In Case You Missed It: Walden meets with local veterans, continues work to ensure they get the benefits and care they’ve earned
In Case You Missed It: Walden meets with local veterans, continues work to ensure they get the benefits and care they’ve earned
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) has worked hard to make sure Oregon veterans get the care and benefits they’ve earned through years of service. He’s worked on legislation that improves healthcare options and resources for veterans, boosts flexibility, and brings transparency and accountability to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Washington, D.C. and across the country at clinics and hospitals. He’s also assisted over 5,000 veterans and their families with issues involving their benefits and care at the VA.
In recent days, Walden has met with veterans in Medford, Klamath Falls, La Pine, Madras, Hermiston, Enterprise, Milton-Freewater, and La Grande to learn more about what’s working at the VA and what more needs to be done. Read on for excerpts from local news coverage of these meetings.
And today Walden penned a special newsletter message to constituents on the recent meetings and the stories he heard from Oregon veterans. Click here to read Walden’s newsletter.
“We owe those who wear, and have worn, our nation’s uniform so much of what we cherish in this country, including our freedoms and our way of life. But, too often, they aren’t getting what they’ve been promised by the federal government. A glaring example of this is in California, where thousands of soldiers are being told they have to repay bonuses offered to them for their service in the National Guard. If the Department of Defense made a mistake in awarding the bonuses in the first place, the burden of the mistake shouldn’t fall on the soldier. It’s disgraceful. That’s why the House Majority Leader announced yesterday that the House will fully investigate these reports to ensure these soldiers get what they were promised,” Walden wrote.
“Several years ago, I helped resolve a similar issue facing members of the Oregon National Guard. It began when Chelsea Wells, a Guard soldier from Milton-Freewater, was told by the National Guard Bureau that she would not receive her enlistment bonus due to a paperwork glitch on their part. She contacted me, and I told the Guard that that they had to make things right, not only for PFC Wells but also for the 75 service members in Oregon and 5,449 nationwide who had their bonuses improperly denied due to that issue. We got results.
“Over the past week, I’ve had the honor of meeting with a wide range of veterans -- and the people who advocate on their behalf--from White City and Klamath Falls, to La Pine and Madras, to Hermiston and Enterprise. Much of what I heard echoed the same theme: our veterans deserve much better than they are getting from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) in Washington, D.C. Addressing this problem is job number one for me.”
Walden listens to veteran concerns during Hermiston VFW stop
Walden shared with veterans in attendance the work that Congress has done to promote their welfare, including the recent passage of an appropriations bill that allocated additional funding for veteran health care and housing in rural areas.
“Additional help is on the way for that,” he said.
After the 2014 controversy caused by revelations that the Department of Veterans Affairs had been covering up the extent of its claims backlog while veterans died waiting for care, Walden said Congress has worked to hold the VA more accountable.
They have begun requiring quarterly reports on the backlog and have improved whistle blower protections for VA employees who come forward about unethical practices. They also banned the practice of giving administrators bonuses despite failing to meet their performance standards, and expanded the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’ power to hire and fire VA employees who are performing poorly.
After veterans in attendance complained that all of that has not seemed to fix the backlog of claims and appeals at the VA, Walden agreed with them that Department of Veterans Affairs administrators should be doing more to fix the VA’s ongoing problems on their own instead of waiting for mandates from Congress.
Walden: Navigating VA bureaucracy is a big problem
U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Hood River) says as he travels through his district and listens to calls for help to his office from his constituents, the number-one cry for help comes from veterans trying to get benefits from the Veterans Administration, which he calls a massive bureaucracy.
“We come in to try and help navigate through the process,” he said. “I do hear that, for the most part, if veterans can get through the process they’re pleased with the quality of the health care they get, especially at Walla Walla.”
Walden said the request for help from veterans to his office are enough work to keep two full-time employees busy. He said 50 percent of all their calls for help come from veterans.
Rep. Walden meets with veterans in Enterprise
Walden also described the accountability measures added to recent bills the House passed before adjourning for the elections.
“It astounds me that it takes two years for an appeal to a veteran claim to be processed,” said Walden. “The VA funding bill we passed calls for VA employees to report their daily work, same as my sales representatives did when I owned a radio business.”
Walden also discussed veterans’ mental health care, especially in regards to the suicide rate.
“The Vietnam veterans, in coming out of Vietnam, were told to get over it and go home. That was wrong. We learned we want to provide better mental health care services to veterans, especially in regard to (Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder).
“But I’m not here to talk, I’m here to listen.”
Walden visits student veterans
Frustrations center around resources and medical care
Rep. Greg Walden held a casual get-together with veterans-turned-students at Eastern Oregon University on Friday afternoon.
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This was one stop of many for Walden recently. He said he’s been meeting with veterans to see what’s been working in the system and what hasn’t.
“It’s pretty much the same frustrations,” he said of the common complaints. “Getting access to health care in a timely manner. Getting the care they need.”
The issue of medical care was brought up at EOU on Friday. The student vets said it is difficult to get the
medical care they need here in La Grande.
Walden said that’s not a unique issue.
“Outside of Medford at their VA clinic, two-thirds of the physician positions are vacant,” Walden said. “Wherever you are, there are going to be issues. There’s delay of care.”
Walden cited computer problems as the main culprit.
“We’re not building rockets,” he said. “We’re trying to push the VA to update their software to commercial software instead of using their own. That’s what we’re working on. My job is to cut through the red tape. Working with vets is half the case work that comes through my office.”
Walden gets an earful from student veterans
Some 15 armed services veterans met with Congressman Greg Walden on the Oregon Institute of Technology campus Tuesday and nearly every one of them had a frustrating story to tell when it comes to working with the Veterans Association and health care.
Walden, R-Ore., is touring his district collecting stories in hopes of improving the VA. Of some of the issues he’s heard, he remarked, “You can’t make this stuff up.”
“I struggle with the fact that I can order my hotel rooms over the next few days online or get a rental car,” Walden noted, “but you can’t set a medical appointment with the VA online at all. There’s got to be a better way to do this.”
Walden meets with local Band of Brothers
There are more than 300,000 veterans in Oregon and a state survey shows that only 3 out of 10 access all of the benefits available to them. That’s one of the reasons why U.S. Representative Greg Walden paid a visit to the La Pine Band of Brothers today, to hear their stories, and tell them help is on the way.
Click here to watch coverage from KOHD Central Oregon Daily
Rep. Greg Walden Meets With Southern Oregon Veterans
Rep. Greg Walden was in Medford today to meet with veterans, veterans' advocates and the local chamber.
He stopped by NewsWatch 12 to talk about the upcoming general election, 21st Century Cures Act and legislation that benefits veterans.
Click here to watch coverage from KDRV Newswatch 12