer can say that a person is “too disabled” to do the job, but “not disabled enough” to be protected by the Americans with Disabilities Act. This is not what Congress intended when it passed the ADA in 1990. Congress expected to prohibit discrimination on the basis of disability.This is also not fair to veterans and others with disabilities who are able to work.The ADA Restoration Act will fix this problem for veterans and others with disabilities.
They were there when our country needed them. Now we need to be there for them.
It seems ironic that at a time when large numbers of men and women in the armed forces are returning from the global war on terrorism with severe service-related disabilities, the Veterans Administration (VA) faces overwhelming challenges to provide Veterans with appropriate health care.Veterans will be faced with inadequate medical and psychiatric care, as well as physical and vocational rehabilitation. It is simply a matter of inadequate funding for the VA compounded by the increasing demands of veterans in need of VA health care.It is up to all of us to make sure that our veterans do not have to fight for healthcare or benefits when they return home. It is time to develop a VA budget process that guarantees mandatory funding that will meet the needs of all veterans, always.Tell Congress to act now! Use our form to send a personalized email to your legislators. Click to Take Action
Every one can be an advocate. We understand how busy you are and how difficult it can sometimes be to actively participate in all the advocacy campaigns that interest you. But remember: There’s more than one way to be an Advocate. Donate Today.
“(IPS/GIN) - Two veterans groups sued the Department of Veterans Affairs Monday for alleged “shameful failures” to help veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan who suffer from post-traumatic stress disorder.
The lawsuit, which was filed by Veterans for Common Sense and Veterans United for Truth, seeks to be a nationwide class-action suit on behalf of an estimated 320,000 to 800,000 post-9/11 vets with post-traumatic stress disorder, which is commonly known as PTSD. The groups sued the department in federal court in San Francisco.
The VA’s motto, which was taken from Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg Address, is “to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and his orphan.”
Melissa Kasnitz, an attorney with Disability Rights Advocates, said that “instead of living up to this motto, the VA is abandoning disabled veterans and following a path that will lead to broken lives, homelessness and staggering social costs.” Kasnitz’s group is one of the organizations that prepared the lawsuit.”
Senators Carl Levin (Mich.) and John McCain (AZ) will offer floor amendment to the Senate version of the Defense Authorization bill (H.R. 1585) that would establish a Department of Defense (DoD) and Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Inter-agency to create a joint disability rating system, and a joint electronic health record to help create a seamless transition for our wounded warriors.The amendment would also authorize additional funding for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD) and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI).
FRA believes that some OEF/OIE combat-injured service members are being discharged or medically retired and transferred to VA without adequate consideration of family needs for adjustment counseling and seamless follow-up services.
The VA has problems accessing service members’ real-time medical data to provide them a seamless transition from the Military Health System to the VA’s health system. Delays in sharing medical data can be critical to full recovery because that postpones the start of injured service member’s rehabilitation. There is an urgent need to create a continuous clinical record of transfers and case management for all seriously injured patients as they progress through both the DoD and VA systems of care.
Please contact your Senators IMMEDIATELY! Ask them to vote for this amendment.
For those of you planning to fly Old Glory this fourth, there is a great pamphlet on Displaying Our Flag. Just take the 10 question quiz below and you can pick up a copy at the finish.
The pamphlet also makes a super hand out for clubs, groups, troops, and schools. You can produce as many copies as you like for educational purposes. The pamphlet is courtesy of United Spinal Association.
Support Our Veterans & Troops. When we view the flag, we think of liberty, freedom, and pride. These things that make America great have come at a price. Our veterans and service men and women have paid that price for all of us.
You can support our veterans and troops by signing up for VetsFirst action and campaign alerts. VetsFirst will notify you of actions that you can take that will support our veterans and troops. Sign up today!
Legislation restores access to VA services for 242,000 veterans who had been carved out of the system four years ago.
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA) helped pass legislation that makes all veterans eligible for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) healthcare through the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. The legislation, S.1233 - The Veterans’ Traumatic Brain Injury and Other Health Programs Improvement Act, includes a Murray-sponsored provision that restores care to Priority 8 veterans - whose VA health care eligibility was cut off four years ago by the Bush administration. Priority 8 veterans are those veterans with non-service-connected disabilities whose income is above a modest level that varies across the country.
“This bill restores the promise we make to all veterans when they sign up to serve,” said Senator Murray. “It says that regardless of how much money you make or when your health declined, you will be entitled to VA medical care.”
Charles W. Lindberg, the last survivor of the six Marines who raised the first American flag over Iwo Jima during World War II, has died. He was 86.
Lindberg spent decades explaining that it was his patrol, not the one captured in the famous photograph by Joe Rosenthal, that raised the first flag over the island.
In the late morning of Feb. 23, 1945, Lindberg fired his flame-thrower into enemy pillboxes at the base of Mount Suribachi and then joined five other Marines fighting their way to the top. He was awarded the Silver Star for bravery.
Larry Scott at VA Watchdog.com discusses reforming VA’s funding process to a real time process that is based on existing needs.
“While veterans’ lives hang in the balance, Congress disregards the root cause of the VA’s funding difficulties. The old budget process must be replaced by a real-time, mandatory funding mechanism based on actual need.
When a problem confronts a for-profit business, executives often urge each other to think “outside the box” the find solutions. This form of problem solving seeks new solutions not already contained inside “the box” of a corporate structure.
When it comes to properly funding the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA), it’s not only time to think “outside the box,” it’s time to throw away “the box” and develop a budget process that guarantees mandatory funding that will meet the needs of all veterans.”
“Severe brain trauma can trigger epilepsy in as many as 30 percent to 50 percent of the brain-injured soldiers”
The post further suggets that many of these vets are being honorably separated from the military with a pre-existing personality disorder discharge, and that this type of discharge, Regulation 635-200, Chapter 5-13: Separation Because of Personality Disorder, would result in loss of any future VA health care.
WASHINGTON - Responding to shabby treatment of wounded soldiers at Walter Reed Army Medical Center, a group of senators moved on Wednesday to boost disability pay to those hurt in combat and improve care for brain injury.
The 93-page measure, introduced by 30 senators from both parties, also would expand medical care and counseling to family members and require better cooperation to end red tape for disabled service members moving from Pentagon to Veterans Affairs care.
