VA warns of surprise budget gap, insists no delays in care

The Department of Veterans Affairs warned Wednesday it was unexpectedly running out of money for a program that offers veterans private-sector health care, forcing it to hold back on some services that lawmakers worry could cause delays in medical treatment. It is making an urgent request to Congress to allow it to shift money from other programs to fill the sudden budget gap.

US House passes bill to make it easier to fire VA workers, protect whistle blowers

On Tuesday, U.S. Representative Richard Hudson , the representative of Fort Bragg and author of bipartisan legislation to allow service connected veterans to choose care from private providers in their local communities, released the following statement after the House passed S. 1094, legislation to make it easier to fire Veterans Affairs employees for poor performance or misconduct and to establish whistle blower protections: "I recognize there are many good, hard-working people at our local VA hospitals many of them are veterans themselves. It's the unaccountable bureaucracy that hurts veterans and makes it impossible for them to get the timely care and benefits they deserve.

US House panel to debate US$115 million for Guantanamo Bay facilities

WASHINGTON: A U.S. House of Representatives spending panel will vote on Monday on a US$192.5 billion budget bill that includes US$115 million to build permanent housing facilities for U.S. military personnel at the Guantanamo Bay detention centre even as the inmate population has fallen sharply. The House Appropriations Committee said in a statement on Sunday that the 2018 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs spending bill included funding to build two new barracks to house service members stationed at Guantanamo Bay.

An award-winning journalist says people who claim Trump isn’t their president hurt US troops

Director Sebastian Junger at the Los Angeles premiere of HBO Documentary Films' "Which Way Is the Frontline From Here: The Life and Time of Tim Hetherington," on April, 4, 2013. Sebastian Junger has a message for lawmakers: the partisan warring of politicians in Washington DC is hurting the American military more than they realize.

Trump says budget can balance witha

President Trump is proposing major cuts to health care, food assistance and other safety-net programs for the poor to balance the budget in 10 years while increasing spending for the military and other priorities. But even if Congress goes along with the budget the president will send to Capitol Hill on Tuesday - which is unlikely - it requires rosy economic assumptions to work.

Senators introduce VA accountability bill after 2-month stall

Nearly two months after the House passed legislation that would allow Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin to fire bad workers more quickly, the Senate on Thursday introduced its own version of the bill - one with bipartisan support. The bill, a deal between Senate Republicans and Democrats, signals the most likely opportunity that Congress has to pass VA accountability legislation following the 2014 scandal when veterans were found to be waiting long periods for health care.

VA aims to end veteran homelessness, says it’ll take years

In this March 7, 2017, file photo, Secretary of Veterans Affairs David Shulkin, addresses a House Veterans' Affairs Committee's hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington. In a May 5 interview with the Associated Press, Shulkin said he thinks reducing the number of homeless veterans nationwide from roughly 40,000 to 10,000 or 15,000 is an "achievable goal" for the Trump administration.

Saudis paid for US veteran trips against 9/11 lawsuit law

A Saudi-funded lobbying campaign involving U.S. military veterans that targeted a new law allowing Sept. 11 victims' families to sue the Middle Eastern country in U.S. courts saw some organizers disclose their activities late or vaguely, stymieing public knowledge of the scale of foreign influence in the campaign.

Herald report on VA errors raises concerns with Seth Moulton

SEMPER FI: Bay State Rep. Seth Moulton has written a letter to the chairman of the House Veterans Affair committee after hearing the story of Brian Callahan, above, and others in the Herald this week. Staff photo by Christopher Evans U.S. Rep. Seth Moulton - alarmed by a Herald special report showing that the Boston VA benefits office bungled one in six traumatic brain injury claims - is calling for the House Veterans Affairs Committee to "fully examine" the issue, and is concerned the problem could extend nationwide.

The debt we owe: Issues on proposed changes to vetsa benefits must be addressed

Since its implementation during World War II, the Servicemen's Readjustment Act of 1944 has helped many military troops stabilize their home lives after time spent in war zones and become more productive members of society. The law, more commonly referred to as the G.I. Bill, provides a variety of benefits to service personnel.

Detroit officer critical after shooting; suspect killed

Immigrant and union groups will march in cities across the United States on Monday to mark May Day and protest against President Donald Trump's efforts to boost deportations. A former anchorman whose girlfriend was fatally shot on live TV says he's seeking a Virginia state House seat to give back to the community that helped him through his darkest days.

12 killed by storms and flooding in South and Midwest

Authorities say fatalities have been reported and dozens of people were taken to hospitals after a tornado hit the small East Texas city of Canton. Authorities say fatalities have been reported and dozens of people were taken to hospitals after a tornado hit the small East Texas city of Canton.

Military veteran recognized for service decades after death

A South Dakota businessman who served in the Spanish-American War is finally receiving military recognition nearly half a century after his death. The Aberdeen News reports Thomas Jefferson Henegar's family will be able to place a military marker on his headstone at Riverside Memorial Cemetery in May after a lengthy journey to verify his military service.

Judicial Watch Goes to Trial Defending Vietnam Veteran Facing…

Judicial Watch today announced it filed a series of motions alleging constitutional and other legal deficiencies in the extraordinary prosecution of its client, Robert L. Rosebrock, a Vietnam-era veteran who faces federal criminal charges for purportedly displaying two four by six inch American Flags above a Veterans Affairs fence on Memorial Day, May 30, 2016. Judicial Watch's team of attorneys recently filed: A motion to suppress statements Rosebrock allegedly made to a VA police officer during a custodial interrogation of Rosebrock without advising him of his Fifth Amendment rights, as required by Miranda v.