FederalDaily - January 9, 2007

Senator Calls for Veterans’ Mental Health Hearings

Sen. Ken Salazar, D-Colo., called for hearings to explore the types of programs and therapy available to returning war veterans who are experiencing mental health issues, including post traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). A longtime advocate of veterans’ issues, Salazar made a renewed call for the hearings after meeting with officials at Fort Carson in Colorado Springs. PTSD, a psychological condition caused by exposure to severe trauma, can lead affected individuals to experience flashbacks, severe anxiety and sleep problems. “Soldiers coming home with mental health issues, including PTSD, must have access to the best care available,” Salazar said Jan. 5. The new Democratic leadership intends to move ahead with a “GI Bill of Rights for the 21st Century,” which includes a $3 billion increase in VA health spending to cut wait times for patients and to expand access to more categories of veterans. To seem more, go to: http://salazar.senate.gov/news/releases/070105ptsd.htm.

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Grassley Prods Creation of New IRS Whistleblower Office

Sen. Charles Grassley, R-Iowa, outgoing chairman of the Senate Finance Committee, on Jan. 5 urged the Treasury Department to implement new IRS whistleblower improvements designed to crack down on tax cheats. Grassley asked Treasury officials to keep him informed about the location of the Whistleblower Office within the IRS, as well as the implementation of the new IRS whistleblower rewards program. Grassley also asked to be kept up to date about the leader of the new IRS Whistleblower Office. “It is important that the individual selected to head the office has a commitment to this program and energy and experience to make sure the potential of this legislation to bring billions of dollars into the treasury is fully realized,” he said. To see more, go to: http://grassley.senate.gov.

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Reenlistment Letters Sent in Error to Families of KIA and Wounded

Expressing deep regret, the Army on Jan. 6 said a computer mix-up mistakenly sent recruitment/re-enlistment letters to the families of 275 officers either killed or wounded in action in Iraq. The letters were part of a Dec. 26-28 mass mailing to 5,100 Army officers who recently served, encouraging the former officers to consider returning to military service, said Gen. Richard Cody, the Army’s Vice Chief of Staff. Unfortunately, the database used to address those letters contained names of officers who were killed in action or wounded, Cody said. The names of the wounded and deceased had previously been removed from the database, but inexplicably an earlier, unedited version of the database was used for the mass mailing, Cody said. Included were letters to 75 officers killed in action—more than one-third of all Army officers who have died in Iraq since the war began—and 200 wounded in action. Some 3,006 people from all branches of the U.S. military have died in Iraq since the war began, according to published accounts. Included in that toll were at least 217 Army officers. “I can't imagine how these soldiers and family members felt upon receiving those letters,” Cody said. “This is an inexcusable mistake.” To see more, go to: www.army.mil/-news/2007/01/06/1237-vice-chief-expresses-senior-army-leadership-disappointment-in-letter-error.

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