Tag: Veterans Administration

If this bill is approved does anyone think the VA will be flooded with new sexual assault claims?:

The Department of Veterans Affairs is opposing a new bill that would expand access to disability benefits for survivors of military sexual trauma.

Department officials characterized the legislation at a congressional hearing Thursday as too broad, saying it would require the VA to approve claims based on a veteran’s word alone without any corroborating evidence.

But after a recent inspector general report found the VA may have wrongly refused benefits to thousands of military sexual assault victims in recent years, supporters of the Servicemembers and Veterans Empowerment and Support Act of 2019 say changes are necessary to keep the department from retraumatizing victims who deserve to be compensated for what they went through — even if there’s no paper trail.

“It is just unthinkable that in this day, we ask people to serve in the military, they have these horrendous experiences … but then people present themselves for claims — and many of them going back an incredibly long period of time — and then hit these brick walls,” said Rep. Chellie Pingree, D-Maine, who introduced the legislation.

Among other things, the bill would lessen the burden of proof for military sexual assault survivors applying for disability benefits, requiring the VA to resolve every reasonable doubt in favor of the veteran, as is already standard VA practice for claims of combat-related PTSD.

Army Times

You can read more at the link, but how come the burden of proof is not lowered for other claims to the VA such as for muscular-skeletal injuries or even agent orange exposure?

Stories like this make me wonder how much more fraud is going on in regards to VA disability payments?:

An Army deserter from Morganton is accused of receiving tens of thousands of dollars in veteran benefits by faking war wounds and military honors.

Roy Lee Ross Jr., 64, faces up to 35 years in prison on charges of executing a scheme to defraud the Veterans Administration, making false statements in connection with the delivery of VA health care benefits, stealing from the VA and making a false claim for travel benefits from the VA.

According to a federal indictment released on Friday, Ross enlisted in the Army in 1973 and was stationed stateside and in West Germany.

But he never served in Vietnam or Korea, was not in the Special Forces and never was wounded as he claimed, according to the indictment.  [Charlotte Observer]

You can read more at the link, but this guy did not make just one claim with the VA, but went back three times for additional claims and was able to get his monthly disability check increased to $2,906 per month and then even after getting this money he went and filed for travel reimbursement.