to figure out where that comes from and how to cope with that, i guess. >> the department of veterans affairs remains a refuge for tim. he can surround himself with other veterans, men and women who survived war only to battle addiction at home. >> learn more about the consequences of taking too much pain medication and explore the investigation from the center of investigator reporting. -- investigative reporting. >>> join us tomorrow on air and online. one massachusetts county is keeping the local economy moving by printing its own money. >> it's good for our country to keep manufacturing here. >> it's about shopping local. it's about sustain ability right here where we live and work. >> that's it for this edition of "pbs news hour weekend." i'm allison stewart. thanks for watching. >>> pbs news hour weekend is made possible by judy and josh westin. joyce v. hale. the wallick family. the cheryl and philip milstein family. roslyn p. walter. corporate funding is provided by mutual of america. additional support is provided by -- and by -- the corporation for public broadcasting and by contrib

department of veterans affairs department of veterans affairs.organizational model incorporates cross functional teams working on one of three segmented lanes, express cooperations. things were created based on complexity and priority of claims. the express lane develops and writes claims with a limited number of issues and subject manner, which could be developed and rated more quickly. corley and includes claims that three or more medical issues that do not involve special populations of veterans. the special operations plane applies intense focus and case management on specific categories of things that require special processing or training. it's comprised a regional office most highly skilled personnel specialist experience and training. vba is simplifying ratings by building a decision support tools to make employees more action and decision are consistent and accurate. one of them is the evaluation builder essentially an interactive reading schedule. the reader uses check docs is associated with the veterans events. dbq's are designed to s

naturally it's a big change. >> john caldera serves on the san francisco veterans affairs commission.e kept his sexual orientation secret and was honorably discharged from the navy in the '80s. >> i can truly see how the term don't ask don't tell came into being. that's how many of us had to live our lives, closeted and sheltered. >>> veterans affairs hospitals like this one in san francisco have launched outreach pilot programs recent, specialized psychologists to handle posttraumatic stress cases caused by lgbt issues. >> he and his colleagues visit job fairs, community centers and pride events. >> veterans have been really excited, impressed and surprised that we've offered this program and have been asking for more and more services. >> the va now handles a hot line for gay and lesbian veterans. >> we've had large numbers of openly lgbt people and so the va may be responding to that differently than they were in the past for people who were closeted as i was at that time. >> there is a feeling in lgbt circles that many veteran programs only handle heterosexuals. >> not much has ch

president, as chairman of the committee on veteran affairs, i rise today to urge senate passage of s. 944, the veterans health and benefits improvement act of 2013. this bipartisan legislation is the result of months of hard work by my colleagues from both sides of the aisle. this legislation was passed out of committee by voice vote. there were no objections that took place on july 24, and this legislation is paid for. this legislation is paid for. furthermore, this legislation is supported by nearly every major veteran and military service organization in our country, including the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, the military officers association of america, the american legion, the vietnam veterans of america, the association of the united states navy, the reserve offices association, the jewish war veterans, the enlisted association of the national guard of the united states, the national association, the uniformed services, amvets, gold star wives, the national congress of american indians. it would in fact, i think, be a very good statement about what we are trying to

department of veterans affairs department of veterans affairs. organizational model incorporates cross functional teams working on one of three segmented lanes, express cooperations. things were created based on complexity and priority of claims. the express lane develops and writes claims with a limited number of issues and subject manner, which could be developed and rated more quickly. corley and includes claims that three or more medical issues that do not involve special populations of veterans. the special operations plane applies intense focus and case management on specific categories of things that require special processing or training. it's comprised a regional office most highly skilled personnel specialist experience and training. vba is simplifying ratings by building a decision support tools to make employees more action and decision are consistent and accurate. one of them is the evaluation builder essentially an interactive reading schedule. the reader uses check docs is associated with the veterans events. dbq's are designed to

department of veterans affairs who will be accompanied by mr. brent arronte, director of san diego benefits inspections division. additionally the hearing record will include written statements from disabled american veterans. the tragedy assistance program for survivors than ms. schaffer's wife of the veterans with instructions complete, thank you for being here today. i now yield to the ranking member for her opening statement. >> well, thank you, mr. chairman. and thank you wrote in this important hearing. i also like to thank the witnesses here today for their time and trouble to come and share information with us. first, i want to applaud the va for reducing the benefit by 34% in march of 2014. we know the va can maintain this momentum and we are optimistic. we want to end this decade-long backlog and we are moving in that direction. our numbers indeed show the va is on track to reach the secretary's goal by 2015. i would ask you to relay a message to the people who work for the va and tell them thank you for their efforts and to please keep

your tax but economics professor you discover divorced expenditures from military repayment to veterans affairs nuclear weapons and many many other direct will cost the taxpayers all knowingly paying for profound and astonishing sixty eight cents of your every tykes dollar now goes on for a bull's educational. a new generation of americans gets five for the pizza cruise next kohls of the untold history of the united states with hollywood director oliver stone for screws and he joins us this great to see you what happens in states the choose war over school spending thing that threatens the united states more than terrorism more than anything really is the failure of our educational system so worst of both we're all they have debt and they don't have the education that's going to have the us is what's happening already i say since declining you know our until history project is dedicated to burying this myth of exceptionalism. i think it's noxious noxious and noxious about you know it's dangerous for americans to think that they're god's gift to humanity you know what worries you about the direc

part of her exclusive report, "america tonigh tonight"'s lori jane gliha goes inside the first veterans affairs medical center to open its doors to male survivors of sexual assault. >> just beyond the calming waves off the coast of tampa, florida is the first veterans facility to address the issue of male sexual assault. >> if you're dwelling on what's going on in your own head, it's hard to relate to someone else or have them relate to you, right? >> the men and women in this classroom at the bay pines v.a. health care system are all survivors of military sexual trauma. >> by identifying your inner personal values, we start where we think we have hang-ups. >> this is the first time a television crew has been given access to a counseling session here. >> sometimes, you know, the relationship with my myself is hard. >> participants receive treatment individually and as a group in a residential setting. >> they share the room with some private space created by the dividers. >> in the year 2000 dr. carol o'brien developed what is now a 16-bed treatment facility, originally the program was only ava

. >> i created this flyer -- >> reporter: john serves on the san francisco veteran's affairs program.was honorable discharged from the navy in the '80s. >> i can truly understand why the term don't ask don't tell came into being, because that's how many of us had to live our lives. >> reporter: the military has come far in the past few years, some hospitals like this one in san francisco have launched outreach pilot programs to have specially trained psychologists to handle posttraumatic stress patients. this doctor and his colleagues visit job fairs, commune if i centers and pride events. >> veterans have been excited, impressed and surprised that we offer this program. >> reporter: the va also man tajs a hot line specifically for gay and lesbian veterans. >> this is the first generation where we have had large numbers of openly lgbt people, so the va may be responding to that differently than they did in the past when people were closeted as i was at that time. >> reporter: taylor's services would go far. there is a feeling that many current veteran to peer counseling programs only

the clerk: nomination, department of veterans affairs, sloan d. gibson to be deputy secretary. mr. reid: there is a cloture motion at the desk. the presiding officer: the clerk will report. the clerk: cloture motion: we, the undersigned senators, in accordance with the provisions of rule 22 of the standing rules of the senate, do hereby move to bring to a close debate on the nomination of shown d. gibson of the district of columbia to be deputy secretary of veterans affairs, signed by 17 senators as follows: mr. reid: i ask that the reading of the names be waived, mr. president. the presiding officer: without objection. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to legislative session. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. mr. reid: i now move to proceed to executive session to consider calendar number 445. the presiding officer: question is on the motion. all in favor say aye. all opposed, no. the ayes appear to have it. the ayes do have it. the motion is agreed to. th

. >> general eric shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs, speaking on november 3rd, 2009, addressingl summit of veterans and veterans service providers to talk about ending the problem of u.s. military veterans being homeless, which kind of sounds like the equivalent of a summit on world peace, right? or trying to end illness or something. i mean, it's a goal that nobody could quibble with, but it's the impossible project, right? i mean, how could a problem that entrenched, that complexly human ever be the kind of problem that has an end? well, it starts by figuring out that it is a problem of a definite size, it is not an infinite thing. >> the work goes on for 200,000 men and women who wore the uniform of the united states of america, proud veterans who go to sleep every night under bridges or in shelters or on grates. >> john edwards dropping out of the race for the democratic nomination for president in 2008. and there was a brief kerfuffle at the time over those remarks because a host on the fox news network, named bill o'reilly, said he did not believe john edwards that there w

the veterans administration, now called the department of veterans affairs, is a completely separate department and bill and budget from the pentagon and the department of defense. veterans benefits have been pretty well protected from all these cuts. people do not want to cut veterans. although, they have had problems for years because more people were signing up than they had money to take care of. they say, if you are pretty healthy and you have health care from your employer, we cannot let you win and we have to get this guy with no legs first or this guy who has been on the street first. the military primarily takes care of its troops and its families. but you serve 20 years in the military, you get to retire after 20 years. and you get a significant pension. congress has overtime increased the health care benefits for those people. health care has gotten really expensive. this is a good health care deal. premiums have not gone up in over a decade. host: are those the tri-care benefits? guest: yes. exactly. army, air force, and navy/marine corps. it is basically the military's hm

miller: i want to yield to she the vice chairman of veterans affairs, a staunch supporter of veteranssince he came to this congress, mr. bilirakis. the speaker pro tempore: the gentleman is recognized. mr. bilirakis: i rise in support of h.r. 352 and urge my colleagues to support this important piece of legislation that will allow the v.a. to move forward with these 27 leases in order to better serve the veterans, our true american heroes across the country. veterans in and around the tampa bay area will be particularly served by this legislation. the v.a. recently approved a plan that would take the currently strained five existing clinics spread out over a large area and consolidate them into a convenient, one-stop facility. this would allow the v.a. to better meet the gring needs of the veteran community and diverse health status. however, this honlt had not been ail to move forward by passing this bill the house will allow for not only the consolidation of five medical clinics in my district into one property but for 26 other equally important projects to move forward across the c

department of veterans affairs who will be accompanied by mr. mr. brett bronze director of san diego benefits inspections division. additionally the hearing record will include written statements from disabled american veterans, the tragedy assistance program for survivors and the wife of an air force veteran derek shafer with those instructions complete i thank you for being here and i yield to the ranking member for her opening statement. >> thank you mr. chairman and thank you for holding this important hearing. i also would like to thank the witnesses you mentioned who are here today for their time and trouble to share information with us. first i want to applaud the va for reducing the log by 34% since march of 2013. we know that the va can maintain this momentum and we are optimistic. we want to end this decades long backlog and we are moving in that direction. our numbers indeed show that the va is on track to reach the secretary school by 2015 so i would ask you to relay a message to the people who work for the va and to tell them thank you f

extreme what's more disturbing is that it may even be more busy as of march the department of veterans affairsctually stopped publishing their statistics on injured veterans why or according to report by international business times the v.a. cited reasons of national security so on top of the already and adequate health care for vets now are being censored from the eye opening it up to six of the true reality of the war on terror not being able to see the truth prevents us from understanding why there's been such an exponential growth and wartime injuries and vietnam so if you want the v.a. to explain this trend to and join me and let's break the set. this is. the piece of. it was a. very hard to make that. once again. plug that never had sex with their lives let alone.

rate from just the previous year but at least nowadays being neglected by the department of veterans affairs and being pumped full of pharmaceuticals doesn't compare to the insane method of treatment veterans used to receive for p.t.s.d. severin their brainstems yup last week the wall street journal published a stunning report about a world war two era government program and valving mentally ill vets from the late one nine hundred forty s. to the early one nine hundred fifty s. v.a. doctors performed forced the bottom means nearly two thousand veterans who've been diagnosed as quote depressives psychotics and schizophrenia and occasionally on people identified as homosexuals and although this practice was known in small medical circles at the time the dark stain on america's past had been largely forgotten until now according to medical journals that documented these procedures these low bottom use were sometimes use when soldiers exhibited signs of what today would be called p.t.s.d. these brain operations would often give the veterans seizures and motor function lost every burden by. small

it comes to getting employment we can significantly benefit employers and the department of veterans affairs has done quite a bit to increase these services that they can make available to returning veterans we still have a long ways to go but certainly there have been i think absolutely incredible improvements under secretary shinseki that i've been greatly encouraged by including really amazing progress in specifically addressing the needs of women veterans were the fastest growing segment of the veterans population and they've been working very diligently to make sure that our particular gender specific needs can be met. i've not seen any statistics that. strongly correlate that it can show causation between combat experience and increased rates of violence that's across the board actually i think are incarcerated at slightly lower rates than our civilian counterparts and also there are exciting there's progress being made in something called veterans courts where instead of putting vets who have committed minor crimes in jail they're instead hooked up with services mental health care sub

it comes to getting employment we can significantly benefit employers and the department of veterans affairs has done quite a bit to increase the services that they can make available to returning veterans we saw a long ways to go but certainly there have been i think absolutely incredible improvements under secretary shinseki that i've been greatly encouraged by including really amazing progress in specifically addressing the needs of women veterans where the fastest growing segment of the veterans population and they've been working very diligently to make sure that our particular gender specific needs can be met. i've not seen any statistics that. strongly correlate that it can show causation between combat experience and increased rates of violence vets across the board actually i think are incarcerated at slightly lower rates than our civilian counterparts and also there are exciting there's progress being made in something called veterans' courts where instead of putting vets who have committed minor crimes in jail they're instead hooked up with services mental health care substance ab

suffering from the physical and emotional scars left from their days overseas the department of veterans affairs estimates that twenty two veterans take their lives a day or about one every sixty five minutes a number of others are dealing with post-traumatic stress disorder or p.t.s.d. now in order to cope with the physical and mental pain doctors often times per scribe powerful pain medications to these veterans things like oxy cotton but over prescription often leads to a life threatening addictions artie's that perry and boring reports. prescription drug abuse in overdose has taken so many lives in america that the white house classifies it as an epidemic sadly our nation's veterans are some of the most at risk of becoming addicted to prescription drugs veterans like nick stefan a brick i got this shirts are we discharged from the marine corps in two thousand and six. and when i came home and when i started using pills. for everything. oxycontin is an opioid prescribe to treat severe acute or chronic pain veterans hospitals are increasingly prescribing the drug to people with chronic pain wh

it comes to getting employment we can significantly benefit employers and the department of veterans affairs has done quite a bit to increase these services that they can make available to returning veterans we still have a long ways to go but certainly there have been i think absolutely incredible improvements under secretary shinseki that i've been greatly encouraged by including really amazing progress in specifically addressing the needs of women veterans were the fastest growing segment of the veterans population and they've been working very diligently to make sure that our particular gender specific needs can be met. i've not seen any statistics that. strongly correlate that it can show causation between combat experience and increased rates of violence that's across the board actually i think are incarcerated at slightly lower rates than our civilian counterparts and also there are exciting there's progress being made in something called veterans' courts where instead of putting vets who have committed minor crimes in jail they're instead hooked up with services mental health care su

over two hundred thousand people who work at the department of veterans affairs were turkic talking nursing. assistants who work in long term care facilities we're talking people who lay the headstones in v.a. cemeteries people who sweep the snow away from v.a. buildings so veterans can get there. and these people make already under thirty thousand a year and this is a direct hit on their paycheck because they if the new employees are now going to have to pay one point three percent more towards their retirement. these are people barely getting by now how are they supposed to set aside money towards the thrift savings plans that they have additional savings which is what this country keeps telling people to do to supplement their retirement they won't be able to do it. i think it imports a look at this is the kind of the broader war on working people and federal government because it's very easy to pick on them overseas now the government the big bad government and people who are for the government. by virtue of being affiliated with barack obama must be on of mooches. take. benefits from t

extreme what's more disturbing is that it may even be more busy as of march the department of veterans affairs actually stopped publishing their statistics on injured veterans why or according to report by international business times the v.a. cited reasons of national security so on top of the already and adequate health care for vets now are being censored from the eye opening up to six of the true reality of the war on terror not being able to see the truth prevents us from understanding why there's been such an exponential growth in wartime injuries and vietnam so if you want the v.a. to explain this trend to the join me and let's break the set. the the the the. it's a. very hard to take a. long. have you ever had sex with her right there. and the age of citizen journalism history is no longer written by the victors it happens in real time through photos videos and blogging but with such little financial support for alternative media it's hard to survive as a full time documentary an activist or one photographer is trying to do just that through internet crowdsourcing his activism is cover

your tax but economics professor yoga discovered expenditures from military debt repayment to veterans affairs nuclear weapons and many many other direct will cost the taxpayers all knowingly paying for profound an astonishing sixty eight cents of your every tax dollar now goes on for a bull's educational. a new generation of americans gets five first appeared to cruise next coals of the untold history of the united states with hollywood director oliver stone for screws and he joins us this great to see you what happens in stays the choose war over school spending thing that threatens the united states more than terrorism more than anything really is the failure of our educational system so worst of both we're all they have yet and they don't have the education that's going to have the us is what's happening already you know i say since declining you know our intel history project is dedicated to burying this myth of exceptionalism. i think it's not. noxious and noxious about you know it's dangerous for american sits think that they're god's gift to humanity you know what worries you about the

extreme what's more disturbing is that it may even be more busy as of march the department of veterans affairs actually stopped publishing.

as the chairwoman said this morning, i personally have testified for veterans affairs on rural and highly rural, you know, activity for veterans. if you are a veteran or any person, any u.s. citizen living in a u.s. area and it's a rural area and it's 3-5 hours away from your physician, you're going to tend to exacerbate the disease, make it worse. the next time you present is probably maybe going to be in the hospital, and it's going to be a higher health care cost. so we want to try to put this technology into place to be able to monitor people that are indigent population, elderly population, a rural population. the population that is consuming 15% of the health care costs that consumes 80%, that's what we want to target the keep them out of the hospital. >> host: kent dicks, the president and chief executive office of alere connect, thank you. >> guest: thanks so much, appreciate it. >> host: "the communicators" at the site of the mhealth conference joined by director mccarty, what's that title and what do you do? >> guest: so i am within the office of the national coordinator for hea

patty at the time was chairman of the veterans' affairs committee. she was a member of the budget committee, and i thought she would do a remarkably good job, because i have such faith in her integrity, her temperament, her wisdom, and her ability to get things done. and the country should be so pleased with the work that she was able to do on a bipartisan basis with paul ryan it's kind of an unconventional pair. they worked together to come up with a budget they can work on for two years. we have numbers now. i'm very pleased the budget negotiators murray and ryan have come up with an agreement today that will roll back the painful and arbitrary cuts of sequester and prevent another costly government shutdown. i again commend budget committee chairman patty murray for making this agreement possible. but it's also fair to -- and i hope this doesn't get him in trouble in the house -- to say that chairman ryan also worked hard on this. it was a compromise. we didn't get what we wanted. they didn't get what they wanted. but that's what legislation is al

the physical and emotional scars that were left from their days oversee its the department of veteran affairs estimates that twenty two best friends take their lives each day where about one every sixty five minutes a number of others deal with cosmetic stresses or are you or to cope with the physical and mental pain. doctors often times prescribe powerful pain medications to these entrants with things like oxycontin for instance but over prescription of often leads to life threatening addiction. rt is a curie and barring reports the good news an overdose has taken so many lies in america that the white house classifies it as an epidemic sadly our nation's veterans are some of them. i'm becoming addicted to prescription drugs. veterans like makes the fun of it. i got discharged honorably discharged from the marine corps in two thousand six all in one a key moment when i started using tools everybody talks to god oxycontin is the latest tried to treat severe acute or chronic pain. veterans hospitals are increasingly prescribing the drug to people with chronic pain the la salle had poster matic