Team Infidel
Forum Spin Doctor
Washington Post
April 25, 2007
Pg. 4
By Steve Vogel, Washington Post Staff Writer
President Bush last night ordered the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs to come up with a joint process for establishing the level of disability of injured service members, and to implement other recommendations from a presidential task force.
Those recommendations, the latest military health-care reform promised by the Bush administration, are intended to "streamline" the care and benefits given to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, who chaired the task force.
The group also suggested that all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in VA health-care facilities be screened for traumatic brain injury, which Nicholson called "one of the signature injuries" of the conflicts.
Bush said in a statement released by the White House that he has directed Nicholson to report within 45 days on how the recommendations are being put into place.
Nicholson said yesterday afternoon that the VA and Pentagon must work to prevent injured service members from falling into bureaucratic crevices during their transition from military hospitals to veterans facilities. Computerized record systems are being improved to better track veterans, he said.
"If we can track a package in this country and know where it is at any given time, we certainly should be able to track a human being," Nicholson said in announcing the task force findings at the National Press Club.
The top Republican on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs also called yesterday for Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to strengthen coordination between the VA and Defense Department.
"The ball is in the defense secretary's court," Rep. Steve Buyer (Ind.) said in a statement before Bush issued his order. "For a decade, VA has worked to ensure seamless transition, usually without commensurate efforts by the Pentagon."
Nicholson's task force, which included officials from eight government agencies, was established March 6 by Bush in response to reports of problems in the long-term care given to injured troops and veterans. The task force looked at ways to fix the system "without new laws or new money," Nicholson said.
A separate presidential commission, chaired by former senator Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) and Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services under President Bill Clinton, is looking at longer-term solutions. The panel is expected to issue its report in late July.
Bush said that he has asked Nicholson to "exchange ideas and information" with the Dole-Shalala commission to "efficiently advance reform efforts."
The crowd listening to Nicholson's report at the National Press Club included service members and veterans who have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Michael Jernigan, a retired Marine who lost his vision in Iraq in 2004, said that he welcomed the findings, but he added that little can be done unless the VA receives more funding.
"It's an uphill battle," said Jernigan, who attended with his guide dog, Brittany. "They're trying to do the impossible with nothing."
April 25, 2007
Pg. 4
By Steve Vogel, Washington Post Staff Writer
President Bush last night ordered the Pentagon and Department of Veterans Affairs to come up with a joint process for establishing the level of disability of injured service members, and to implement other recommendations from a presidential task force.
Those recommendations, the latest military health-care reform promised by the Bush administration, are intended to "streamline" the care and benefits given to veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, said Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson, who chaired the task force.
The group also suggested that all Iraq and Afghanistan veterans treated in VA health-care facilities be screened for traumatic brain injury, which Nicholson called "one of the signature injuries" of the conflicts.
Bush said in a statement released by the White House that he has directed Nicholson to report within 45 days on how the recommendations are being put into place.
Nicholson said yesterday afternoon that the VA and Pentagon must work to prevent injured service members from falling into bureaucratic crevices during their transition from military hospitals to veterans facilities. Computerized record systems are being improved to better track veterans, he said.
"If we can track a package in this country and know where it is at any given time, we certainly should be able to track a human being," Nicholson said in announcing the task force findings at the National Press Club.
The top Republican on the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs also called yesterday for Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates to strengthen coordination between the VA and Defense Department.
"The ball is in the defense secretary's court," Rep. Steve Buyer (Ind.) said in a statement before Bush issued his order. "For a decade, VA has worked to ensure seamless transition, usually without commensurate efforts by the Pentagon."
Nicholson's task force, which included officials from eight government agencies, was established March 6 by Bush in response to reports of problems in the long-term care given to injured troops and veterans. The task force looked at ways to fix the system "without new laws or new money," Nicholson said.
A separate presidential commission, chaired by former senator Robert J. Dole (R-Kan.) and Donna Shalala, secretary of health and human services under President Bill Clinton, is looking at longer-term solutions. The panel is expected to issue its report in late July.
Bush said that he has asked Nicholson to "exchange ideas and information" with the Dole-Shalala commission to "efficiently advance reform efforts."
The crowd listening to Nicholson's report at the National Press Club included service members and veterans who have been wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Michael Jernigan, a retired Marine who lost his vision in Iraq in 2004, said that he welcomed the findings, but he added that little can be done unless the VA receives more funding.
"It's an uphill battle," said Jernigan, who attended with his guide dog, Brittany. "They're trying to do the impossible with nothing."