Veterans Affairs

A House-approved bill would require a court hearing before a U.S. veteran is deemed mentally unfit to own a gun. Here, rifles are seen at a gun shop in Merrimack, N.H., last year.

House OKs Bill Making It Tougher To Keep 'Mentally Incompetent' Vets From Buying Guns

2:45pm March 17, 2017

by Bill Chappell

Critics of the bill say it could lead to more suicides — in one recent year, an average of 20 veterans per day died from suicide, according to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Dr. David Shulkin, then the undersecretary for health at the VA, testifies on Capitol Hill Feb. 1. Shulkin was confirmed on Monday.

Senate Confirms First Nonveteran To Lead VA

8:38pm February 13, 2017

by Quil Lawrence

Senators unanimously voted to confirm VA Health Undersecretary Dr. David Shulkin as full secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. He's a rare Trump holdover from the Obama administration.

David Shulkin (center), the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs undersecretary of health, talks with attendees in July prior to testifying at a Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing in Gilbert, Ariz. Donald Trump has selected Shulkin to lead the agen

Hiring Freeze And Obamacare Repeal Could Clobber Veterans Affairs

9:10am January 25, 2017

by Quil Lawrence

If the Affordable Care Act is repealed, some of those left uninsured will be veterans. They may turn to the VA, further burdening a troubled health care system.

Queue Listen Now

David Shulkin, the undersecretary for health at the Department of Veterans Affairs, leaves a meeting with President-elect Donald Trump at Trump Tower in New York on Monday.

Trump Announces David Shulkin As Pick For Secretary Of Veterans Affairs

5:45pm January 11, 2017

by Camila Domonoske

Shulkin is the VA's undersecretary for health, a position he was nominated for by President Obama. He would be the first nonveteran to head the VA.

Coning left the Marines in 2013. His wife says she thinks it's likely he had post-traumatic stress disorder, but he was never tested for it by the VA.

National

After A Vet's Suicide, Getting VA Benefits Can Compound A Family's Grief

4:28pm August 31, 2016

by Quil Lawrence

A former Marine who served in Afghanistan took his own life recently. But there was no diagnosis linking his service to his suicide, making it hard for his family to receive full death benefits.

Stacy Bannerman testifies before the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Quality of Life and Veterans Affairs in 2006.

After Combat Stress, Violence Can Show Up At Home

10:33pm April 27, 2016

by Quil Lawrence

In a minority of cases, violent behavior accompanies post-traumatic stress disorder. Military spouses can become victims, and there are few resources around to help them.

Queue Listen Now

Sue McConnell is one of more than 130 transgender veterans receiving treatment at the Tucson Veterans Affairs hospital.

New VA Clinic Opens For Transgender Vets

8:17pm December 29, 2015

by Jimmy Jenkins

The Tucson Veterans Affairs hospital is expanding treatment to the needs of trans veterans, one of the first such facilities in the U.S. to do so. The clinic's services include hormone treatment.

Queue Listen Now

ReWalk Robotics service engineer Tom Coulter (right) looks on as paralyzed Army veteran Gene Laureano walks using a ReWalk device on Wednesday in the Bronx, N.Y.

Department Of Veterans Affairs To Pay For Robotic Legs

2:46pm December 17, 2015

by Merrit Kennedy

The exoskeleton's $77,000 price tag has been too expensive for many injured veterans. But after a major shift in VA policy, eligible veterans with spinal cord injuries may soon be able to walk again.

Daniel Harmon, a veteran of the wars in both Afghanistan and Iraq, looks out the window of his room at the Hollywood Veterans Center in Los Angeles. The facility provides housing to homeless vets.

National

The U.S. Declared War On Veteran Homelessness — And It Actually Could Win

12:00pm August 04, 2015

by Quil Lawrence

In 2009, then-Veterans Affairs head Eric Shinseki declared that all homeless veterans would have housing by 2015. New Orleans has made big strides, but in Los Angeles, the problem persists.

Queue Listen Now

Alan Oates was exposed to herbicides, such as Agent Orange, while serving in Vietnam in 1968. Decades after returning home, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease, and because Congress passed the Agent Orange Act, he's able to receive VA benefits.

Can The Agent Orange Act Help Veterans Exposed To Mustard Gas?

11:03am July 16, 2015

by Caitlin Dickerson

Just like World War II vets who were exposed to mustard gas during secret chemical testing, Vietnam vets exposed to Agent Orange had trouble obtaining VA benefits — until they got the law changed.

Queue Listen Now