Dept of Veterans Affairs

Marine Corps veteran Ed O'Connor is seen outside his home in Fredericksburg, Va. He is among tens of thousands of veterans who took a COVID forbearance on a VA home loan. But the VA's program ended abruptly in October of 2022 and many veterans were asked to either pay all the missed payments or face foreclosure.

Veterans fear the VA's new foreclosure rescue plan won't help them

6:06pm December 01, 2023

A pause in foreclosures after an NPR investigation may be of no help to many vets. They were already pushed into costly loan modifications after a move by the VA stranded them in a tough spot.

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Rafael Rivera's tattoo of an American Flag in the shape of Long Island, with a banner from John 15:13.

Sick veterans demand medical coverage for illnesses caused by burn pits

5:30am March 09, 2022

by Quil Lawrence

President Biden is urging Congress to send a burn-pits bill to his desk.

Following a traumatic brain injury, veteran Michael Schneider found that art and music therapy helped him manage his epilepsy and PTSD. Schneider explains that by playing music, he can prevent a seizure.

Art and music therapy seem to help with brain disorders. Scientists want to know why

6:00am February 19, 2022

by Jon Hamilton

Arts therapies appear to ease brain disorders from Parkinson's to PTSD. Now, artists and scientists have launched an effort to understand how these treatments change the brain.

Brelahn Wyatt, a Navy ensign and second-year medical student, shares a hug with Shetland. The dog's military commission does not entitle him to salutes.

Health & Safety

High-Ranking Dog Provides Key Training For Military's Medical Students

11:52am November 08, 2019

by Julie Rovner

Service dogs are a common sight at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, near Washington, D.C. But this special canine trains would-be healers how to pick the right dog for a wounded veteran.

Rep. Brian Mast, R-Fla., and other members of Congress are appealing a decision by the Department of Veterans Affairs to evict them from office spaces at VA hospitals.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Evicts Members Of Congress From Offices In VA Hospitals

11:04am September 25, 2019

by Greg Allen

The lawmakers have been using the offices to meet with veterans. At least one believes the eviction is payback for his tough questioning of VA Secretary Robert Wilkie in April.

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President Trump shows off the VA Mission Act during a signing ceremony in the Rose Garden of the White House last June.

National

VA Expands Vets' Access To Private Care But Gives No Plan To Pay For It

3:04pm February 27, 2019

by Quil Lawrence

The VA has published new rules on how it will spend billions of dollars on private health care. Proponents say it will give veterans more choices, but others fear it's a move toward privatization.

U.S. soldiers traverse fields on the way to conducting house-to- house searches in 2007 in Mukhisa, Iraq.

National

Veterans Claiming Illness From Burn Pits Lose Court Fight

7:52am January 16, 2019

by Quil Lawrence

Hundreds of veterans sued military contractor KBR Inc., alleging toxic smoke from burn pits at military bases made them ill. A federal appellate court said compensation must come from Congress.

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Veterans gather at the site of the 1776 Battle of Fort Washington in Manhattan. They are calling on the VA to rename the Manhattan VA Medical Center in honor of Margaret Corbin, who took her husband's place during the battle after he was killed.

National

'To Care For Him': Female Veterans Ask VA To Include Them In Its Motto

12:16pm December 04, 2018

by Quil Lawrence

The VA motto, which is taken from Lincoln's second inaugural speech, addresses veterans with the male pronoun. Some veterans want to change the wording to include women.

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Former Marine Josh Onan talks with George Kevin Flood, a staff psychiatrist at the San Diego VA. Onan is taking advantage of a year-old program that makes VA care available to people with less-than-honorable military discharges.

National

VA Struggles To Reach Other-Than-Honorable-Discharge Vets In Need Of Help

6:29am October 18, 2018

by Steve Walsh

VA says 115 vets with other-than-honorable discharges received mental health care last year under a new program. Veterans advocates say it's a tiny fraction of such vets who need help.

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