Veterans
Senator Wyden has worked to expand access to health care for all veterans.
In 2005, Senator Wyden successfully worked with Oregon and Washington’s Congressional Delegations to ensure that the Walla Walla, WA VA hospital was not closed as part of the Capital Asset Realignment for Enhanced Services (CARES) process. In 2010, when the VA announced plans reduce services at its Roseburg facility, Wyden held a series of community forums and forced an outside review of the hospital which kept Roseburg’s VA emergency room open and expanded distance medicine programs for veterans in Oregon’s rural communities. Wyden’s advocacy also made a Community Based Outpatient Clinic for veterans in La Grande a reality as well as the creation of Bend’s Vet Center which opened in 2010.
In 2008, Wyden’s questioning of two Pentagon officials and subsequent follow-up with the Secretary of Defense revealed more than 39,000 cases of concurrent retirement and disability claims as well as combat-related compensation claims that had yet to be processed. As a result of Wyden’s intervention, the Defense Finance and Accounting Service quadrupled the number of staff processing claims and ensured prompt reimbursement for veterans. In 2010, Wyden’s advocacy resolved a two year backlog of reimbursements for Oregon veterans who paid out of pocket for service-connected travel and health care.
Latest
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Wyden Testifies at Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee Hearing on Pension Poachers
Posted on 06/27/12 -
Wyden and Kohl Investigate Pension Poaching in VA’s Pension Program at Aging Committee Hearing
Coinciding with the release of a Government Accountability Office (GAO) report investigating “pension poaching” practices by unscrupulous financial planners operating within the VA’s pension program, U.S...…Read More
Posted on 06/06/12 | -
Aging Committee Hearing to Investigate Claims of Exploitation of Seniors Applying for VA’s Pension Plan
U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.) will chair a hearing of the Senate Special Committee on Aging on Wednesday, June 6, 2012 at 2 pm to hear testimony from government officials, veterans advocates as well as those who have been victimized by unscrupulous “pension po...…Read More
Posted on 06/04/12 | -
Have you been targeted by a Pension Poacher? Tell us your Aid and Attendance story.
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Posted on 05/15/12 -
Wyden Cosponsors Bill to Compensate Servicemembers for Miscalculation of Leave Time Under PDMRA
As the bureaucratic struggles over the Defense Department’s handling of the Post-Deployment Mobilization Respite Absence (PDMRA) program continue, U.S. Senator Ron Wyden (D-Ore.), has joined U.S. Senator Herb Kohl (D-Wisc.) and other Senate colleagues in i...…Read More
Posted on 02/02/12 -
January 2012
Posted on 01/15/12 -
December 2011
Posted on 01/09/12