Filner Fires Senior Dem Staff of Veterans' Affairs

I posted last week about the importance of the work that Representative Bob Filner (D-CA) would be doing as the new Chairman of the Committee for Veteran's Affairs; it appears that not only is Representative Filner replacing the staff director, but he seems to be replacing all of the senior staff on the Democratic side of the committee. The wisdom of this, when the Republicans will have an experienced senior staff, escapes me. Here's more info about what's at stake in combating Representative Buyer (R-IN) and his Republican staff [to clarify, the Navy provides counseling and mental health care to the Marines]:

An experienced Navy psychologist warns that the U.S. military does not have enough mental health professionals to meet the growing number of emotionally damaged war veterans.

Moreover, Navy Cmdr. Mark Russell says, many of the mental health professionals on staff lack formal training in core therapies for post-traumatic stress syndrome. Russell predicts a "perfect storm" of dire health care consequences.
...
Military mental health officials downplay Russell's grim assessment, noting that training is increasing, aggressive mental health programs are being created, and civilian mental health professionals are being hired to provide additional resources.

"Mark really has a tremendous amount of compassion and a real desire to make sure that everyone gets what they need," says Navy Capt. Warren Klam, a psychiatrist and senior medical officer for mental health at the Naval Medical Center in San Diego and a member of the Mental Health Task Force. "I just think if you look at the bigger picture, it's not nearly as much of a concern as it might sound. I think DOD (Department of Defense) is very sensitive to this issue and is trying to work very hard."

In my opinion yes, the military cares about this problem, but I also think they could use some help prioritizing this issue in the grand scheme of things that they have on their collective plate. Both the military and the nation's track record of caring for veterans (particularly those suffering from PTSD) could be better:

...the VA estimates that nearly 200,000 veterans are homeless on any given night. And nearly 400,000 experience homelessness over the course of a year. Conservatively, one out of every three homeless men who is sleeping in a doorway, alley or box in our cities and rural communities has put on a uniform and served this country. According to the National Survey of Homeless Assistance Providers and Clients (U.S. Interagency Council on Homelessness and the Urban Institute, 1999), veterans account for 23% of all homeless people in America.

We need to do better this time. And Representative Filner needs to keep that foremost in his mind. It's too early to say whether his firing of the senior staff was a mistake, but he's stumbling a bit getting out of the blocks.

There's more: "Filner Fires Senior Dem Staff of Veterans' Affairs" >>

Moving Fast

On Friday I posted about the importance of the work the Veterans' Affairs Committee does. Then I took a long weekend and came back to find that the new head of the committee, Representative Filner (D-CA), was getting down to business (h/t to Larry Scott at VA Watchdog):

Thursday, January 11, 2007
Washington, D.C. - Today, congressional leadership from both the House of Representatives and Senate made good on their commitment to America's veterans. In a joint statement issued today, House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, House Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner, and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka announced the reinstatement of the traditional joint hearings process in which veterans and military service organizations appear before the Veterans' Affairs Committees. Today's announcement reversed the decision of GOP leadership in the House of Representatives last Congress."

These longstanding joint hearings provide a vital forum to review the legislative priorities of veterans and military service organizations and allow veterans to directly express their views and interact with Congress," Speaker Pelosi said. "Reinstating the joint hearings will begin anew this valuable dialogue, and will ensure that Congress protects the interests of the brave men and women who have defended our freedom."

As Dave Autry, Deputy National Communications Director for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV), points out in Scott's article, when the Veterans' Service Organizations have the chance to come before Congress to discuss their needs, it's not window dressing--it's a right.

But to most reasonable people that right probably just seems straight forward and uncontroversial. In a word: commonsense. But not to Representative Steve Buyer (R-IN) who did away with it back in November of 2005 for reasons I can't even begin to fathom. I have to say, it's nice to see the 110th Congress reconnecting us with our rights.

There's more: "Moving Fast" >>