Blog post

IAVA Daily Brief 08.19.09
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on August 19

Here are some of today's top stories and happenings at IAVA.  Prefer to receive real-time updates about major stories and legislation that IAVA is tracking?  Follow us on Twitter @iavapressroom.

MUST READS

1) VA Secretary Addresses National VFW Convention

On Tuesday, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki made his first speech before the Veterans of Foreign Wars' annual national convention, addressing a range of veterans' issues from the VA claims process, health care access and implementation of the Post-9/11 GI Bill.  During his remarks, Shinseki indicated that the total number of claims in VA inventory today is around 400,000, and backlogged claims that have been in the system for longer than 125 days total roughly 145,000 cases.  "In July, we closed out 85,000 claims and received another 89,000 new ones, he said.  "Regardless of how we parse the numbers, there is a backlog, it is too big, and Veterans are waiting too long for their checks."  Shinseki also reiterated that VA officials are increasingly concerned with improving VA health care access for rural veterans as well as addressing the plight of homeless Veterans.  He pledged to reduce the number of homeless veterans in the next five years through 500 new community partnerships, 20,000 HUD-VASH vouchers and $500 million in new government funding.  On Wednesday, Shinseki is expected to participate in a round table with IAVA Member Veterans and other VSOs at Portland State University Oregon.  Follow IAVA on Twitter @iavapressroom for updates on the panel.

2) Obama Targets Backlog Of Veterans' Claims, Shake Up Rumors Hit VBA

The Washington Post reported Tuesday that the Obama administration is calling on federal employees to submit ideas on improving government services, in particular the time and effort it takes to process veterans' disability benefits.  Currently, Veterans Service Organizations estimate that the claims backlog is approaching 1 million, though the Department of Veterans Affairs officials dispute that figure.  Briefly outlined by President Obama at the VFW convention on Monday, the initiative essentially asks the nearly 19,000 rank-and-file employees with VA's Veterans Benefits Administration to suggest, through a Web-based computer program, how to reduce the department's backlog.  Per the Post, top department officials will work with Chief Information Officer Vivek Kundra, Chief Performance Officer Jeffrey Zients and Chief Technology Officer Aneesh P. Chopra to pick the best suggestions and implement them by year's end.  The announcement comes as DC insiders speculate Patrick W. Dunne, Under Secretary for Benefits, and Mike Walcoff, Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits, might be removed from their posts at the VBA in September.

3) Opinion: The importance of social media in the Army

Fort Benning Public Affairs Officers Cpt. Charles Barrett took the Army's official blog on Tuesday to underscore the U.S. Army's embrace of social networking sites despite recent formalization of a block by the U.S. Marine Corps.  In his post, Barrett underscored that the primary benefit of social media sites for his unit - the 3rd HBCT, 3rd ID at Fort Benning- is that they allow for feedback and two-way communication between the command and the internal audience.  "The command is still putting out information to their internal audience as they have been; only the medium has changed," he writes.  "This new medium allows for the audience to more readily respond.  If the command fails to take those responses into account then they're not really taking advantage of social media."  Barrett also noted that despite increasing use and management of social media sites by his colleagues at Fort Benning, training offered at the Defense Information School in Fort Meade, Md., does not address platform use.  In addition, he refuted concerns about  operational security risks arguing "security begins at the source" and that "it should be the duty of all Soldiers to recognize the benefits of social media and then protect that resource, just as Soldiers would protect other valuable equipment and military systems."  Click here to read his full blog post.

AFGHANISTAN

A day before Afghans head to the polls in their country's second presidential election, the Afghan Foreign Affairs Ministry issued a statement Tuesday asking all domestic and international news agencies to refrain from reporting any violent attacks between 6 a.m. and 8 p.m. on election day.  According to the Ministryt, Afghan's National Security Council made the decision on Tuesday "in view of the need to ensure the wide participation of the Afghan people in upcoming presidential and provincial council elections, and prevent any election-related terrorist violence." The directive came as Taliban insurgents shelled and bombed the Afghan capital in separate assaults Tuesday that hit the presidential palace and killed eight people in an attack on a NATO convoy.  On Wednesday, violence also claimed the lives of six election workers across the country.

At the polls, Afghans will have an opportunity to choose from 41 different presidential candidates including two women, a 62-year-old mullah, a caretaker and a fortuneteller.  Election watchers underscore the majority will not garner even 1 percent of the vote; however, they note interest in running has grown significantly from the first election when only 18 candidates registered to campaign.  Click here to learn more about the top four presidential candidates Hamid Karzai, Abdullah Abdullah, Ashraf Ghani, and Ramazan Bashardost.

If you missed it earlier this week, The New York Times also commissioned updates from four Afghans concerning the mood of voters in their local communities ahead of Thursday's election.  Click here to read their responses which also address whether the Taliban will "win" despite the election.

IRAQ

In the deadliest incident since U.S. troops pulled back from Iraqi cities on June 30th, a series of coordinated car bombings swept through Baghdad on Wednesday killing at least 75 people and wounding more than 300.  According to officials, the bombings struck within three minutes of each other around 11 a.m., with two truck bombs hitting the Foreign and Finance Ministries. The blasts were so intense that parts of a main highway near the Finance Ministry collapsed.

Separately, Iraqi police said Tuesday they seized a launcher loaded with 13 Iranian-made rockets following an attack late Monday against the U.S. base outside the southern city of Basra.  Col. Karim al-Zaidi said the missiles were found Tuesday in an eastern section of the mainly Shiite city.

Meanwhile, senior U.S. officials announced Tuesday that the Obama Administration and the Syrian government have tentatively agreed to establish a tripartite committee, with Baghdad, to better monitor the Syrian-Iraqi border as the Pentagon draws down American troops from Iraq in coming months.

MILITARY AFFAIRS

In an effort to improve the safety of military vehicles, the Department of Defense broke ground Tuesday on the Ground System Power and Energy Laboratory in Warren, north of Detroit.  The Lab will be part of the U.S. Army's Tank and Automotive Research, Development and Engineering Center and will focus on developing "safer, more efficient and more advanced ground vehicles" for the U.S. military as well as hybrid-electric and fuel cell power systems.

Separately, Juan Rivera, a South Florida Army veteran, filed a notice Tuesday to sue the federal government after he contracted HIV during an endoscopic colonoscopy at a Miami Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.  Rivera, 55, claims he contracted HIV during the procedure on or about May 19, 2008.  He served in the Army from 1979 to 1989 and, according to to his attorney, will seek $20 million in damages from the government.

In odd news of the day, the U.S. Navy has reportedly discovered how to make jet fuel from seawater.

INSIDE WASHINGTON

With Congress in recess until September, Arizona Senator and former presidential candidate John McCain (R-AZ) traveled to Afghanistan on Tuesday where he called for doubling the number of Marines in the country's southern province.  Joining other members of a visiting congressional delegation, McCain also said that Afghanistan's elections this week were a milestone event, but that the U.S. would not back one candidate over another.  "There are three Marine battalions now in Helmand. I think it's very clear that if they had six Marine battalions, there they would enjoy significantly more success," McCain said, adding that additional Afghan troops were needed, too.

CONGRESSIONAL SCHEDULE

THE SENATE

The Senate is on recess until September 8^th.

FUTURE COMMITTEE HEARINGS of INTEREST

August 28, 2009 - SVAC will conduct a field hearing on the state of VA's services on Maui, to include an OIG report of the same.  10:00 a.m.; Maui Cultural Center (Vasquez)

THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

The House is on recess until September 8^th.

IAVA IN THE NEWS

Outlet: CNN

Title: Psychological Wounds of War

Date: Tuesday, August 18th

Representative: Tom Tarantino

Outlet: Huffington Post

Title: Veterans: New Addition to Health Care Debate

Date: Tuesday, August 18th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

Outlet: Military.com

Title: Veterans: New Addition to Health Care Debate

Date: Tuesday, August 18th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff

Outlet: TPM Cafe

Title: Veterans: New Addition to Health Care Debate

Date: Tuesday, August 18th

Representative: Paul Rieckhoff