In August, the VA’s inspector general said the weight of paper files at the agency’s Winston-Salem, N.C., office had compromised the structural integrity of the building.Office of the Inspector General/Department of Veterans Affairs The Department of Veterans Affairs handed out millions of dollars in bonuses to top officials over five years, even as the number […]
Aaron Glantz
Senior Reporter
Aaron Glantz was a senior reporter at Reveal. He is the author of "Homewreckers: How a Gang of Wall Street Kingpins, Hedge Fund Magnates, Crooked Banks, and Vulture Capitalists Suckered Millions Out of Their Homes and Demolished the American Dream." Glantz produces journalism with impact. His work has sparked more than a dozen congressional hearings, numerous laws and criminal probes by the Drug Enforcement Administration, FBI, Pentagon and Federal Trade Commission. A two-time Peabody Award winner, finalist for the Pulitzer Prize, multiple Emmy Award nominee and former John S. Knight journalism fellow at Stanford University, Glantz has had his work has appear in The New York Times, Chicago Tribune, NBC Nightly News, Good Morning America and PBS NewsHour. His previous books include "The War Comes Home" and "How America Lost Iraq."
Posted inNational Security
VA’s latest plan to clear benefits backlog meets skepticism
Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki has been under mounting pressure over the agency’s growing backlog of veterans’ disability claims.Getty Images Iraq War veteran Tom Yasko is still waiting three years after he filed a disability claim with the Department of Veterans Affairs, making him one of about 250,000 potential beneficiaries of a redoubled VA […]
Posted inNational Security
VA highlights Calif. productivity gains, but more veterans wait for benefits
Allison Hickey, the VA’s undersecretary for benefits, is seen in a screen shot testifying before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs today.U.S. House of Representatives WASHINGTON – A top Department of Veterans Affairs official told a congressional committee today that the agency’s decision to temporarily shutter and retrain staff at its troubled Oakland office proved […]
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Posted inBenefits, Returning Home to Battle
House committee leader calls for head of VA benefits to resign
WASHINGTON – Concerned about broken promises of assistance for the nation’s veterans, Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, called today for the head of the agency’s benefits administration to resign. Allison Hickey, the VA’s undersecretary for benefits, is seen at a hearing last year.C-SPAN screen shot Allison Hickey, the VA’s […]
Posted inUncategorized
Senate committee demands information on benefits backlog from VA
In August, the VA’s inspector general said the weight of paper files at the agency’s Winston-Salem, N.C., office had compromised the structural integrity of the building.Office of the Inspector General/Department of Veterans Affairs WASHINGTON – Members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee demanded the VA share its internal performance data with Congress to give lawmakers […]
Posted inBenefits, Returning Home to Battle
VA’s ability to quickly provide benefits plummets under Obama
The Department of Veterans Affairs has failed to provide key information to Congress and the public that shows the agency’s ability to quickly provide service-related benefits has virtually collapsed under President Barack Obama. Internal VA documents, obtained by the Center for Investigative Reporting and authenticated by the agency, reveal that delays newly returning veterans face […]
Posted inBenefits, Health Care for Veterans, Returning Home to Battle
Infographic: Veterans waiting longer
The Department of Veterans Affairs tracks and widely reports the average wait time for benefits: 273 days. But internal data indicate that veterans filing their first claim, including those who served in Iraq and Afghanistan, wait nearly two months longer.
Posted inUncategorized
Lawmakers skeptical as VA touts strides in mental health care for veterans
A sign at a VA hospital in CaliforniaParker Knight/Flickr.com WASHINGTON – A senior Veterans Affairs official said today that the agency is now better prepared to help former military personnel cope with the emotional and psychological trauma of war, but key members of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee remained skeptical amid intensifying demand for […]
Posted inUncategorized
Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden finds support in Washington
The U.S. Capitol building.Matti Mattila/Creative Commons The Navy SEAL who says he killed Osama bin Laden was on Capitol Hill attending a series of private conversations Tuesday with congressional leaders. The meetings came a day after a story in Esquire revealed that the man who killed the al-Qaida leader was unemployed and waiting for disability […]
Posted inNational Security
VA’s disability backlog hurts Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden
Getty Images The Navy SEAL who says he killed Osama bin Laden is unemployed and waiting for disability benefits from the Department of Veterans Affairs. In an exclusive story for Esquire by Phil Bronstein of the Center for Investigative Reporting, the Shooter adds many details to what already is known about the death of the […]