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DOES THE VA HAVE ALL THE CLAIM DOCUMENTS YOU
SUBMITTED? -- Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland
explains
how to make sure your claim documents are not
MIA...
and, how to make your voice heard in Washington.
Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland provides
regular columns for VA Watchdog dot Org.
If you would like to contact Jim about his
columns, you can email him here...
The archive of Jim's articles
is here...
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question, use the VA Watchdog search engine...
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DOES THE VA HAVE ALL THE CLAIM DOCUMENTS YOU SUBMITTED?
Veterans' Advocate Jim Strickland
explains how to make sure your claim documents are not
MIA... and, how to make your voice heard in Washington, D.C.
by Jim Strickland
I've received enough email from you that I know
your interest in the "Shreddergate" event is building. Complete details
here...
http://www.vawatchdog.org/VAshredderscandal.htm
Many of you now are wondering if your documents
at your VA Regional Office were a part of what has happened.
Most of you want to act now to find out but you aren't quite sure how.
And, I
don't often do this but I'm encouraging everyone to write at least one
letter or send one email to let Washington know how we feel. If you drop
this now, they win.
Here's a basic outline for you to follow along with addresses.
Remember the rules of writing a letter to any official.
Be professional. Rants don't help. A rant gets thrown away, a well written
letter gets a response. This includes being courteous and respectful. If
you want to rant, write to Larry. (NOTE from Larry Scott: If you want
to rant, write to Jim.) If you want action, do this my way.
 Be
brief. Don't beat it to death. Make your point and leave. Use one
typewritten page, no more.
Be specific. What's your point? Are you unhappy about how the VA isn't
working for you? Say that.
The Freedom of Information Act is a wonderful tool we don't use often
enough. Using FOIA you can demand otherwise hidden documents from every
government agency. Do you want to use FOIA to make them send you
documents? Be specific about what it is you want.
When you use FOIA, be as specific as possible. Tell the agency:
"I want all documents and records
whether photographs, electronic or paper that are related to this event
between the dates of _____ and _____."
Don't email. Send letters. Use certified mail. Do you want to appear
serious or are you just firing off random shots? A certified letter is
serious. The only acceptable use of email is to write to a Congressperson
or Senator. They stopped most paper mail in D.C. during the anthrax scare.
Most elected representatives have an easy form to complete on their web
site. You fill in some blanks and type in your message and send it much
like an email. Those are often screened by staff, printed and placed in
folders for the Representative to read.
Use the same rules of courtesy and brevity in that format as you would if
you wrote a letter. Provide your address and telephone number. Keep it
professional!
OK...addresses and such now...
If you want info on your personal benefits records - submit your request
to;
FOIA/Privacy Act Officer
Your VA Regional Office Address
(find your VARO here...
http://www1.va.gov/directory/guide/division_flsh.asp?dnum=3 )
You may also write to;
FOIA/Privacy Act Officer
Veterans Benefits Administration
VA Central Office
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20420
Any communication to Secretary Peake goes to;
Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20420
Do you want to know what the VA OIG investigators found? Use FOIA to write
the VA OIG at;
Office of the Inspector General
VA Central Office
810 Vermont Ave NW Washington, DC 20420
All about the Freedom of Information Act is here
http://www.foia.va.gov/
Want to write to your Congressperson or Senator? Go here
http://www.congress.org/congressorg/home/ to find the email
route to use.
Contact the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee by their email form here
http://veterans.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?pageid=1
Senator Akaka is Chair of the committee and needs to hear from you.
Contact him via his web site here
http://akaka.senate.gov/public/index.cfm
The Ranking Member of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is Senator
Richard Burr. Email him here
http://www.senate.gov/~veterans/public/index.cfm?pageid=28
The House Committee on Veterans Affairs needs to hear from you. Write a
letter to;
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs
335 Cannon House Office Building
Washington, D.C. 20515
or fax your letter to: (202) 225-2034
The Chair of the House Committee, Congressman Bob Filner would enjoy
hearing what you have to say. He prefers you fax him a letter to: (202)
225-9073.
I can't make it any easier for you than that. If you aren't on record,
nothing will change. I can't write for you, you have all that you need.
It's time to act.
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NOTE
FOR COMMENTING ON JIM'S MAIL BAG:
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containing misinformation that might pose a disservice to the veterans'
community.
-------------------------
posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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