©
July 13, 2009
The Honorable Eric Shinseki
Secretary U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, N. W.
Washington, DC 20420
Dear Secretary Shinseki:
On July 7, 2009, Senator Akaka and I sent a letter to you and Secretary of Defense Gates, seeking clarification on allegations of numerous fraudulent POW disability claims, and an apparent disparity between your department’s list of POWs and the official POW registry maintained by the Department of Defense.
In addition, I have become increasingly concerned by media reports, recurring studies and continuing investigations that focus on the broader issue of misrepresentation of military service, in many cases causing unearned veterans benefits to be provided and in others giving false recognition for service in a manner that detracts from the actual sacrifices that so many have made on behalf of our country. Among the issues, findings and allegations:
- Fraudulent or exaggerated service claims resulting in the awarding of pensions, disability compensation, and other benefits;
- Fraudulent claims for various combat decorations, awards and campaign ribbons;
- Lax security of pertinent records at VA Regional Offices;
- Lax vetting of claimant documentation and official statements; and,
- Claimants directly or indirectly altering or registering fraudulent service claims in their official records.
These allegations have been made in many forums, frequently by individuals whose integrity and respect for service cannot be questioned. I have no way at present to measure their validity, particularly as it relates to the conduct of your Department. But since they go to the very core of military service, I believe they should be examined immediately and proactively, with oversight at the top levels of the Department of Veterans Affairs.
I would further ask that members of my staff be comprehensively briefed as soon as possible by VA officials regarding this issue and the measures that are being taken by the Department to combat it. I may participate in this briefing, or follow-on briefings, as well.
Sincerely,
Jim Webb, United States Senator
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Good on ya, but...
Kudos Sen Webb from someone who votes R more than D. But on one hand Congress is pushing VA to decide claims quickly without waiting on all that pesky evidence, and on the other hand they are supposed to know who is lying about their record and who isn't. Everyone one of those phony POWs will claim "not everything that happens in combat is documented in records". Fair enough. So give the benefit of the doubt, or require actual documentation?
Part of the problem is that the VA Inspector General will not spend teh time or money to investigate the frauds unless the crook has already recieved large sums of money. If the "loss to the government" is less than $35k, they can't be bothered. So if a sharp-eyed VA employee or someone like the POW Network tells them about a fraud BEFORE they have had their claim approved, no one cares.
Where are the Webb Haters?
How many times have Webb stories been filled with nasty posts by folks who hate anyone with a "D" next to their name? No slander here for the man you love to hate? I'm sure Allen would also have been taking on thankless jobs like VA and prison reform, and not been running for President in a few years.
Good job Webb. If congress had more members busy doing this sort of work and spending less time playing political games we'd be a much better run country.
False claims
Unless I missed something in the test of this story I understand the VA has a problem with validating military service ? Each military member has a service record that records every aspect of his/her service. How difficult is it to obtain a copy to verify POW, injury or awards status ?