|
|
|
|
|
|
Are Capping Fees Good
for Veterans? By Allen Gumpenberger May 6, 2013
One of the most inspirational movies from my youth was Sergeant York. A
true hero of The World War, Sgt. York portrayed by Gary Cooper, came home to a grateful nation. The mayor
of New York City presented him with the key to the city. Politicians and Celebrities sought his company,
but all Sgt. York wanted to do was get home to his mom and his girl. Beyond the glamour, he was eager to
get on with his life. Back then it seemed, America took care of her heroes without them hardly asking for help.
Sgt. York was just trying to get home and a grateful nation was eager to give him all the support he needed.
As the movie ended, I was left with the impression that he lived happily ever after supported by a grateful nation.
I believed it. It would be ridiculous for anyone to imagine that Sgt. York needed professional assistance
for his VA claim. The disabled veterans experience during Sergeant Yorks era through the 1920s and 30s,
was very different than what was portrayed on Hollywoods big screen. They organized and lobbied for benefits
that would help them compete for employment and opportunity. Groups emerged like the Disabled American Veterans of the World
War, American Legion, and Veterans of Foreign Wars to carry their voice forward. They were very influential
in the creation of the Veterans Bureau, now known as the Department of Veterans Affairs. These organizations
partnered with the VA to deliver these benefits and through this intimate relationship, offered assistance by providing service
officers who would help a veteran free of charge. In spite of their joint efforts, the benefits delivery
network they created was inefficient and has grown systemically worse with every passing generation. With
each new administration, we heard similar promises to fix the system and to make demonstrable progress in the backlog of claims and
appeals. Each time, these groups would deflect the blame of the broken system to the VA, vowed to take
the fight to the VA for the disabled veteran and thwarted any attempt to allow disabled veterans the freedom to hire professional
representation. Today, we have movies like Zero Dark Thirty and Acts of Valor, which hype up our heroes
making them appear nearly super human. They got it together and can defeat anything. These
Sgt. Yorks of our time are special, but they are human. The perception is the VA must have a special unit
that ensures that the real combat heroes are quickly and effectively provided the benefits earned. But
todays heroes face the realities of everyday life. There is no Hollywood support, no golden handshake from
our leaders, and there is no key to the city.
The U.S. Navy SEAL who shot and killed Osama
bin Laden spoke out recently concerning the May 1, 2011, raid on the al-Qaida leader's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.
The former SEAL identified as "The Shooter" said he's been largely abandoned by the U.S. government since
leaving the military last fall. He spoke out to both correct the record of the bin Laden mission and to
put a spotlight on how some of the U.S. military's highly trained and accomplished soldiers are treated by the government
once they return to civilian life. Despite killing the world's most-wanted terrorist, he said, after 16
years of military service, he was not given a pension, health care or protection for his family or himself. While
he made an application to the VA for his disability benefits, he said that he was told that he would have to wait at least
8 months before he could expect a decision on his benefits. Unfortunately, over half of those disabled veterans like The Shooter receive less than what they deserve after waiting at least 8 months for that decision. In order to get the benefits they earned, they are forced to go through a lengthy appeal process to correct the rating decision. Facing a bureaucratic and complex development process to get the benefits deserved, the disabled veteran is left feeling defeated to secure those benefits they earned and stretched to meet their obligations to provide for their families. Where can they turn for help? |
|
|
|
|
||||||||||||||||
|
|