GI Bill Drama: Underpaid Veterans A ‘Burden’ VA Will Not Pay Back
The Department of Veterans Affairs is reversing on its pledge to pay veterans who received less money than what VA was required to pay under the Forever GI Bill system.
A VA spokesman says paying veterans monies owed due to the glitch would require too much work for the agency and be a “burden.” When asked about the legal justification for refusing to follow the law, that same spokesman asserted VA was justified but failed to provide the specific justification.
Attempting to implement the law would put “an enormous administrative burden for schools in which some 35,000 certifying officials would have to track retroactively and re-certify hundreds of thousands of enrollment documents,” Curt Cashour, the VA spokesman, said over email.
Cashour also said that students who were overpaid because of the law’s changes or because of issues in implementing the law “will not be held liable for the debt.”
Now, I usually poo-poo talk of a class action lawsuit since they are expensive and difficult to maintain, but this GI Bill glitch and the agency’s flouting of the law is a class action waiting to happen.
Can you imagine the amazing discovery attorneys could dig up about this boondoggle? Does VA really think no one will sue?
RELATED: VBA Chief Says Press Exaggerating Veterans’ Hardship Claims
GI Bill Background
For the past decade, Congress has dumped billions of taxpayer dollars into VA coffers to fix its aging IT systems. As recently as 2013, VA paid over $200 million to create a new Post 9/11 GI Bill software processing system that was only half done. When Congress created the Forever GI Bill, VA was obligated to update its processing system, but attempts to update that expensive system were unsuccessful prior to the law going into effect.
Since October, VA has scrambled to fix a massive software glitch that prevents full implementation of the Forever GI Bill. Despite repeated promises by VA leadership, the rollout of software necessary to implement the new laws failed to work as advertised.
As a result, and despite millions in taxpayer dollars to fix the glitch, VA is still unable to get veterans paid at the appropriate amounts. The agency does not know how many veterans are impacted, supposedly, and it does not know how much money the agency is potentially saving by not implementing the new GI Bill appropriately.
RELATED: VA Disbanded Oversight Of Forever GI Bill Before Boondoggle
In a congressional hearing two weeks ago, VA refused to provide specifics about projected timelines for repair. VBA Undersecretary Paul Lawrence also said press reports were overblown where veterans were reportedly harmed by the agency’s failure to pay in time.
A 40-Year-Old Database?
We also learned VA was still using a 40-year-old computer data system as the bedrock of its cobbled GI Bill system. This revelation rubbed everyone the wrong way given the hundreds of millions Congress allocated to avoid exactly this problem years ago.
In a phone call, VA now asserts the Forever GI Bill will not be properly implemented until December 2019. “They are essentially going to ignore the law and say that that change only goes forward from Dec. 2019,” one aide told NBC News.
VA Will Not Pay
Now, unnamed VA insiders told Congress the agency no longer intends to pay veterans the monies they were entitled by the new law. The agency claims fixing the errors will require too much work and result in further backlogs.
RELATED: Can I Lose My 100 Percent Rating If I Get A Job?
So, where did the money go? It obviously did not go to appropriately update the GI Bill processing software. Did the tax dollars get siphoned off for other programs?
That is what I hear.
In past 2 years, 6 months, much has changed. Went from VA in the South, to a VA on West Coast. Not a big change. There’s a smell that’s inherent to VA employees. Appears no matter where, VA employees are at war with Veterans. From Fake Doctors to the lowlife clerks, it’s a war. VA, like politicians, are providing proof every day that rules don’t apply to them. You reap what you sow. I really really despise having to go to the VA hospital. Until we snap, guess I’ll just let things fester.
Until you can tell me why the GOP led administration cannot fix a simple software glitch that has led the VA to shortfall the compensation owed to vets who counted on it for their schooling and are now in default with the VA response of “Oh well, we are not going to help you because we can’t make the effort to fix the glitch your 11 year old nephew could fix in an hour, so we are going to punish the veteran instead.”, Don’t try to politicize this issue because you will lose badly. Madam speaker elect, you’d better have this as a top priority or expect to lose in 2020
VA changed their minds about short-changed veterans:
“https://www.msn.com/en-us/news/us/va-reverses-course-on-gi-bill-payments-will-repay-possibly-short-changed-veterans/ar-BBQgwUy?li=BBnbfcL”
The solution to pay affected veterans the monies they were entitled by the new law is to call the White House Complaint phone number, 1-upyourass-wedon’tgiveashit! It’s simple and the staff at the Wash. D.C. veterans hospital (not at the WH) will get on it right away and have this routed to the right people to get this mishap fixed lickity-split. Like what’s the problem already?
Ohh yeah, I remember the WH hotline for complaints is just a bogus POS.
Never mind….forget what I just wrote. I wasn’t thinking clearly. You’re FUCKED!!!
Was shot at and missed, went to the VA and was shit at and hit.
Are you serious? They are NOT going to pay the Vets? Oh my goodness! It is time we fought back now 100%.
Let’s vote these guys out! They are obviously NOT taking care of our Vets!!
These lunatics don’t stop. When there’s nobody who put you in their place with no real management because all friends, they say FU. It is so ridiculous that I cry everyday. I’m am so messed up because of their games that I will never get better. My anxiety and depression is so awful that I am confined to my bed. I have been outside 5x all year, except doctor appointments which I miss more than half. About 15 months ago they awarded me extra compensation because I don’t leave my home and didn’t ask for it. September they scheduled 4 exams all within 2 weeks, anxiety so bad missed first and my doctor was supposed to call and explain, guess he took a long lunch and forgot. Snowballed and missed all. So of course lowered my ratings and care they know how bad I am because that’s what the extra compensation is for, don’t care. Keep short, a veteran’s group dropped the ball and didn’t send appeal, so I was really bad and got worse all at once. My wife’s best friend of 30+ years passed, I had a friend pass and my service dog had knee surgery. I uploaded a letter stating all this and missed exams because wife had to leave a week for the services and just need more time to send paperwork. I uploaded so who ever had my claim they would get the letter. Didn’t care denied everything and in 13 months went from a 100% with extra comp to no problems at all and a 10% rating. Something is going on there, no one cares, why 2 sets of exams in 12 months? They were told to save money, their games just like saying here, FU your not getting paid, because said so. They play God and almost cost me my life, they see getting compensation and paying for school and they actually believe that veterans get too much and make decisions when it’s not their call to make. It’s sickening that someone said it would be too difficult and say F’it. I have never seen this bad and the stress it causes, I don’t know what to do.
Sure; the money went to Black projects
Dought anyone in Congress or the President give a flying – – – – about the Veterans or the hardship there causing.
Just give use more lip service ( ASS- – – – – ) we love it
Just type it out bro. You paid for the right to cuss
Trying to be civil, but boy it’s getting harder to do
Never count on the VA for anything, because just when you need it most they’ll fuck ya.
Uh, is anyone surprised?
The VA responds to no one. The VA is like the honey badger. Honey badger don’t give a f-. Honey badger does what it wants…
The fun part about all of this? Write your congressman/representative all day…guess what? They have no power either. They pacify us by sending a letter on official letter head to the VA and the VA looks at that letter and falls over in its chair from laughter because it is a joke.
Yet….we have time to call a special investigation into alleged Russian collusion – an investigation (better said “witch hunt”, “fishing expedition”) going on two years and nothing yet…what a waste of our taxpayer dollars.
I was drafting a brief for one of my cases against the VA and yep, same thing like most of my cases and with this GI Bill/tech fiasco – which is, the VA believes it has no requirement to follow its own regulations and/or the law…plain and simple.
Maybe a lawsuit under the American Procedures Act (APA) will do. Because what is the point of an agency having regulations if it won’t follow them?
BTW, I call bull poopy on their contention that it will be a burden on their personnel to fix this…I and others sat around in training rooms for months with nothing to do and of the people on the floor? Once they meet their “points” (VA employees are rated by a point system from cases they work on), they sit back and kick up their feet and BS all day without any requirement to work past their points reached….So they have the ability to manage the workload to fix this, but that will cut into them streaming videos online, walking around and bsing all day, and managers having to actually get off their butts and manage.
Full list of known indictments and plea deals in Mueller’s probe:
1) George Papadopoulos, former Trump campaign foreign policy adviser, was arrested in July 2017 and pleaded guilty last October to making false statements to the FBI. He got a 14-day sentence.
2) Paul Manafort, Trump’s former campaign chair, was indicted on a total of 25 different counts by Mueller’s team, related mainly to his past work for Ukrainian politicians and his finances. He had two trials scheduled, and the first ended in a conviction on eight counts of financial crimes. To avert the second trial, Manafort struck a plea deal with Mueller in September 2018 (though Mueller’s team said in November that he breached that agreement by lying to them).
3) Rick Gates, a former Trump campaign aide and Manafort’s longtime junior business partner, was indicted on similar charges to Manafort. But in February he agreed to a plea deal with Mueller’s team, pleading guilty to just one false statements charge and one conspiracy charge.
4) Michael Flynn, Trump’s former national security adviser, pleaded guilty last December to making false statements to the FBI.
5-20) 13 Russian nationals and three Russian companies were indicted on conspiracy charges, with some also being accused of identity theft. The charges related to a Russian propaganda effort designed to interfere with the 2016 campaign. The companies involved are the Internet Research Agency, often described as a “Russian troll farm,” and two other companies that helped finance it. The Russian nationals indicted include 12 of the agency’s employees and its alleged financier, Yevgeny Prigozhin.
21) Richard Pinedo: This California man pleaded guilty to an identity theft charge in connection with the Russian indictments, and has agreed to cooperate with Mueller. He was sentenced to 6 months in prison and 6 months of home detention in October.
22) Alex van der Zwaan: This London lawyer pleaded guilty to making false statements to the FBI about his contacts with Rick Gates and another unnamed person based in Ukraine. He was sentenced to 30 days in jail and has completed his sentence.
23) Konstantin Kilimnik: This longtime business associate of Manafort and Gates, who’s currently based in Russia, was charged alongside Manafort with attempting to obstruct justice by tampering with witnesses in Manafort’s pending case this year.
24-35) 12 Russian GRU officers: These officers of Russia’s military intelligence service were charged with crimes related to the hacking and leaking of leading Democrats’ emails in 2016.
36) Michael Cohen: In August, Trump’s former lawyer pleaded guilty to 8 counts — tax and bank charges, related to his finances and taxi business, and campaign finance violations — related to hush money payments to women who alleged affairs with Donald Trump, as part of a separate investigation in New York (that Mueller had handed off). But in November, he made a plea deal with Mueller too, for lying to Congress about efforts to build a Trump Tower in Moscow.
Finally, there is one other person Mueller initially investigated, but handed over to others in the Justice Department to charge: Sam Patten. This Republican operative and lobbyist pleaded guilty to not registering as a foreign agent with his work for Ukrainian political bigwigs, and agreed to cooperate with the government.
When it is their OWN documents and e-mails that contradict the denials that come out of their mouths, that makes the investigation well worthwhile. The Russian Government (nor our own) is the friend of the average veteran.
Having said that, for our nation to thrive, let alone survive – – – we NEED to KNOW just how deeply Putin’s moles (American born or not) are embedded in our society.
I strongly suspect that at the end of all this – – – America writ large will be better off. Witch Hunts as a rule, do not produce real-world indictments, guilty pleas, or convictions.
” . . . to support and defend the Constitution of the United States from all enemies, both foreign and domestic”.
There is a reason those enemies were listed in that particular order. Russia need not abide by our Constitution. Our ‘exalted leaders’ swore an oath to do so.
Principles before Personalities. Country before Party.
Damn! My above post should have read “Neither the Russian Government (nor our own) is the friend of the average veteran.”
BIG F’up on my end. Apologies.
I hope the VA reads what you posted James, because that’s leadership, with vision on where we need to go and a plan on how to get there. Obfuscation and obstruction is not leadership, but it is the VA way.
While the VA has been obfuscating and obstructing veterans in order to deny them their benefits since the 1970’s I have noticed an increase in their efforts over the last five years.
Given the current obfuscation and obstruction emanating from POTUS on down on a daily basis, this should surprise no one.
This whole country could stand a big dose of adult leadership.
Principles before Personalities. Country before Party. Death before Dishonor.
my sentiments exactly
Have no fear lads and lasses. This will not get noticed by anyone in media or government. Let’s face it, yesterday’s revelation was about $21 TRILLION fraud, the information coming from a national auditor!!! Not a friggin peep on main stream or pain stream media. Nothing.
It’s pretty clear that the Fourth Estate was sold at a garage sale, and the Fifth Estate is neither revered nor feared.
And here’s your daily dose, “Thank you for your service”
Means nothing to me. I’m drunk. But I’m lucky, when my wife gets home she will buy me another half gallon since I drank the last of the Jim beam black.
I wouldn’t even be drinking if not for the huge ripoff of reevaluation appts recently done. I was one of the millions who was not due, but got reevaluated anyways.
I was at a good point in my life. I was getting a bag of 1 OZ of quality grass a month. It was treating all physical injuries, ibs and even sleep problems perfectly. I was happy and able to function somewhat normally. Along comes the fucktard ass sucking communists from the VA to steal half my money. My wife is a good Christian gal with a close relationship to God. She even saw the huge positive difference it made in my life. I was able to finally not just sleep, but rest. I was able to keep up on the house and everything else.
Now I’m back to having nightmares every night to the point that I don’t get a single, solid hour of sleep. Unless I drink myself to sleep. Not my first choice in medicine.
You b.s. VA fucks think your really funny. You won’t be laughing so much when my attorneys office gets done with you. Faggot communist fuckwits.
Veterans are long overdue for some real leadership from the Veterans Administration.
Leadership that speaks truth publicly about how bad things have really gotten for the veterans they are supposed to be serving. Leadership that develops practical solutions to take better care of all our nations warriors.
Leadership that recognizes that when they are doing a good job, veterans will be singing their praises rather than the VA spending millions of taxpayer dollars on Public Relation Agencies to put out ‘fluff pieces’ to mislead American citizens about the stellar job they are doing to care for our nations veterans.
The truth is that the VA is doing a pyss-poor job.
The Department of Veterans Affairs has one of the largest budgets within our federal government. This is used to provide veterans less than third-world medical care and benefits. It is about twenty years past time to seriously address the corruption, malfeasance, and incompetence that infest the Veterans Administration.
Here is a plan to accomplish that goal:
1. Immediately recognize the problems inherent in the Veterans Administration are system-wide, not just limited to a few discrete locations.
2. Fire all the incompetent and corrupt Workers. Fire every single AFGE/SES employee. The VA prides itself on service to the veteran. However, the American Federation of Government Employees Union makes it nearly impossible to rid the VA of corrupt, incompetent employees.
3. Sell off all the VA facilities. Alternatively, they may be converted into military barracks-style housing for homeless veterans. These will be run with military-style rules to promote good order and discipline.
4. Issue all veterans a card that allows them to choose their own doctors within their community that they can trust.
5. The United States Government will pay those doctors promptly (Within 45 days) for the care they provide veterans.
6. Eliminate the ‘Federal Protection’ clause in the United States Code for incompetent medical personnel that the VA sends to other states where they are not licensed to practice. Going to practice medicine in a state? You need to be properly medically licensed in that state.
7. Rapidly reduce the years long backlog of Veterans Disability Claims. Any claim a veteran submits to the Veterans Benefit Administration that requires more than 90 days to adjudicate, is automatically found to be in favor of the veteran. Should a veteran file a false claim to defraud the system, the Veterans Administration will be required to prove in civil court that the claim was falsely submitted. For filing a false claim, the veteran will be mandatorily subject to all the following:
(A). The claim shall be denied. If the veteran has received any form of benefits due to filing of a false claim, they will be required to fully repay those benefits with interest.
(B). The veteran will be banned from all VA facilities for the remainder of their life.
(C). The veteran will lose any benefits they have and will not be allowed to file for further benefits.
8. All veterans shall be allowed to seek/retain the services of a Veterans Rights Attorney from their first initial contact with the VA. This will help to protect the legal rights of veterans against corrupt, incompetent VA employees.
9. No AFGE, or any other labor union business will be allowed to take place in any federal workplace. Conducting union business during working hours will be strictly prohibited and enforced. Should any government employee be found violating this provision, it will result in immediate lifetime dismissal from all federal, state, city and county government employment.
10. Attorneys for appeal for cases of ‘wrongful termination’ will be retained at the former VA employee’s personal expense. U. S. Taxpayer’s will not be subject to payment of legal bills for incompetent or dishonest personnel with regards to governmental employment.
It is my belief that were the above ten measures placed into rigorous ethical practice, these would over the next few years ensure major performance improvements within the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Still a solid plan
I’m sorry that happened to you bro.
I feel blessed that I was able to make it through my bachelor’s without payment issues from the gi bill. I had the post 9/11 one.
I’m sick and tired of the VA fucking off getting paid 5-6 times what a 100% service connected vet would while they fuck us over and throw their hands up.
I hope they all get aids
They can’t track who has been paid. No cancelled checks or data account receipts for direct transfers. Not a problem for the schools to recertify. Problem is they don’t know who has been paid and who hasn’t. Even those who have received their checks would probably get them again. because they don’t want to overpay a lot of vets will be stiffed.
Happened to me in the 1970s
When the IRS can find the bugger DNA on your cashed checks, and Social Security can go back 50 years and account for every dime you made, the VA can’t find locate the thumbs up their arses. Awesome
Does anyone knows the email of Secretary of Veteran Affairs Robert Wilkie?
I wish I did but my legal representation has advised me not to have any contact with the VA.
Sorry I can’t help but if I find it I will drop it bro.
VA Sec = Robert.Wilkie AT va DOT gov
enjoy : ) all of the
top VA Staff in DC is the firstname DOT lastname AT Va DOT gov
1. You do not need a medical license to work at a VA Hospital because it’s a Federal Reservation- medical malpractice thrives here. 2. You can file a complaint or a “report of Contact” then take it to a private Attorney to do a Federal Tort. However, if the offender has a State issued license, report it to the state. Doctors can be sued but they are not really to afraid of that. What they are afraid of is the complaints showing up in the public domain that Potentially damage their future earnings in the public domain. Those docs that hang out at the VA for a lifetime do not give a damn what you do- try to fire them and they come back the same day with a lawyer and get to keep their jobs. The VA will hire a US Attorney to defend against a Tort action and the deposing will be intense and probably will start in your home with the attorney showing up with his tape recorder. Definitely keep records of what went wrong and do not hesitate to demand a “report of contact” (VA Form 119) on the campus where the episode happened. The form becomes a permanent entry in your file, can be discovered and you need to do it rapidly . You can download the form from the web, fill it out and take to the Directors office , demand a time stamped copy from them. Its time to kick the bad actors out.
The VA and VBA are full of crappy individuals who will lie , steal , cheat and even promote the death of Veterans. They are complicit in Veteran suicides and we Veterans know this. This is one more punch in the gut by the people who want us to the killing for them and then exile us to the reservation when we are discharged. My hope is the President will deal with the gorillas in charge of the VBA- a bunch of scoundrels.
BTW: the C-file contains all that data, there is no reason why schools have to re certify anything unless they’re committing fraud. The wouldn’t do that would they, Yes they would and do everyday. Besides which, how do you like having to learn Maoism on the college campuses today? The VA is now soliciting Veteran to get electro shock therapy- sending out e-mails. Yup , they want to fry our brains because we are the most educated group to take them on and they are losing ground. This ain’t no stray voltage either, they are losing ground…
Amen.
May they lose much more than just ground.
God be with you, brother
Clearly the money was stuffed in to collective pockets.
Veterans, take pride in this: the scum who do this to our community are life failures. They could never succeed at anything from getting laid to accruing assets without stealing off the backs of the nation’s hero’s and their hard work. They are afraid of every last one of us and that’s why they work so hard to collectively fuck us over.
That’s why they have to run around in bits and pieces of our uniforms and pretend to be us. When I was a kid I used to wear a pair of jump boots and a beret and fatigues when I played with my gi Joes in the back yard. The difference is when I grew up my balls dropped to giant proportions and I sought to make that dream a reality and did so as far as getting injured in the line of duty in a combat mos.
These people aren’t real men. Their beta cuck socialist communist parasites. The only thing that lends them any manhood is the cars, houses and goods they buy with OUR money.
You fuckers better enjoy it while it lasts. God’s gonna cut you down so low you will need a skateboard for your chin to get around. You are scum of the highest order. America and the patriots know who you are and what you are doing. They are watching you closely and retribution will come soon. Wwg1wga!
Pretty soon this nation is going to purge itself of the sickness of communism, socialism, leftism and corruption that is making our glorious constitutional republic sick. I wouldn’t want to be on their team when it goes down.
My only solid advice to get ahead: don’t talk to or deal with the va personally. Find a decent law office to represent you. Make calls, ask questions and find a decent firm to file for benefits, increases, appeals etc. Record appointments for evidence, act like a gentleman (your’re on tape too) and don’t come unglued on them.
Like good narcissistic fuckwits they NEED your reactions and emotions to feed off because they are parasites. Don’t give them the satisfaction. Look up narcissism on YouTube from channels like begood4000 or Assc Direct and learn about the disorder and how to deal with these people.
You will find they say to run the other way but dealing with the VA requires interaction. So learn your enemy. Learn how he works and adjust tactics accordingly.
Hang in there. God is with us.
I’m sorry. I’m not going to play soldier today. When I was in the Army I had a duty to perform without question, regardless of what the task or outcome was, including putting my life on the line. Worthless, lazy butt hurt winey ass muthafuckas. How you VA prideless shitheads live with yourselves is beyond my scope of understanding simple common human courtesy.
Criminal misappropriation? Who made the call not to do what Congress paid to do?