Sticky Message
VA NEWS by tcornish
Great looking image KK...
well here goes, I'll try posting news and stories,tidbits I receive from various newsgroups, if there is a special topic of interest, just holler and I'll see if I can dig up anything....
FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill Provisions
Go to web site if below doesn't come out clear
Story
see concurrent receipt below in non-health issue
FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill Provisions
well here goes, I'll try posting news and stories,tidbits I receive from various newsgroups, if there is a special topic of interest, just holler and I'll see if I can dig up anything....
FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill Provisions
Go to web site if below doesn't come out clear
Story
see concurrent receipt below in non-health issue
FY 2008 Defense Authorization Bill Provisions
about 1 year ago
INTRODUCTION TO THE VETERANS' AID AND ATTENDANCE SPECIAL PENSION
also go to: Improved Pension
Tax deduction is possible.
The Veterans' Administration offers a Special Pension with Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit that is largely unknown. This Special Pension (part of the VA Improved Pension program) allows for Veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing, undressing or taking care of the needs of nature to receive additional monetary benefits.
It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an assisted living facility also qualifies.This most important benefit is overlooked by many families with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional monies to help care for ailing parents or loved ones.
This is a "pension benefit" and is not dependent upon service-related injuries for compensation. Most Veterans who are in need of assistance qualify for this pension.
Aid and Attendance can help pay for care in the home, nursing home or assisted living facility. A Veteran is eligible for up to $1,519 per month, while a surviving spouse is eligible for up to $976 per month.
A couple is eligible for up to $1,801 per month*.The Aid and Attendance Benefit is considered to be the third tier of a VA program called Improved Pension. The other two tiers are Basic and Housebound. Each tier has its own level of benefits and qualifications.
While the objective of this site is to disseminate information about the Aid and Attendance Benefit, we urge you to read an important document prepared by the American Veterans Institute that clearly explains the Improved Pension program, its levels of benefits and the qualifications for each.
If you or your loved one does not qualify for Aid and Attendance, you may want to check to see if you qualify for another level of the Pension.**Click Here for the Improved Pension Beginner's Guide**Please browse this site using the menu on the left to learn more about the Aid & Attendance Special Pension, Eligibility Requirements, How to Apply, What to Expect and Resources to help you with this critical benefit.
Also, please visit the Sponsor of this site who has made it possible to disseminate this information to veterans and their families.We highly recommend you visit the One Experience page of this site for critical information on this process.
The Aid and Attendance (A&A) Special Pension provides benefits for veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing and undressing or taking care of the needs of nature. It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an assisting living facility also qualifies.
The A&A Pension can provide up to $1,519 per month to a veteran, $976 per month to a surviving spouse, or $1,801 per month to a couple*.Eligibility must be proven by filing the proper Veterans Application for Pension or Compensation. This application will require a copy of DD-214 (see below for more information) or separation papers, Medical Evaluation from a physician, current medical issues, net worth limitations, and net income, along with out-of-pocket Medical Expenses.
A DD-214 is issued to military members upon separation from active service. DD-214s were issued to separated service members beginning in the 1950's. The term "DD-214" is often used generically to mean "separation papers" or "discharge papers", no matter what form number was used to document active duty military service.
If the VA has a copy of a DD-214, it is usually because the veteran attached a copy (or sometimes, the original) to his or her application for disability or education benefits. If you’ve lost your original DD-214 or a copy and you are receiving (or applied for in the past) disability or education benefits from the VA, they may have a copy (or the original, if you gave it to them) on file.
At the very least, if you are currently receiving benefits (or did in the past), they should be able to provide a Statement of Service, which can be used instead of a "DD-214".
also go to: Improved Pension
Tax deduction is possible.
The Veterans' Administration offers a Special Pension with Aid and Attendance (A&A) benefit that is largely unknown. This Special Pension (part of the VA Improved Pension program) allows for Veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing, undressing or taking care of the needs of nature to receive additional monetary benefits.
It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an assisted living facility also qualifies.This most important benefit is overlooked by many families with Veterans or surviving spouses who need additional monies to help care for ailing parents or loved ones.
This is a "pension benefit" and is not dependent upon service-related injuries for compensation. Most Veterans who are in need of assistance qualify for this pension.
Aid and Attendance can help pay for care in the home, nursing home or assisted living facility. A Veteran is eligible for up to $1,519 per month, while a surviving spouse is eligible for up to $976 per month.
A couple is eligible for up to $1,801 per month*.The Aid and Attendance Benefit is considered to be the third tier of a VA program called Improved Pension. The other two tiers are Basic and Housebound. Each tier has its own level of benefits and qualifications.
While the objective of this site is to disseminate information about the Aid and Attendance Benefit, we urge you to read an important document prepared by the American Veterans Institute that clearly explains the Improved Pension program, its levels of benefits and the qualifications for each.
If you or your loved one does not qualify for Aid and Attendance, you may want to check to see if you qualify for another level of the Pension.**Click Here for the Improved Pension Beginner's Guide**Please browse this site using the menu on the left to learn more about the Aid & Attendance Special Pension, Eligibility Requirements, How to Apply, What to Expect and Resources to help you with this critical benefit.
Also, please visit the Sponsor of this site who has made it possible to disseminate this information to veterans and their families.We highly recommend you visit the One Experience page of this site for critical information on this process.
The Aid and Attendance (A&A) Special Pension provides benefits for veterans and surviving spouses who require the regular attendance of another person to assist in eating, bathing, dressing and undressing or taking care of the needs of nature. It also includes individuals who are blind or a patient in a nursing home because of mental or physical incapacity. Assisted care in an assisting living facility also qualifies.
The A&A Pension can provide up to $1,519 per month to a veteran, $976 per month to a surviving spouse, or $1,801 per month to a couple*.Eligibility must be proven by filing the proper Veterans Application for Pension or Compensation. This application will require a copy of DD-214 (see below for more information) or separation papers, Medical Evaluation from a physician, current medical issues, net worth limitations, and net income, along with out-of-pocket Medical Expenses.
A DD-214 is issued to military members upon separation from active service. DD-214s were issued to separated service members beginning in the 1950's. The term "DD-214" is often used generically to mean "separation papers" or "discharge papers", no matter what form number was used to document active duty military service.
If the VA has a copy of a DD-214, it is usually because the veteran attached a copy (or sometimes, the original) to his or her application for disability or education benefits. If you’ve lost your original DD-214 or a copy and you are receiving (or applied for in the past) disability or education benefits from the VA, they may have a copy (or the original, if you gave it to them) on file.
At the very least, if you are currently receiving benefits (or did in the past), they should be able to provide a Statement of Service, which can be used instead of a "DD-214".
about 1 year ago
Military Retiree Health Care Make the News
Send your questions/comments to María Félix-Ortiz, 4301 Broadway, Box 355, San Antonio, TX 78209 or e-mail mfelixortiz@gmail.com
San Antonio Express-News
about 1 year ago
Journalist Tells Congress About Suicide Epidemic Among Vets
Link
Link
Journalist Tells Congress About Suicide Epidemic Among Vets
By Penny Coleman, AlterNet. Posted January 2, 2008.
A testimony at congressional hearings in response to increasingly ominous reports of soldier and veteran suicides.
On Dec. 12, at 10 in the morning, I was sitting in room 345 of the Cannon House Office Building, as Rep. Bob Filner called to order the Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on "Stopping Suicides: Mental Health Challenges Within the Department of Veterans Affairs."
The hearings were in response to increasingly ominous rumors of soldier and veteran suicides (which the DoD and the VA have continued to deny), culminating in the dramatic CBS News report about veteran suicides released in late November. Finally, an entity with some insider clout had produced some hard numbers that attest to an epidemic of monstrous proportions. Even so, the bad guys, like Dr. Ira Katz, who is head of mental health at the VA, quibble about whether or not this is "an epidemic" or a "major problem." "Why hasn't the VA done a national study seeking national data on how many veterans have committed suicide in this country?" Katz was asked by the CBS reporter. "That research is ongoing," Katz replied, looking a lot like Lucy promising not to snatch the football away again.
So, on Dec. 12, I and three other citizens found ourselves scheduled for the morning panel: Mike and Kim Bowman, whose son Tim, a veteran of the Iraq war, took his own life a year ago; Ilona Meagher, author of Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops; and me -- all of us, by the way, suicide survivors. We were to be followed by a second panel consisting of Katz and fellow apologists, who were supposed to eviscerate the CBS report and skewer us with their conflicting numbers. Without, of course, appearing callous, slimy or cruel.
Mike Bowmen spoke first, his wife Kim sitting beside him. Kim didn't speak, but kept her hand on Mike's back. It was such a simple gesture, but one that spoke volumes: Mike is capable of doing the talking, because Kim makes it possible. They are absolutely there for each other. And for their son's memory. And for all the other parents who have already -- or will someday -- have to find ways to survive a death like Tim's.
The Bowmans are devastated. Their grief is huge and terrible, and together they have found ways to give public meaning to their personal tragedy. Aside from giving such an inspiring human face to statistics so awful anyone would want to become numb and turn away from them, Mike mined his own experience and his son's for those moments that had seemed most senselessly counterproductive if not just plain stupid. You can read the whole of his testimony on the Veterans Affairs Committee website, but two points, at least, I think are worth sharing. This first reminds me of those rebate offers that make things sound like such a deal, but are really so complicated and time-consuming to fill out that they know you'll never do it: The VA currently protests that it can't possibly be asked to take responsibility for veterans who have not registered with the system. They don't know where to find them. Well then, Mike asked, "Why isn't the VA sitting there when they get off the bus?" Why don't they have somebody … with a computer and a desk, registering them before they can go home? They're coming out of combat. You know that they're going to need help. Sign them up right there. That way, you know where they are, you know who they are, and they're in the VA system right away. Don't make it so that the soldier has to go to the VA. Make the VA go to the soldier." So simple. So obvious.
Mike's other point was a simple intervention into military culture, and one that would go a long way towards undermining the age-old stigma that is the main reason soldiers don't ask for the help they need: Instead of shunning or punishing a soldier who admits to a combat stress injury and asks for help, hold him or her up as a model. "Grab that soldier and thank him for saying, 'I'm not OK' and promote him," he said. "A soldier that admits a mental injury should be the first guy you want to have in your unit because he may be the only one that really has a grasp on reality."
When Mike and Kim Bowman finished, the entire hearing room came to its feet, and one after another, the committee members fell all over themselves thanking them for their courage and identifying with their pain. Even the Republicans, though they couldn't quite hide their compulsion to hold soldiers responsible for their own pain. One of my favorites, Rep. Cliff Stearns from Florida, "in all candidness," told Mike Bowman, "You coming here is good for us, but it's probably good for you to talk about it." And then did himself even one better when he suggested that perhaps Mike and Kim hadn't quite lived up to their responsibility as parents. "The building up of the self-esteem is the key," he said, "and the parents somehow have to convince him or her that everything is going to be all right, we're going to work through it. And in this case it didn't happen, and so, tragic and sad." Gag me, Cliff.
Steve Buyer, the ranking Republican on the committee, shared a story about losing a childhood friend to suicide. "And there were no signs. There were no risk factors, he said. "It was just one of these bizarre strikes of the mind to just -- I don't have the answers." Knock, knock, Steve. It does seem that spending time in a combat zone is, in and of itself, a risk factor that screams to be taken seriously. But Steve isn't in an entirely conciliatory frame of mind. "As we delve into this issue, we have to also be very sensitive," he said, "because I recognize there are anti-war advocates that also want to say that these individuals that then therefore commit suicide, who have worn the uniform, are somehow victims. And that's not right either."
As one of the anti-war advocates he is referring to, I would like to point out that he is conflating two entirely different positions: anti-war and anti-this-war. The two are not mutually exclusive (and I am a proud example of that), but they are different, and pretending they are not is simply disingenuous. As disingenuous as it would be for me to call him pro-war, if I could be persuaded to sink so low.
In fact, aside from anti-war activists, the other thing that seems to terrify this crew is socialized medicine. The VA, properly funded, could actually serve as an example of how universal health care might work. In practice, it has been bearded to look like just any old hospital, replete with exclusionary practices that are a caricature of the most extreme behavior of a private insurance company gone mad.
When after two hours, congressman Bob turned the mike over to me and then to Ilona, we did our best. We did not shame ourselves. In fact, we both had important things to say and (very much to our relief) we said them well. But the Bowmans were a hard act to follow.
The second panel, however, didn't seem to have noticed. Anything. All Katz and crew wanted to talk about were the fine new programs that the VA has inaugurated -- programs that, as Filner repeatedly interrupted to point out, obviously are not enough to stem this outbreak of despair. Filner didn't even try to disguise his frustration and impatience with these apologists who complained bitterly about how mean CBS was being about sharing their research and the creative new outreach plans they have come up with to bring psychically injured veterans into the system: The agency, according to Katz, is writing a letter that should go out this week or next to all veterans, raising these issues." Right, Dr. Katz. A letter.
After only two of the four panel members had given their testimony, Filner cut the hearing short: "Throw this away and talk to the Bowmans, talk to Ms. Coleman, talk to Ms. Meagher, and say, What are we going to do about these issues? You're not doing that. I mean, you had the advantage of listening to them. Respond to them ... I still don't know what you're doing for those people ... You have not done the job. We're going to have another hearing on this. We're going to have another hearing on this. And I want you to come back with a better report. This is not very useful."
That was, I admit, a sweet moment.
There are countless examples, one more painful than the next, of ways this administration has cut corners on soldiers' and veterans' healthcare. They have, with consummate cynicism, decked themselves in yellow ribbons, mandatory lapel pins and cheap jingoistic rhetoric while simultaneously sucking and siphoning off the VA's already inadequate resources. Mike Bowman's testimony alone is a devastating indictment of those policies. And yet Katz continues to insist, as he did repeatedly during these hearings, that the VA has adequate resources to manage a crisis the parameters of which they have yet to determine and the measures to be taken that might actually intervene in the mounting death toll not yet articulated.
I have hope that good things will come of these hearings, but if they did nothing else, they made a few things very clear. For one, the VA is a system in crisis. It has been deeply underfunded for way too long. It has a bureaucratic system that is adversarial to veterans. And though it employs many dedicated and humanitarian care providers, it is led by a bunch of flunkies who say whatever they think they can get away with to avoid taking responsibility for those Americans who honorably enlisted to defend their country.
The hearings also made it perfectly clear that people like me, a pro-peace activist, can find common cause with a military family like that of Mike and Kim Bowman. The Bowmans still support this war, at least in part because they need to believe that their beloved son died for a reason. I cannot support this war, but I too have a beloved son. I cannot begin to imagine the heat of the rage I would feel had my son died as a result of stupid bureaucratic neglect and mismanagement, not to mention skimping. I may not be in favor of this war, but I am fierce when it comes to taking care of those we sent to fight in our name. The architects of the war and those who implement their policies at the VA have to wake up in the morning and look at themselves in the mirror. With the deaths of so many of our children on their hands, I wonder how they manage.
Penny Coleman is the widow of a Vietnam Veteran who took his own life after coming home. Her latest book, Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lessons of War, was released on Memorial Day, 2006. Her blog is Flashback.
Her Blog
Is 'Funding' Really For Troops?
What Happened To Funding and Oversite For Military/Veteran Care In Previous Congresses?
Link
Link
Journalist Tells Congress About Suicide Epidemic Among Vets
By Penny Coleman, AlterNet. Posted January 2, 2008.
A testimony at congressional hearings in response to increasingly ominous reports of soldier and veteran suicides.
On Dec. 12, at 10 in the morning, I was sitting in room 345 of the Cannon House Office Building, as Rep. Bob Filner called to order the Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on "Stopping Suicides: Mental Health Challenges Within the Department of Veterans Affairs."
The hearings were in response to increasingly ominous rumors of soldier and veteran suicides (which the DoD and the VA have continued to deny), culminating in the dramatic CBS News report about veteran suicides released in late November. Finally, an entity with some insider clout had produced some hard numbers that attest to an epidemic of monstrous proportions. Even so, the bad guys, like Dr. Ira Katz, who is head of mental health at the VA, quibble about whether or not this is "an epidemic" or a "major problem." "Why hasn't the VA done a national study seeking national data on how many veterans have committed suicide in this country?" Katz was asked by the CBS reporter. "That research is ongoing," Katz replied, looking a lot like Lucy promising not to snatch the football away again.
So, on Dec. 12, I and three other citizens found ourselves scheduled for the morning panel: Mike and Kim Bowman, whose son Tim, a veteran of the Iraq war, took his own life a year ago; Ilona Meagher, author of Moving a Nation to Care: Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder and America's Returning Troops; and me -- all of us, by the way, suicide survivors. We were to be followed by a second panel consisting of Katz and fellow apologists, who were supposed to eviscerate the CBS report and skewer us with their conflicting numbers. Without, of course, appearing callous, slimy or cruel.
Mike Bowmen spoke first, his wife Kim sitting beside him. Kim didn't speak, but kept her hand on Mike's back. It was such a simple gesture, but one that spoke volumes: Mike is capable of doing the talking, because Kim makes it possible. They are absolutely there for each other. And for their son's memory. And for all the other parents who have already -- or will someday -- have to find ways to survive a death like Tim's.
The Bowmans are devastated. Their grief is huge and terrible, and together they have found ways to give public meaning to their personal tragedy. Aside from giving such an inspiring human face to statistics so awful anyone would want to become numb and turn away from them, Mike mined his own experience and his son's for those moments that had seemed most senselessly counterproductive if not just plain stupid. You can read the whole of his testimony on the Veterans Affairs Committee website, but two points, at least, I think are worth sharing. This first reminds me of those rebate offers that make things sound like such a deal, but are really so complicated and time-consuming to fill out that they know you'll never do it: The VA currently protests that it can't possibly be asked to take responsibility for veterans who have not registered with the system. They don't know where to find them. Well then, Mike asked, "Why isn't the VA sitting there when they get off the bus?" Why don't they have somebody … with a computer and a desk, registering them before they can go home? They're coming out of combat. You know that they're going to need help. Sign them up right there. That way, you know where they are, you know who they are, and they're in the VA system right away. Don't make it so that the soldier has to go to the VA. Make the VA go to the soldier." So simple. So obvious.
Mike's other point was a simple intervention into military culture, and one that would go a long way towards undermining the age-old stigma that is the main reason soldiers don't ask for the help they need: Instead of shunning or punishing a soldier who admits to a combat stress injury and asks for help, hold him or her up as a model. "Grab that soldier and thank him for saying, 'I'm not OK' and promote him," he said. "A soldier that admits a mental injury should be the first guy you want to have in your unit because he may be the only one that really has a grasp on reality."
When Mike and Kim Bowman finished, the entire hearing room came to its feet, and one after another, the committee members fell all over themselves thanking them for their courage and identifying with their pain. Even the Republicans, though they couldn't quite hide their compulsion to hold soldiers responsible for their own pain. One of my favorites, Rep. Cliff Stearns from Florida, "in all candidness," told Mike Bowman, "You coming here is good for us, but it's probably good for you to talk about it." And then did himself even one better when he suggested that perhaps Mike and Kim hadn't quite lived up to their responsibility as parents. "The building up of the self-esteem is the key," he said, "and the parents somehow have to convince him or her that everything is going to be all right, we're going to work through it. And in this case it didn't happen, and so, tragic and sad." Gag me, Cliff.
Steve Buyer, the ranking Republican on the committee, shared a story about losing a childhood friend to suicide. "And there were no signs. There were no risk factors, he said. "It was just one of these bizarre strikes of the mind to just -- I don't have the answers." Knock, knock, Steve. It does seem that spending time in a combat zone is, in and of itself, a risk factor that screams to be taken seriously. But Steve isn't in an entirely conciliatory frame of mind. "As we delve into this issue, we have to also be very sensitive," he said, "because I recognize there are anti-war advocates that also want to say that these individuals that then therefore commit suicide, who have worn the uniform, are somehow victims. And that's not right either."
As one of the anti-war advocates he is referring to, I would like to point out that he is conflating two entirely different positions: anti-war and anti-this-war. The two are not mutually exclusive (and I am a proud example of that), but they are different, and pretending they are not is simply disingenuous. As disingenuous as it would be for me to call him pro-war, if I could be persuaded to sink so low.
In fact, aside from anti-war activists, the other thing that seems to terrify this crew is socialized medicine. The VA, properly funded, could actually serve as an example of how universal health care might work. In practice, it has been bearded to look like just any old hospital, replete with exclusionary practices that are a caricature of the most extreme behavior of a private insurance company gone mad.
When after two hours, congressman Bob turned the mike over to me and then to Ilona, we did our best. We did not shame ourselves. In fact, we both had important things to say and (very much to our relief) we said them well. But the Bowmans were a hard act to follow.
The second panel, however, didn't seem to have noticed. Anything. All Katz and crew wanted to talk about were the fine new programs that the VA has inaugurated -- programs that, as Filner repeatedly interrupted to point out, obviously are not enough to stem this outbreak of despair. Filner didn't even try to disguise his frustration and impatience with these apologists who complained bitterly about how mean CBS was being about sharing their research and the creative new outreach plans they have come up with to bring psychically injured veterans into the system: The agency, according to Katz, is writing a letter that should go out this week or next to all veterans, raising these issues." Right, Dr. Katz. A letter.
After only two of the four panel members had given their testimony, Filner cut the hearing short: "Throw this away and talk to the Bowmans, talk to Ms. Coleman, talk to Ms. Meagher, and say, What are we going to do about these issues? You're not doing that. I mean, you had the advantage of listening to them. Respond to them ... I still don't know what you're doing for those people ... You have not done the job. We're going to have another hearing on this. We're going to have another hearing on this. And I want you to come back with a better report. This is not very useful."
That was, I admit, a sweet moment.
There are countless examples, one more painful than the next, of ways this administration has cut corners on soldiers' and veterans' healthcare. They have, with consummate cynicism, decked themselves in yellow ribbons, mandatory lapel pins and cheap jingoistic rhetoric while simultaneously sucking and siphoning off the VA's already inadequate resources. Mike Bowman's testimony alone is a devastating indictment of those policies. And yet Katz continues to insist, as he did repeatedly during these hearings, that the VA has adequate resources to manage a crisis the parameters of which they have yet to determine and the measures to be taken that might actually intervene in the mounting death toll not yet articulated.
I have hope that good things will come of these hearings, but if they did nothing else, they made a few things very clear. For one, the VA is a system in crisis. It has been deeply underfunded for way too long. It has a bureaucratic system that is adversarial to veterans. And though it employs many dedicated and humanitarian care providers, it is led by a bunch of flunkies who say whatever they think they can get away with to avoid taking responsibility for those Americans who honorably enlisted to defend their country.
The hearings also made it perfectly clear that people like me, a pro-peace activist, can find common cause with a military family like that of Mike and Kim Bowman. The Bowmans still support this war, at least in part because they need to believe that their beloved son died for a reason. I cannot support this war, but I too have a beloved son. I cannot begin to imagine the heat of the rage I would feel had my son died as a result of stupid bureaucratic neglect and mismanagement, not to mention skimping. I may not be in favor of this war, but I am fierce when it comes to taking care of those we sent to fight in our name. The architects of the war and those who implement their policies at the VA have to wake up in the morning and look at themselves in the mirror. With the deaths of so many of our children on their hands, I wonder how they manage.
Penny Coleman is the widow of a Vietnam Veteran who took his own life after coming home. Her latest book, Flashback: Posttraumatic Stress Disorder, Suicide, and the Lessons of War, was released on Memorial Day, 2006. Her blog is Flashback.
Her Blog
Is 'Funding' Really For Troops?
What Happened To Funding and Oversite For Military/Veteran Care In Previous Congresses?
about 1 year ago
Happy New Year from the Whitehouse.... and Happy Birthday to me, ColonelDan, 2 Jan, Don't send presents, only envelops with $100 bills are wanted
Story
2008 NDAA Veto
12/28/07 - President Bush unexpectedly announced he will veto the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) due to concerns over a provision that could make Iraqi assets held in U.S. banks vulner-able to lawsuits. The White House issued a statement saying, in part, “As soon as possible upon Congress's return in January, the Administration will work with Congress to enact the NDAA adjusted in a manner that protects Iraqi funds in the United States and that ensures that the additional pay raise for our troops is retroactive to January 1.” At this time, it does not appear that any other provisions of the NDAA will be affected.
Some of the key provisions of the NDAA include:
Rejection of the Pentagon plan for steep increases in TRICARE fees and pharmacy copayments for retirees under age 65 and their families
3.5% military pay raise (see related story on Defense Appropriations bill)
Extension of Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) to all combat-related disabled veterans
Retroactive (to December 31, 2004), immediate full Concurrent Receipt of Disability Pay for all 100% disabled retirees rated Individual Unemployability (IU).
Lowering of Guard/Reserve retirement age by 3 months for every aggregate 90 days served on active duty under certain mobilization authorities (read more here)
Expanded Guard/Reserve education benefits (read more here)
Conferees were unable to find agreement on ending the SBP/DIC offset, however. The report calls for a Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance of $50 a month beginning Oct. 2008, increasing to $100 by Oct. 2012. NAUS has always supported a complete dismissal of the SBP/DIC offset and will continue to do so until it happens. The conference report also, unfortunately, rejected a one year acceleration of “paid-up" SBP premiums.
There are several other provisions important to many of our members. These include:
Guarantee combat veterans mental health evaluations within 30 days of their request.
Require DoD to use the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities in determining service member disabilities.
Increase from 2 to 5 years the period during which recently separated combat veterans may seek care from the VA.
Increase from 12 to 26 weeks, the amount of leave caregivers of seriously injured service members may take under the Family Medical Leave Act.
One issue that we worked closely with the office of Rep. Madeline Bordallo (D-GU) was to raise the Space-Available (Space A) flight eligibility of any retiree in remote locations in order to receive specialized medical treatment. We were partly successful in that Congress saw the necessity for a higher priority and raised it for those retirees and their dependents to Priority Four from Priority Six.
The bill also authorizes $696 billion in defense spending, including $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Each of these items (and many others) are now on hold as Congress and the Administration work to resolve the issue surrounding Iraqi funds in U.S. banks. The veto action is an unfortunate consequence of lawmakers incorrectly using the legislative process--in this case attaching an issue having nothing to do with national defense to the bill. NAUS has repeatedly urged Congress to complete the conference quickly and eliminate further delays caused by non-germane debate on issues unrelated to National Defense
Story
2008 NDAA Veto
12/28/07 - President Bush unexpectedly announced he will veto the 2008 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) due to concerns over a provision that could make Iraqi assets held in U.S. banks vulner-able to lawsuits. The White House issued a statement saying, in part, “As soon as possible upon Congress's return in January, the Administration will work with Congress to enact the NDAA adjusted in a manner that protects Iraqi funds in the United States and that ensures that the additional pay raise for our troops is retroactive to January 1.” At this time, it does not appear that any other provisions of the NDAA will be affected.
Some of the key provisions of the NDAA include:
Rejection of the Pentagon plan for steep increases in TRICARE fees and pharmacy copayments for retirees under age 65 and their families
3.5% military pay raise (see related story on Defense Appropriations bill)
Extension of Combat Related Special Compensation (CRSC) to all combat-related disabled veterans
Retroactive (to December 31, 2004), immediate full Concurrent Receipt of Disability Pay for all 100% disabled retirees rated Individual Unemployability (IU).
Lowering of Guard/Reserve retirement age by 3 months for every aggregate 90 days served on active duty under certain mobilization authorities (read more here)
Expanded Guard/Reserve education benefits (read more here)
Conferees were unable to find agreement on ending the SBP/DIC offset, however. The report calls for a Special Survivor Indemnity Allowance of $50 a month beginning Oct. 2008, increasing to $100 by Oct. 2012. NAUS has always supported a complete dismissal of the SBP/DIC offset and will continue to do so until it happens. The conference report also, unfortunately, rejected a one year acceleration of “paid-up" SBP premiums.
There are several other provisions important to many of our members. These include:
Guarantee combat veterans mental health evaluations within 30 days of their request.
Require DoD to use the VA Schedule for Rating Disabilities in determining service member disabilities.
Increase from 2 to 5 years the period during which recently separated combat veterans may seek care from the VA.
Increase from 12 to 26 weeks, the amount of leave caregivers of seriously injured service members may take under the Family Medical Leave Act.
One issue that we worked closely with the office of Rep. Madeline Bordallo (D-GU) was to raise the Space-Available (Space A) flight eligibility of any retiree in remote locations in order to receive specialized medical treatment. We were partly successful in that Congress saw the necessity for a higher priority and raised it for those retirees and their dependents to Priority Four from Priority Six.
The bill also authorizes $696 billion in defense spending, including $189 billion for the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Each of these items (and many others) are now on hold as Congress and the Administration work to resolve the issue surrounding Iraqi funds in U.S. banks. The veto action is an unfortunate consequence of lawmakers incorrectly using the legislative process--in this case attaching an issue having nothing to do with national defense to the bill. NAUS has repeatedly urged Congress to complete the conference quickly and eliminate further delays caused by non-germane debate on issues unrelated to National Defense
about 1 year ago
Well, done TC...beautiful work...and you have my sincerest apprection for assisting us in this endeavor...huggies from the emom
about 1 year ago
Manganese Exposures for Navy Workers
This information was taken from a study conducted by the Navy Environmental
Health Center. It suggests that Navy personnel may be at risk for exposure
to manganese. Conclusions presented in this study should be considered by
DA Health authorities to determine if similar exposure potentials exist for
Army personnel.
In June 1996, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environmental
Security) requested an evaluation of manganese exposures to Navy workers,
and an assessment of the impact of a reduced manganese standard.
Background note - The American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists (ACGIH) Chemical Substances TLVr Committee has determined that
manganese is a chronic toxin and that a time weighted average (TWA)
exposure limit over the work day is appropriate. In 1992, the TLV Committee
proposed a Notice of Intended Change for manganese as a TLV-TWA of 200
ug/m3 as manganese for elemental and inorganic compounds. The previous TLVs
were similar to the OSHA PELs, which were vacated by the Eleventh Circuit
Court of Appeals in July 1992. These values were 5,000 ug/m3 as a ceiling
limit for dust, 3,000 ug/m3 as a short-term exposure limit (STEL), with a
1,000 ug/m3 limit as an 8hour TWA for fumes. In setting the PELs OSHA had
concluded that both a TWA and a STEL limit were required to protect workers
from manganese fume poisoning, lung damage and pneumonia. Because the PELs
were vacated, the current OSHA PEL reinstates the old value of 5,000 ug/m3
as a ceiling limit for both dust and fume. Manganese may be absorbed both
from the lungs and GI tract. Inhalation exposure to high levels of
manganese can lead to a disabling neurological syndrome "manganism".
The Chief of Naval Operations (N45 staff) convened a Navy working group
comprised of technical professionals representing the Bureau of Medicine
and Surgery, Marine Corps, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems
Command, Navy Environmental Health Center, and Naval Surface Warfare Center
Carderock Division. This group analyzed the tasking and developed an action
plan to prepare this report. The primary author and coordinator for the
report was Mr. John Bishop, Navy Environmental Health Center. The study
concluded the following:
*666 exposures were reviewed
*95 % of the TWA exposures (with 95 %
confidence) of the population performing the
operation were below the anticipated OSHA
PEL of 200 ug/m3
*7% of the exposures were at or above the
anticipated action level of 100 ug/m3, and
*3.5% of the exposures were at or above the
anticipated PEL of 200 ug/m3.
*Work operations with assessments greater
than 100 ug/m3 are mechanical metal cleaning
(e.g., abrasive blasting), welding, thermal
cutting, and utilities (e.g., boiler
maintenance).
*There were two mechanical cleaning
assessments that resulted in concentrations
>1000 ug/m3.
The report also summarized types of engineering control that is being used
to reduce manganese exposures to workers.
SOURCE:
This information was taken from a study conducted by the Navy Environmental
Health Center. It suggests that Navy personnel may be at risk for exposure
to manganese. Conclusions presented in this study should be considered by
DA Health authorities to determine if similar exposure potentials exist for
Army personnel.
In June 1996, the Deputy Under Secretary of Defense (Environmental
Security) requested an evaluation of manganese exposures to Navy workers,
and an assessment of the impact of a reduced manganese standard.
Background note - The American Conference of Governmental Industrial
Hygienists (ACGIH) Chemical Substances TLVr Committee has determined that
manganese is a chronic toxin and that a time weighted average (TWA)
exposure limit over the work day is appropriate. In 1992, the TLV Committee
proposed a Notice of Intended Change for manganese as a TLV-TWA of 200
ug/m3 as manganese for elemental and inorganic compounds. The previous TLVs
were similar to the OSHA PELs, which were vacated by the Eleventh Circuit
Court of Appeals in July 1992. These values were 5,000 ug/m3 as a ceiling
limit for dust, 3,000 ug/m3 as a short-term exposure limit (STEL), with a
1,000 ug/m3 limit as an 8hour TWA for fumes. In setting the PELs OSHA had
concluded that both a TWA and a STEL limit were required to protect workers
from manganese fume poisoning, lung damage and pneumonia. Because the PELs
were vacated, the current OSHA PEL reinstates the old value of 5,000 ug/m3
as a ceiling limit for both dust and fume. Manganese may be absorbed both
from the lungs and GI tract. Inhalation exposure to high levels of
manganese can lead to a disabling neurological syndrome "manganism".
The Chief of Naval Operations (N45 staff) convened a Navy working group
comprised of technical professionals representing the Bureau of Medicine
and Surgery, Marine Corps, Naval Sea Systems Command, Naval Air Systems
Command, Navy Environmental Health Center, and Naval Surface Warfare Center
Carderock Division. This group analyzed the tasking and developed an action
plan to prepare this report. The primary author and coordinator for the
report was Mr. John Bishop, Navy Environmental Health Center. The study
concluded the following:
*666 exposures were reviewed
*95 % of the TWA exposures (with 95 %
confidence) of the population performing the
operation were below the anticipated OSHA
PEL of 200 ug/m3
*7% of the exposures were at or above the
anticipated action level of 100 ug/m3, and
*3.5% of the exposures were at or above the
anticipated PEL of 200 ug/m3.
*Work operations with assessments greater
than 100 ug/m3 are mechanical metal cleaning
(e.g., abrasive blasting), welding, thermal
cutting, and utilities (e.g., boiler
maintenance).
*There were two mechanical cleaning
assessments that resulted in concentrations
>1000 ug/m3.
The report also summarized types of engineering control that is being used
to reduce manganese exposures to workers.
SOURCE:
about 1 year ago
Thanks, TC! Lots of great info here.
~KK
~KK
about 1 year ago
Security concerns raised as China fills U.S. medicine chest
Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: December 06, 2007 06:24:16 PM
BEIJING — The medicine cabinet in the average U.S. home is filling with drugs made in China, and some experts say that could be a prescription for trouble.
China's booming pharmaceutical industry has doubled exports to the United States in the past five years, undercutting competitors and making American consumers reliant on the safety of Chinese factories and captive to any disruptions in Sino-U.S. commerce.
It might seem like merely a trade issue. But industry experts in Europe and the United States say national-security concerns are edging into the debate.
Consider this scenario:
If a major anthrax attack were to occur in the United States — larger than the one in 2001, when five people died — pharmaceutical companies that make the two antibiotics most suitable for treatment, Cipro and doxycycline, would have no choice but to rely on China or India for key ingredients once American stockpiles were exhausted. Those ingredients no longer are made in the West.
A Portuguese company that ramped up doxycycline production in 2001 at Washington's request said China now controlled the flow of its crucial drug component.
"If we were asked to do this again, we would be dependent on China providing us with key starting materials that are unavailable in the rest of the world," said Guy Villax, the chief executive of Hovione, a Lisbon-based fine chemicals company.
The spectacular growth of China's pharmaceutical industry coincides with some equally huge problems. A kickback scandal ensnared China's State Food and Drug Administration and its chief in charges that they gave approval for bogus drugs, including a counterfeit antibiotic that left 13 people dead. Wary of rising public anger, the state issued a Draconian sanction: It executed the agency chief in July.
Cases of tainted toothpaste, toys and pet food that have made global consumers wary of the "Made in China" label added urgency to a high-profile drug agency purge.
Even so, China's $65 billion pharmaceutical industry is galloping at an annual growth rate of 24 percent in the first eight months of this year. Competitors say China's drug companies not only have low-cost advantages but also get a nearly free pass from U.S. drug regulators, who hold the screws to American companies — raising their costs significantly — but rarely inspect in China.
China says it's a reliable source of safe medicine for its own citizens and export markets. At a news conference this week, the deputy drug agency chief, Wu Zhen, called on countries to work together to ensure a safe global supply chain of medicines.
"To solve the drug safety problems, we need international cooperation," Wu said. "We hope to have . . . more cooperation, and less finger-pointing."
China dominates more than just antibiotics. U.S. regulators license 714 plants in China to produce ingredients for over-the-counter, generic and prescription drugs for Americans. China has snagged a major share of the global sales of many vitamins, antibiotics, enzymes and painkillers. It makes a third of the world's acetaminophen, an over-the-counter pain medication. Acetaminophen is sold under many brand names, the best known of which is Tylenol, though Tylenol itself isn't made in China.
This brings up another possible scenario:
"Just suppose you are taking some cholesterol drug, and its intermediates or active ingredients are made in China. Then there's some conflict with Taiwan. Will your drug still be available?" asked Joe Acker, the president of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers' Association, a trade group in Washington. "The whole drug supply could be in jeopardy in these kinds of situations."
Acker noted that he thinks that the United States could rebound from disruptions in the increasingly globalized supply chain for drug components, in which materials are bought from a number of low-cost countries.
"I'm not a Chicken Little type of person," Acker said. "However, if there were to be a major problem, and we could not source material from China, we would have to gear up production very quickly."
The anthrax scare jolted the United States just a week after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news organizations in Florida and New York and to the offices of two U.S. senators. Authorities don't know the source of the letters, and no arrests have been made.
Because of the attacks, the Health and Human Services Department increased stockpiles of antibiotics and vaccines against anthrax.
"We have enough antibiotics . . . to treat 40 million Americans," Bill Hall, a spokesman for the department, said in an e-mail, adding that the government also has 28.75 million doses of anthrax vaccine.
Bayer, the German health-care giant, held patent protection until 2004 over the antibiotic known as ciprofloxacin, which it marketed as Cipro. That antibiotic now is mass-produced by generic firms, which get a key ingredient, dichloro fluorobenzene, from one of four Chinese companies or two Indian firms.
The Chinese and Indian companies are all but exempt from oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"Only 13 inspections were conducted in China in 2007," Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said at a hearing Nov. 1. "At this rate, it would take the FDA 55 years just to clear this backlog."
By giving China a virtual pass on FDA inspections, Acker said, Chinese firms get a cost savings of about 25 percent above American companies, which face unannounced on-site inspections at any time.
Since European pharmaceutical companies also face tougher standards, they too have stopped producing some basic drug ingredients, ceding production to Chinese and Indian companies that face less scrutiny and have lower costs.
On both sides of the Atlantic, manufacturers say they fret over the national-security implications of the massive off-shoring of production to Asia.
"If there is a peak in demand triggered by a pandemic or a terrorist event, there will be little domestic production capacity to meet public health needs," said an August 2006 white paper by the U.S. chemicals trade group in conjunction with the European Fine Chemicals Group, its counterpart.
Chinese chemical companies that sell ingredients used by foreign pharmaceutical firms also shield themselves from the news media.
Sun Dongliang, the deputy chief of the chemical industry chamber under the powerful China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, refused a request for an interview.
"He thinks that your interview has nothing to do with the chemical industry. It's about pharmaceutical things," said an assistant who gave only her surname as Guo.
All four Chinese companies that manufacture the key ingredient for ciprofloxacin declined requests for interviews.
China offered foreign journalists a tour of two model pharmaceutical plants in Hangzhou on Nov. 23. The plants were spotless. Workers in face masks toiled in jumpsuits on assembly lines. Polished machinery gleamed. One factory made Chinese medicines to treat prostate ailments. The other made herbal remedies.
Outsiders say Chinese drug plants run the gamut from First to Third World.
"You will see some companies where you can eat off the floor. They are state of the art," said Acker, the U.S. trade group chief. "I hear other stories of places where people are making chemicals while wearing flip-flops."
Despite multiple requests over a two-week period, McClatchy was unable to gain access to any drug ingredient-manufacturing facilities other than the model firms presented by the Chinese government.
Although Chinese authorities warn against foreign finger-pointing, the government's own reaction to the scandal over bogus and substandard drugs earlier this year was extremely harsh.
After drug chief Zheng Xiaoyu's execution, the state began a vast housecleaning. This week, it said it had shut down 300 drug and medical-device makers, convicted 279 people of irregularities and prompted drug companies to withdraw 7,300 applications for drug approval, indicating more rigor in the approval process.
Such actions left doubt whether consumers ought to be reassured by the factories shut down or alarmed at the state of the industry. Wu, the deputy drug chief, said he hoped to restore faith in Chinese drugs after the kickback scandal.
"The corruption case . . . has tarnished our image," he said. "One of the targets of this campaign is to clean up the legacy caused by this corruption case."
Still unclear is whether increased self-policing is sufficient given the magnitude of China's production and its rising share of global medicine chests.
Villax, the Portuguese executive who's a board member of the European Fine Chemicals Group, said some Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers were cutting corners and that unless enforcement tightened "people will die."
"It's not low-cost labor that concerns us," Villax said. "What we're saying is there are a lot of people not playing by the rules, and not getting caught."
A sign of the troubles that can occur in the pharmaceutical industry came at a plant that was manufacturing a key ingredient used in ciprofloxacin.
A deafening blast ripped through the Fuyuan Chemical Co. plant in Jiangsu province on July 28, 2006. Once the smoke cleared, 22 people lay dead and another 29 were injured. China's State Administration of Work Safety later issued a report charging the plant with ignoring safety rules, adopting low construction standards and operating without permits.
(McClatchy special correspondent Fan Di contributed to this article.)
McClatchy Newspapers 2007
Source
Tim Johnson | McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: December 06, 2007 06:24:16 PM
BEIJING — The medicine cabinet in the average U.S. home is filling with drugs made in China, and some experts say that could be a prescription for trouble.
China's booming pharmaceutical industry has doubled exports to the United States in the past five years, undercutting competitors and making American consumers reliant on the safety of Chinese factories and captive to any disruptions in Sino-U.S. commerce.
It might seem like merely a trade issue. But industry experts in Europe and the United States say national-security concerns are edging into the debate.
Consider this scenario:
If a major anthrax attack were to occur in the United States — larger than the one in 2001, when five people died — pharmaceutical companies that make the two antibiotics most suitable for treatment, Cipro and doxycycline, would have no choice but to rely on China or India for key ingredients once American stockpiles were exhausted. Those ingredients no longer are made in the West.
A Portuguese company that ramped up doxycycline production in 2001 at Washington's request said China now controlled the flow of its crucial drug component.
"If we were asked to do this again, we would be dependent on China providing us with key starting materials that are unavailable in the rest of the world," said Guy Villax, the chief executive of Hovione, a Lisbon-based fine chemicals company.
The spectacular growth of China's pharmaceutical industry coincides with some equally huge problems. A kickback scandal ensnared China's State Food and Drug Administration and its chief in charges that they gave approval for bogus drugs, including a counterfeit antibiotic that left 13 people dead. Wary of rising public anger, the state issued a Draconian sanction: It executed the agency chief in July.
Cases of tainted toothpaste, toys and pet food that have made global consumers wary of the "Made in China" label added urgency to a high-profile drug agency purge.
Even so, China's $65 billion pharmaceutical industry is galloping at an annual growth rate of 24 percent in the first eight months of this year. Competitors say China's drug companies not only have low-cost advantages but also get a nearly free pass from U.S. drug regulators, who hold the screws to American companies — raising their costs significantly — but rarely inspect in China.
China says it's a reliable source of safe medicine for its own citizens and export markets. At a news conference this week, the deputy drug agency chief, Wu Zhen, called on countries to work together to ensure a safe global supply chain of medicines.
"To solve the drug safety problems, we need international cooperation," Wu said. "We hope to have . . . more cooperation, and less finger-pointing."
China dominates more than just antibiotics. U.S. regulators license 714 plants in China to produce ingredients for over-the-counter, generic and prescription drugs for Americans. China has snagged a major share of the global sales of many vitamins, antibiotics, enzymes and painkillers. It makes a third of the world's acetaminophen, an over-the-counter pain medication. Acetaminophen is sold under many brand names, the best known of which is Tylenol, though Tylenol itself isn't made in China.
This brings up another possible scenario:
"Just suppose you are taking some cholesterol drug, and its intermediates or active ingredients are made in China. Then there's some conflict with Taiwan. Will your drug still be available?" asked Joe Acker, the president of the Synthetic Organic Chemical Manufacturers' Association, a trade group in Washington. "The whole drug supply could be in jeopardy in these kinds of situations."
Acker noted that he thinks that the United States could rebound from disruptions in the increasingly globalized supply chain for drug components, in which materials are bought from a number of low-cost countries.
"I'm not a Chicken Little type of person," Acker said. "However, if there were to be a major problem, and we could not source material from China, we would have to gear up production very quickly."
The anthrax scare jolted the United States just a week after the terrorist attacks of Sept. 11, 2001. Letters containing anthrax spores were mailed to news organizations in Florida and New York and to the offices of two U.S. senators. Authorities don't know the source of the letters, and no arrests have been made.
Because of the attacks, the Health and Human Services Department increased stockpiles of antibiotics and vaccines against anthrax.
"We have enough antibiotics . . . to treat 40 million Americans," Bill Hall, a spokesman for the department, said in an e-mail, adding that the government also has 28.75 million doses of anthrax vaccine.
Bayer, the German health-care giant, held patent protection until 2004 over the antibiotic known as ciprofloxacin, which it marketed as Cipro. That antibiotic now is mass-produced by generic firms, which get a key ingredient, dichloro fluorobenzene, from one of four Chinese companies or two Indian firms.
The Chinese and Indian companies are all but exempt from oversight by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration.
"Only 13 inspections were conducted in China in 2007," Rep. John Dingell, a Michigan Democrat who chairs the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said at a hearing Nov. 1. "At this rate, it would take the FDA 55 years just to clear this backlog."
By giving China a virtual pass on FDA inspections, Acker said, Chinese firms get a cost savings of about 25 percent above American companies, which face unannounced on-site inspections at any time.
Since European pharmaceutical companies also face tougher standards, they too have stopped producing some basic drug ingredients, ceding production to Chinese and Indian companies that face less scrutiny and have lower costs.
On both sides of the Atlantic, manufacturers say they fret over the national-security implications of the massive off-shoring of production to Asia.
"If there is a peak in demand triggered by a pandemic or a terrorist event, there will be little domestic production capacity to meet public health needs," said an August 2006 white paper by the U.S. chemicals trade group in conjunction with the European Fine Chemicals Group, its counterpart.
Chinese chemical companies that sell ingredients used by foreign pharmaceutical firms also shield themselves from the news media.
Sun Dongliang, the deputy chief of the chemical industry chamber under the powerful China Council for the Promotion of International Trade, refused a request for an interview.
"He thinks that your interview has nothing to do with the chemical industry. It's about pharmaceutical things," said an assistant who gave only her surname as Guo.
All four Chinese companies that manufacture the key ingredient for ciprofloxacin declined requests for interviews.
China offered foreign journalists a tour of two model pharmaceutical plants in Hangzhou on Nov. 23. The plants were spotless. Workers in face masks toiled in jumpsuits on assembly lines. Polished machinery gleamed. One factory made Chinese medicines to treat prostate ailments. The other made herbal remedies.
Outsiders say Chinese drug plants run the gamut from First to Third World.
"You will see some companies where you can eat off the floor. They are state of the art," said Acker, the U.S. trade group chief. "I hear other stories of places where people are making chemicals while wearing flip-flops."
Despite multiple requests over a two-week period, McClatchy was unable to gain access to any drug ingredient-manufacturing facilities other than the model firms presented by the Chinese government.
Although Chinese authorities warn against foreign finger-pointing, the government's own reaction to the scandal over bogus and substandard drugs earlier this year was extremely harsh.
After drug chief Zheng Xiaoyu's execution, the state began a vast housecleaning. This week, it said it had shut down 300 drug and medical-device makers, convicted 279 people of irregularities and prompted drug companies to withdraw 7,300 applications for drug approval, indicating more rigor in the approval process.
Such actions left doubt whether consumers ought to be reassured by the factories shut down or alarmed at the state of the industry. Wu, the deputy drug chief, said he hoped to restore faith in Chinese drugs after the kickback scandal.
"The corruption case . . . has tarnished our image," he said. "One of the targets of this campaign is to clean up the legacy caused by this corruption case."
Still unclear is whether increased self-policing is sufficient given the magnitude of China's production and its rising share of global medicine chests.
Villax, the Portuguese executive who's a board member of the European Fine Chemicals Group, said some Chinese pharmaceutical manufacturers were cutting corners and that unless enforcement tightened "people will die."
"It's not low-cost labor that concerns us," Villax said. "What we're saying is there are a lot of people not playing by the rules, and not getting caught."
A sign of the troubles that can occur in the pharmaceutical industry came at a plant that was manufacturing a key ingredient used in ciprofloxacin.
A deafening blast ripped through the Fuyuan Chemical Co. plant in Jiangsu province on July 28, 2006. Once the smoke cleared, 22 people lay dead and another 29 were injured. China's State Administration of Work Safety later issued a report charging the plant with ignoring safety rules, adopting low construction standards and operating without permits.
(McClatchy special correspondent Fan Di contributed to this article.)
McClatchy Newspapers 2007
Source
about 1 year ago
Car crash got disabled GI the help he needed
This is almost criminal
almost 2 years, he’s still waiting for the benefits he needs to get an education and move on with his life.
After the crash in Bangor, Pennington started receiving treatment for the post-traumatic stress disorder he had been diagnosed with more than a year before
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 24, 2007 12:36:06 EST
SOURCE
DETROIT, Maine — For former Army Spc. Matthew Pennington, who lost one leg and part of the other in combat in Iraq nearly 20 months ago, a near-fatal drunken driving accident in September marked the low point in his struggle to get his life back on track.
Traveling at what police later told him was about 55 mph, Pennington drove into the wall of the Bank of America building on Exchange Street in Bangor.
“It was my statement: ‘I am done,”’ said the 24-year-old paratrooper from Detroit. He had turned to alcohol, he said, out of frustration in dealing with his physical injuries and the demons that followed him home from the war.
Pennington had been fitted with a prosthetic leg that he hoped to someday use to run a marathon. But when the leg broke in June and Pennington was unable to get it fixed, he lost a measure of his independence.
A months-long delay in getting his leg fixed was the first of what he said was a series of barriers that prevented him from getting the help he needed through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
After the crash in Bangor, Pennington started receiving treatment for the post-traumatic stress disorder he had been diagnosed with more than a year before. Other help came after he and his wife began speaking publicly about their problems. On Thursday he was fitted with new parts for his prosthetic leg, which turned out to be a vast improvement.
“It feels great. I am not limping any more. I am not using my cane,” he said.
Pennington, was on his second tour in Iraq and had served one tour in Afghanistan, when he fell victim to an explosive device that detonated next to his Humvee.
On his return to Maine, after more than a dozen operations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he looked forward going to college and a career in politics in which he could help other returning veterans. But he said he’s still waiting for the benefits he needs to get an education and move on with his life.
Pennington said medical care at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Togus has not measured up to what he was promised, nor to the care his friends in the military receive in other states.
While barred by law from commenting specifically about Pennington’s case, an official at Togus said Veterans Affairs works hard to meet the needs of Maine veterans.
“I would consider it very rare that (veterans) fall through the cracks,” said Jim Doherty, assistant to the director of the VA Center.
This is almost criminal
almost 2 years, he’s still waiting for the benefits he needs to get an education and move on with his life.
After the crash in Bangor, Pennington started receiving treatment for the post-traumatic stress disorder he had been diagnosed with more than a year before
The Associated Press
Posted : Monday Dec 24, 2007 12:36:06 EST
SOURCE
DETROIT, Maine — For former Army Spc. Matthew Pennington, who lost one leg and part of the other in combat in Iraq nearly 20 months ago, a near-fatal drunken driving accident in September marked the low point in his struggle to get his life back on track.
Traveling at what police later told him was about 55 mph, Pennington drove into the wall of the Bank of America building on Exchange Street in Bangor.
“It was my statement: ‘I am done,”’ said the 24-year-old paratrooper from Detroit. He had turned to alcohol, he said, out of frustration in dealing with his physical injuries and the demons that followed him home from the war.
Pennington had been fitted with a prosthetic leg that he hoped to someday use to run a marathon. But when the leg broke in June and Pennington was unable to get it fixed, he lost a measure of his independence.
A months-long delay in getting his leg fixed was the first of what he said was a series of barriers that prevented him from getting the help he needed through the Department of Veterans Affairs.
After the crash in Bangor, Pennington started receiving treatment for the post-traumatic stress disorder he had been diagnosed with more than a year before. Other help came after he and his wife began speaking publicly about their problems. On Thursday he was fitted with new parts for his prosthetic leg, which turned out to be a vast improvement.
“It feels great. I am not limping any more. I am not using my cane,” he said.
Pennington, was on his second tour in Iraq and had served one tour in Afghanistan, when he fell victim to an explosive device that detonated next to his Humvee.
On his return to Maine, after more than a dozen operations at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, D.C., he looked forward going to college and a career in politics in which he could help other returning veterans. But he said he’s still waiting for the benefits he needs to get an education and move on with his life.
Pennington said medical care at the Veterans Affairs Medical Center at Togus has not measured up to what he was promised, nor to the care his friends in the military receive in other states.
While barred by law from commenting specifically about Pennington’s case, an official at Togus said Veterans Affairs works hard to meet the needs of Maine veterans.
“I would consider it very rare that (veterans) fall through the cracks,” said Jim Doherty, assistant to the director of the VA Center.
about 1 year ago
