FederalDaily.com > Veterans Bring Class-Action Lawsuit Against VA

FederalDaily - July 25, 2007

Veterans Bring Class-Action Lawsuit Against VA

A coalition of injured Iraq war veterans filed a class-action lawsuit July 23 against the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), accusing it of breaking the law by denying them disability pay and mental health treatment. Filed in U.S. District Court in San Francisco, the lawsuit seeks no damages, but does ask the court to order broad changes in the way the agency delivers services to veterans. Suing on behalf of hundreds of thousands of veterans, it alleges VA practices violate veterans’ rights by denying them adequate procedural safeguards in the VA benefits process and access to medical care. In addition to seeking a declaration that the practices are unlawful, the lawsuit seeks an injunction to halt inadequate VA procedures, said a statement from public interest law firm Disability Rights Advocates (DRA), which is representing the veterans. “The VA’s motto, taken from Abraham Lincoln’s second inaugural address, is ‘to care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow and orphan,’” said Melissa Kasnitz of DRA. “The VA is not living up to its motto or its obligation to care for our disabled veterans.” To see more, go to: www.dralegal.org/cases/public_entities/VCS_v_VA.php

Burrus to Congress: Force USPS to Negotiate on Outsourcing

American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President William Burrus told lawmakers that if Congress is serious about limiting outsourcing by the U.S. Postal Service (USPS), it should force USPS to negotiate the issue at the bargaining table. Burrus testified last week before the House Subcommittee on the Federal Workforce, Postal Service and the District of Columbia. Rather than intervene in specific contracting-out disputes, lawmakers can help by forcing a resolution via collective bargaining, Burrus said. Under current procedures, Burrus testified, USPS refuses to bargain over subcontracting. However, the National Association of Letter Carriers (NALC) recently won a no-subcontracting provision in its new five-year contract after Congress expressed concerns over outsourcing, Burrus said. Also at the hearing, Rep. Albio Sires, D-N.J., said that he is sponsoring a resolution (H. Res. 282) which encourages USPS to stop contracting out mail delivery services. Testifying on behalf of USPS, Postmaster General John E. Potter said that USPS currently is seeking to outsource only new delivery services, and will not contract out existing delivery jobs. “Contract delivery expansion would not result in the layoff of any letter carriers,” Potter said. To see more, go to: APWU,
http://apwu.org/news/webart/2007/webart-0767-burrustestimony-072007.htm and USPS, www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/welcome.htm

DOI to Reconsider Eight ‘Politics Trumps Science’ Decisions

The Department of Interior (DOI) announced July 20 that it was reopening eight Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) decisions made by Julie MacDonald, a Bush administration appointee who resigned in the wake of allegations that she had influenced scientific findings for political reasons during her tenure as Deputy Assistant Secretary for Wildlife and Parks. MacDonald resigned in May following the release of a DOI Inspector General (IG) report that found she pressured scientists to change findings and leaked critical information to industry officials while reviewing Endangered Species Act cases. FWS said it will review eight cases, approximately one third of the so-called “Politics Trumps Science” decisions in which misconduct has been alleged. But, those cases may just be a sliver of the overall problem at FWS, said Francesca Grifo, scientific integrity program director at the Union Of Concerned Scientists (UCS), an advocacy group. In a 2005 UCS survey of FWS scientists, 84 reported having been directed to inappropriately exclude or alter technical information from FWS scientific documents. Rep. Nick J. Rahall, D-W.V., chairman of the House Natural Resources Committee, expressed cautious optimism that the agency is taking the first steps in correcting the apparent pattern of political meddling. “While this is positive movement, it is just a start,” Rahall said in a statement. To see more, go to: http://resourcescommittee.house.gov/news/PRArticle.aspx?NewsID=131 or www.ucsusa.org/news/press_release/fws-acknowledges-047-1.html