FederalDaily - October 13, 2006

VA: One-Quarter of Recent Vets File Disability Claims

One in four veterans of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars—or 150,000 veterans—are filing disability claims, according to records released by the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) under the Freedom of Information Act. The records, which the VA originally denied having compiled, were posted Oct. 10 on the Web site of the National Security Archive, an independent non-governmental research institute at George Washington University. The VA reports that more than 150,000 deployed Operation Enduring Freedom (Afghanistan) and Operation Iraqi Freedom (Iraq) veterans, out of more than 560,000 veterans of the Global War on Terrorism, filed disability compensation and pension benefits claims with the Veterans Benefits Administration. According to veterans groups, the data suggests official estimates dramatically understate the future cost of the current Iraq and Afghanistan wars. If the current trend continues, then VA could receive as many as 400,000 disability claims from the 1.6 million deployed active duty and reserve service members in the Global War on Terrorism, the veterans groups say. To see more, go to: www.gwu.edu/~nsarchiv/news/20061010/index.htm

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Union Seeks Restoration of SSA Funds

The head of the union representing employees who oversee and review denied Social Security disability claims warns of mandatory workforce furloughs unless a minimum of $401 million is restored to the FY 2007 budget of the Social Security Administration (SSA). Colleen Kelley, of the National Treasury Employees Union (NTEU), said on Oct. 12 that 10-day furloughs of workers would be counterproductive to the SSA workload.  In testimony before Congress, SSA Commissioner Jo Anne Barnhart said furloughs were possible if the $401 million cut goes through. Kelley is asking key senators to restore the cuts when the Labor-HHS-Education 2007 Appropriations bill, which includes appropriations for SSA, moves to the Senate floor. The cuts were contained in a version of the SSA budget adopted by the Senate Appropriations Committee, Kelley said. She said that “sending employees home for ten days without pay is not only unfair to (them), it denies Social Security beneficiaries service regarding earned benefits.” To see more, go to: www.nteu.org

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Group Faults Outsourcing for Inconsistent FEMA Maps

Florida’s floodplain maps are inadequate and miss important low-lying wetland areas largely because the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) outsources the mapmaking to multiple private engineering firms, said the Public Employees for Environmental Responsibility (PEER). PEER on Oct. 11 noted that the Everglades Agricultural Area, one of Florida’s most significant wetlands, is not included on FEMA floodplain maps. “Florida has a long history of developers selling swampland to unsuspecting tourists but this scam needs no help from our federal and state governments,” said Florida PEER Director Jerry Phillips. “Accurate mapping is a basic governmental function that one would think FEMA should have mastered by now.” According to the group, inconsistencies in FEMA mapping are the result of cartography by multiple private engineering firms, which PEER said are open to influence by interests seeking to temporarily enhance property values. To see more, go to: www.peer.org/news/news_id.php?row_id=765

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