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BOB FILNER ACCUSES VA OF CRIMINAL NEGLIGENCE,
BUT WHAT WILL HE DO ABOUT IT? -- House Vets'
Chair
has history of inflammatory language when
describing
VA practices. Will he act on this allegation, or
is he
just trying to get a headline in an election
year?
From left: Dr. Ira Katz, VA's
chief of mental health ... VA Secretary James Peake ... Rep. Bob
Filner (D-CA), House Vets' Chair. (AP Photos by Charles Dharapak) |
Here we go again.
Rep. Bob Filner (D-CA), Chairman of the House
Committee on Veterans' Affairs, is spouting off.
Filner has a reputation for this sort of thing.
When a VA laptop with the personal information of
26 million veterans was stolen, Filner, with news cameras rolling, said,
"You guys f***ed it up. Stop covering your ass and figure it out."
Story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/old%20new
sflashes%20JUN%2006/newsflash06-14-2006-1.htm
So, we are used to outlandish outbursts from
Filner.
But, what does he do to follow up?
Last year Filner said that the VA's refusal to
enroll Priority Group 8 veterans in the healthcare system amounted to
“unacceptable” rationing of care. Nice statement. But, nothing
has been done about it. Story here...
http://www.vawat
chdog.org/07/nf07/nfJUN07/nf062207-2.htm
Also last year, Filner said that the personality
disorder discharge was a deliberate attempt by the government to save
veterans' healthcare costs. What has been done about this?
Nothing. Story here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfJUL07/nf072607-8.htm
And, Filner, when he was in the minority in the
House, was one of the strongest proponents of mandatory funding for VA
healthcare. Now that he has the power, we hear nothing and the
mandatory funding bill is stuck in Committee.
Today, we hear "Blabbermouth Bob" at it
again...tongue-lashing the VA brass about covering up statistics about
veteran suicides.
But, what will he do about it? Take a
guess.
It's an election year, and Filner needs another
headline.
Video report of the hearing is here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfMAY08/nf050708-8.htm
Story here...
http://ap.google.com/article/A
LeqM5j3uNjZJGHfbDAcylz9yV3dtMBIBwD90GC1SO3
Story below:
-------------------------
Committee chairman accuses VA of criminal
negligence
By KIMBERLY HEFLING
WASHINGTON (AP) — The Department of Veterans Affairs' top mental health
official said Tuesday he made a poor choice of words when he sent his
colleagues an e-mail about suicide data that started out with "Shh!"
Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's mental health director, told the House Veterans
Affairs Committee that the e-mail was in poor tone — even though the body
contained "appropriate, healthy dialogue" about the data.
"I deeply regret the subject line," Katz said. "It was an error and I
apologize for that."
The e-mail claims 12,000 veterans a year attempt suicide while under
department treatment. "Is this something we should (carefully) address
ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?" the
e-mail asks.
The e-mail was among those recently disclosed
during a trial in San Francisco that suggested some at the VA might have
been attempting to hide the number of attempted suicides by those under
the agency's care. Its disclosure prompted two Democratic senators to call
for his resignation.
At the White House, press secretary Dana Perino said Bush has "full
confidence in Secretary Peake and believes that he is handling it
appropriately."
 "President
Bush is very concerned about the mental health of our veterans and has
made sure that we are doing everything we can to make sure that American
veterans are getting the care that they need," Perino said. "He's also
been very troubled by the idea that veterans would feel that they wouldn't
be able to express or ask for help if they are suffering from
post-traumatic stress disorder or depression of another sort or any type
of mental disorder. Because we have resources to be able to help them and
they deserve the very best that we can provide."
The committee's chairman, Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., accused Katz of being
more concerned about how data was interpreted than the health of veterans.
He also said Katz — as well as others involved — should be fired. He
accused the agency of criminal negligence in the handling of data about
the number of veterans who have committed suicide, and of having a history
of cover-ups.
"I want to know if you're really going to take your role seriously,"
Filner said to Veterans Affairs Secretary James Peake, who started in
December.
Peake said the reason the data discussed in the e-mail about the number of
suicide attempts was not released was because of concerns about its
accuracy. After the hearing, he told reporters he did not plan to fire
Katz or other officials over the e-mails. He said everyone has sent an
embarrassing e-mail at some point.
"It truly was an unfortunate set of words," Peake said.
During the hearing, Peake apologized to Reps. Tim Walz, D-Minn., and Harry
Mitchell, D-Ariz., who complained the VA was not giving them information
they requested. Mitchell, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs
subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said he was told he would
need to file a freedom of information act request to get some data he
wanted.
Peake said he wants the agency to be more forthcoming and transparent.
He also sought to set the record straight about the number of veterans
committing suicide. He said of the nearly 500,000 veterans who fought in
Afghanistan and Iraq and then left the military from 2002-2005, 144 had
taken their own lives. He said that rate was slightly higher than would be
expected in the comparable general population, but it was not a
statistically significant amount.
The judge in San Francisco has not ruled in the lawsuit filed in federal
court by two veterans groups. The suit asks a judge to order the agency to
improve its mental health care.
The toll free Veterans Affairs Department suicide hotline number is
1-800-273-TALK (8255).
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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