Federal Daily - October 14, 2009

VA: Agent Orange Benefits To Cover More Illnesses

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki has announced that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) will establish a “service-connection” between the notorious Vietnam War herbicide Agent Orange and three additional specific illnesses. The herbicide was widely used by U.S. forces in Vietnam to clear trees and other vegetation used as cover by enemy forces. Shinseki’s announcement follows recent Institute of Medicine (IOM) findings that confirm Agent Orange’s role in numerous diseases. The illnesses newly added to the service connection list are Parkinson’s disease, ischemic heart disease, and B cell leukemias, such as hairy cell leukemia. Other illnesses already recognized under VA’s “presumption” rule as being caused by exposure to herbicides during the Vietnam War are acute and subacute transient peripheral neuropathy, chloracne, chronic lymphocytic leukemia, diabetes mellitus (Type 2),  Hodgkin’s disease, multiple myeloma, non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, porphyria cutanea tarda, prostate cancer, respiratory cancers, and soft tissue sarcoma (other than osteosarcoma, chondrosarcoma, Kaposi’s sarcoma, or mesothelioma), “We must do better reviews of illnesses that may be connected to service, and we will,” Shinseki said. Between 1965 and 1970, more than 2.6 million U.S. military serving in Vietnam may have been exposed to the chemical, according to an Oct. 13 VA release. According to the Office of Personnel Management, more than 25 percent of nonpostal federal employees are veterans who served at some point in the U.S. military. http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1796

:: Back to Top ::

USPS Shortens List of Facilities for Possible Closure, Consolidation

The U.S. Postal Service (USPS) on Oct. 9 released a shortened list of 371 retail stations and branches under consideration for closure or consolidation as it attempts to eliminate an ongoing budget gap. The new list is slightly shorter than the Sept. 2 list which named 413 retail stations for possible closure. The new list still contains 12 outlets in the DC-Metro area that could be shuttered. These include nine in the District of Columbia and three in the metro portion of Maryland. There are no Northern Virginia locations on the list. The list was also filed with the Postal Regulatory Commission (PRC), which is reviewing the process. The filing does not represent a final decision, USPS said in a statement, noting that no facility-specific final decisions yet have been made. The potential closings are just part of the Postal Service’s cost savings initiative. USPS says it will continue to look at ways to reduce excess capacity in retail and delivery operations; it recently offered up to 30,000 voluntary early retirement slots to eligible postal workers. American Postal Workers Union (APWU) President William Burrus said the union will continue to battle against the closings. “The APWU is committed to fighting the Postal Service’s attempt to reduce service to our customers,” said Burrus. “Our members have found significant opposition to these plans virtually everywhere they have been made public.” The union has also has intervened in the PRC proceedings, filing interrogatories and asking for specific information about targeted facilities. To see more, go to: www.usps.com/communications/newsroom/2009/pr09_086.htm or
www.apwu.org/news/webart/2009/09-125-stations_list-091009.htm

:: Back to Top ::