Veterans Benefits Blog

In late May 2010, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki prepared a letter to the leaders of the House and Senate requesting that his draft legislation entitled “Veterans Benefit Programs Improvement Act of 2010” be considered and enacted. The purpose of the draft bill is to improve (1) VA’s compensation and pension programs, (2) the timeliness and efficiency of VA’s adjudication of claims and appeals, (3) VA’s loan guaranty system, (4) vocational rehabilitation and education benefits, and (5) Veterans Group Life Insurance participants. Details of the particulars with respect to the suggested changes and reasons for them can be viewed at: http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nfmay10/may10files/SecyLegislation.pdf
While it is clear that many of the proposed changes appear good for veterans, there are several items that have surfaced that may negatively impact the legal representation of veterans.
Under Title II, Section 206, which concerns decisions of the Board of Veterans’ Appeals, the legal standard of what the Board must include in its decisions may change. VA is concerned that more than half of the claims appealed to the Veterans Court result in a remand back to the Board due to an inadequate statement of reasons or bases. The comments to the proposed change note, among others, that while some remands are necessary, many remands based on reasons or bases do not benefit the claimant. Therefore, changing the statutory language from reasons or bases to “a plausible statement of the reasons for the Board’s ultimate findings of fact and conclusions of law” would reduce the number of remands.
Under Title II, Section 207, which addresses the definition of prevailing party status for purposes of entitlement to Equal Access to Justice Act, i.e., reimbursement of attorney fees, the proposed language is alarming. If the language is adopted, attorneys who represent veterans before the United States Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims would only be eligible for reimbursement of attorney fees if, after securing a remand or reversal at the appellate level, the veteran ultimately is awarded a monetary or other benefit at the administrative level. The language further allows the Court and the Secretary to prescribe rules that would allow the Court to retain control over all remands, and only upon a showing that the veteran was awarded benefits, could the attorney be entitled to reimbursement of fees.
If either of these proposed changes become law, it is likely to negatively impact the number of attorneys willing to represent veterans at the court level. If attorneys know that the chances of recovering attorney fees is limited and that it will be that much more difficult to secure remands, the Veterans Court will likely see many more unrepresented claimants.

David J Lowenstein FAQs, Veterans Benefits Claims, Veterans Benefits Legislation Veterans Benefits Claims, Veterans Benefits Legislation, veterans disability benefits

In December 2008, a class action lawsuit was filed in Sabo v. United States on behalf of veterans who (1) served in Operation Iraqi Freedom or Operation Enduring Freedom, (2) were diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder, and (3) were discharged from service with ratings of less than 50 percent.
Recently the attorneys representing the veterans and the government reached an agreement, wherein at least 4,300 members of the class action will be entitled to an expeditious review of their disability evaluations as well as a correction of their past and future benefits.

The disability ratings are essential to veterans suffering from post-traumatic stress disorder. A permanent disability rating of 30 percent or higher entitles a veteran to monthly disability benefits for the remainder of the veteran’s life, to free health care for the veteran and his or her spouse for life, and to free health care for their minor children.

Veterans who are eligible for such review are those who were discharged from service between December 17, 2002, and October 14, 2008 and were determined unfit to serve in part due to a diagnosis of post-traumatic stress disorder.

While notices have been mailed to roughly 4,300 veterans, if you did not receive a notice and believe you are a veteran who fits the criteria discussion above, you have until July 24, 2010 to “opt-in” to the class action lawsuit. You should go to www.ptsdlawsuit.com to obtain additional information regarding the lawsuit and information on how to become a member of the lawsuit.

David J Lowenstein PTSD, Veterans Benefits Claims PTSD, veterans disability benefits

On February 17, 2009, President Obama signed the stimulus bill, known as the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA), which authorizes payment of $198 million compensation to eligible Filipino World War II veterans:  $15,000.00 each for U.S. citizens, $9,000.00 for non-U.S. citizens, both of which are one-time lump sum payments.  Entitlement and eventual receipt of any money will not change or affect other benefits an individual may be currently receiving.

Within the one-year period, from February 17, 2009, the date the President signed the ARRA, until February 16, 2010, eligible veterans must submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs a claim for benefits.  It is estimated that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is reaching out to about 12,000 Filipino WWII veterans living in the Philippines, and roughly 3,000 living in the United States.

Among the many provisions of the ARRA, additional benefits may be afforded to eligible Filipino World War II (WWII) veterans.  The ARRA formally recognizes the service of Filipino WWII veterans who served with the U.S. military in defending freedom as active military service in the U.S. Armed Forces.

If an eligible person who has filed a claim for benefits during the one-year time period dies before payment is made, the payment will be made instead to the surviving spouse, if any.  For the purposes of the ARRA, an eligible person is any person who served before July 1, 1946, in the organized military forces of the Government of the Commonwealth of the Philippines, while such forces were in the service of the Armed Forces of the United States.  In order to learn if a particular type of service may qualify someone eligible for purposes of the ARRA, please read the text of the ARRA (link provided at the end) or contact the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Regional Manila Regional Office.

Payments that are made to an eligible person shall be treated for purposes of the internal revenue laws of the United States as damages for human suffering, and shall not be included in income or resources for purposes of determining eligibility.  In other words, the one-time payment will not affect existing benefits the veterans currently receive, including Social Security checks for U.S. based veterans, access to veterans hospitals, and service-connected disability pensions and other benefits.

Additional and more detailed information may be obtained from the Embassy of the United States in Manila, including eligibility requirements, instructions on how to apply, and required supporting documents for applications.  http://manila.usembassy.gov/wwwhs581.html.  The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Manila Regional Office will also be conducting extensive outreach, within and outside of Manila, to the many Filipino WW II veterans throughout the Philippines to ensure all those entitled receive the benefits they deserve as soon as possible.

The full text of the ARRA can be located at:
http://frwebgate.access.gpo.gov/cgi-bin/getdoc.cgi?dbname=111_cong_bills&docid=f:h1enr.pdf

David J Lowenstein Veterans Benefits Claims Filipino, WWII Veterans

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS TO RECEIVE $25 BILLION ABOVE BASELINE OVER NEXT 5 YEARS
In late February 2009, President Obama released the Fiscal Year 2010 budget. The President’s Budget will dramatically increase the funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs in the amount of $25 billion above the baseline spread out over the next 5 years. The Budget’s significant highlights include: (1) increasing funding for VA health care, (2) restoring health care eligibility for modest-income veterans, (3) enhancing outreach and services related to mental health care and cognitive injuries, (4) investing in better technology, (5) providing greater benefits for veterans medically retired from service, (6) combating homelessness by safeguarding vulnerable veterans, and (7) facilitating timely implementation of the comprehensive education benefits.

To learn more about the Fiscal Year 2010 VA Budget, check out:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/omb/assets/fy2010_new_era/Department_of_Veterans_Affairs.pdf

David J Lowenstein FAQs, Veterans Benefits Claims