  The American Veteran's On-Line News Magazine Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 10-18-2008 |
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The American Veteran's On-Line News Magazine Click here to make VA Watchdog dot Org your homepage VA NEWS FLASH from Larry Scott at VA Watchdog dot Org -- 10-18-2008 |
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IN TIME," NOT THE WHOLE STORY -- VA spokesperson: "We're still trying to get a handle on how widespread the problem is and I can't say with certainly that this has never happened before."
Story below:
------------------------- UPDATE: VA'S SHREDDER PROBLEMS JUST A "SNAPSHOT IN TIME," NOT THE WHOLE STORY VA spokesperson: "We're still trying to get a handle on how widespread the problem is and I can't say with certainly that this has never happened before." by Larry Scott
Original VA shredder story and follow-ups...
The Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) continues to struggle with revelations that documents critical to filing a claim with the Veterans' Benefits Administration (VBA) were found in shredder bins at VA Regional Offices (VAROs).
But, the VA will only say that a total of 10 critical documents were found in shredder bins by Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) investigators. I have been asked if this is really a big deal, and told the questioner they should ask the veteran whose document was about to be shredded. That veteran could have had a claim delayed or denied because of the action. One of the latest stories on this fiasco comes
from CBS News. Story here... A VA spokesperson is quoted as saying, "We’re still trying to get a handle on how widespread the problem is and I can’t say with certainly that this has never happened before." She added, "There is no way for a vet to know if their claim has been shredded or misplaced." At least we have a bit of honesty from the VA. So, how did this happen? The spokesperson said, "We don’t really know how this happened. It was either done by an employee unknowingly making an error or it was put in there." The VA is encouraging veterans to check the status of their claim by calling 1-800-827-1000. It is very important to remember that VA's assertion that this involves only 10 critical documents is just a "snapshot in time." What VAOIG found was there only at that instant waiting to be shredded. But, how many documents were in the bins the day before? And, the day before that? And, before that? And, add in all the other VAROs and you get an idea of the scope of this problem. VA continues to minimize this situation. Only 10 documents? I'm not sure I believe that. But, I do know one thing for sure. VA knew about this problem for some time and did nothing about it until VA Watchdog dot Org broke the story. So, can we now believe what we hear? Are we to believe that they are really trying to solve this problem? I'm afraid it's a wait-and-see situation, but I'm not hopeful. In an article in Stars & Stripes (here...
http://www.stripe Well said, Rick. What will it take? ------------------------- -------------------------
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