Tag: Shinseki

When President Barack Obama announced the resignation of Secretary Eric K. Shinseki for reported illegal activity throughout the disgraced VA bureaucracy, he proclaimed the retired General was “offended that bad news didn’t get to him fast enough.”

VA Secretary Shinseki resigned just after noon on Friday, May 30. VetLikeMe is providing below the Executive Summary of the IG Report (Review of Wait Times, Scheduling Practices, and Alleged Patient Deaths at the Phoenix Health Care System) to keep readers abreast of recent developments.

When the American Flag is displayed upside down, it is an internationally recognized symbol of distress notifying the public that “life and property are in extreme danger.”

What will it take for the Commander-in-Chief and President of the United States to exercise his entrusted responsibility on behalf of America's Military Veterans and fire VA Secretary Eric Shinseki for his failed leadership and incompetence?

Eric K. Shinseki continues to deceive not only our Nation’s Veterans, but “We the People” of the United States by saying he is serious about resolving the never-ending crime, corruption, incompetence and cover up by his out-of-control Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

On Christmas Day, 1878, the New York State Soldiers and Sailors Home in Bath, New York, opened its doors for the first time, serving Christmas dinner to Veterans of the Civil War.

The blessings of freedom and justice, opportunity and prosperity, so dear to all Americans, were not gained without sacrifice, nor preserved without purpose.

A petition signed by a reported 26,000 veterans and sent to the White House on Tuesday calls for President Obama to fire Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, saying a change of leadership is needed to eliminate the lengthy backlog of veterans awaiting action on their disability claims.

By Olivier Knox   President Barack Obama is "deadly serious" about wiping out the massive backlog in veterans' disability benefits claims by 2015, White House...

Here is the prepared opening statement by Chairman Bernie Sanders at a Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing today into the claims backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs...

Before anyone gets their panties in a bunch, read 38 USC § 511, here it is; “ (a) the Secretary shall decide all questions of law and fact necessary to a decision by the Secretary under a law that affects the provision of benefits by the Secretary to veterans or the dependents or survivors of veterans.

Ways to help separating service members and veterans prepare for and launch civilian careers topped the agenda during Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta’s visit yesterday with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki, Pentagon spokesman Navy Capt. John Kirby reported.

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Shinseki has informed his private staff he plans to resign his post and run for the Senate seat to be vacated by Daniel Akaka, Democrat of Hawaii. Shinseki is considered a "shoo in" with no strong opposition in place.

WASHINGTON – Officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) have reached final agreement on a new national collective bargaining agreement, their first since 1997. This contract will enhance VA’s partnership with the union, change the rules for teleworking and expand the use of e-mail in labor-management relations.

While helping to distribute goods and services on Saturday, Secretary and Mrs. Shinseki greeted and met area homeless Veterans at the Washington, DC VA...

Blue Buttons and Mushrooms By Bruce Burgess STAFF WRITER   The VA is telling me that I have another new resource available to me.  This new...

Report By Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Task Force Nearly Complete. The lead item in George W. Reilly's "Veterans Journal" column for the Providence (RI) Journal (3/8) notes, "Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki announced on Feb. 27 that the department's Gulf War Veterans' Illnesses Task Force has nearly completed a comprehensive report that will redefine how VA addresses the needs of ill veterans who deployed during the Gulf War in 1990 and 1991." Reilly adds, "Task Force chairman John Gingrich, VA's chief of staff and a retired Army officer who served during the Gulf War, said, 'Reaching out to Gulf War veterans is not only essential to our transformation of VA, for many of us it is also personal.'"

"We polled many Whispers associates and sources, and they were quick to size up the top five Obama cabinet members." Fifth on the list, according to Bedard, "is Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, who has turned an agency that is at the bottom of lists in past administrations into an example of how to bring federal services to the troops, injured veterans, and even homeless vets. He's showing that the VA has a heart."

Shinseki, Akaka Agree On Need To Reform VA Disability Claims System. In continuing coverage, the AP (3/2) reports Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and US Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-HI) "have agreed that reforming the VA disability claims system must be a top priority." On Friday, Akaka "said...in a Washington news release that he's encouraged by the administration's commitment to add thousands of staff to process veterans' disability claims."

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki speak about his goals to improve the quality of life for veterans at the El Paso VA Health Care System facility." During his visit, Shinseki, who "was hosted" by US Reps. Silvestre Reyes, Ciro Rodriguez, and Harry Teague, "toured the VA facility and the Fort Bliss National Cemetery, and he participated in a veterans roundtable before addressing the public on the purpose of his visit. In his speech, he addressed three specific goals targeting programs affecting the nation's veterans: reducing the growing backlog of claims, improving the quality of VA healthcare facilities and reducing homelessness among all veterans."

Find out What's Inside Today's Local News for Veterans VA Announces Expansion Of IT Program Management, Accountability System. Shinseki Among Those Asked To Choose...

VA Education Call Center Again Operating Five Days a Week - The Department of Veterans Affairs today announced that the Education Call Center, closed on Thursdays and Fridays over the past two months, is again operating five days a week. (2/23/10)

The AP (2/22, Hefling) notes that during a recent interview, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki "said he's making it a top priority this year to tackle the backlog of disability claims that has veterans waiting months - even years - to get financial compensation for their injuries." Shinseki, "a former Army chief of staff who had part of a foot blown off when he was a young officer in Vietnam, was unapologetic about a decision he made in October to make it easier for potentially 200,000 sick Vietnam veterans who were exposed to the Agent Orange herbicide to receive service-connected compensation." Shinseki "said he's looking ahead to make sure Iraq and Afghanistan veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injuries don't have similar problems getting financial compensation."

Top 10 Veterans news from around the country features the top stories on Veterns Benefits,Health, Education and other issues in summary form from the Veterans Administration.