Veterans Affairs

January 28, 2013 The Honorable Eric K. Shinseki Secretary U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs 810 Vermont Avenue, NW Washington, D.C. 20420-0001 Dear Secretary Shinseki: We are writing to express our continued frustration about the on-going and unresolved backlog of disability claims at the Veteran's Benefits Administration's Baltimore Regional Office. We request that you promptly provide us with an action plan to address this serious issue and assign a senior level official at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)

The Baltimore office of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is the slowest in the country in processing disability claims for servicemen and servicewomen - averaging about a year - and makes more mistakes than any other office. The failures locally are a symptom of a national breakdown: Across the country, more than 900,000 veterans wait an average of nine months for the agency to determine whether they qualify for disability benefits, according to the VA. Even as the VA says it is working to fix problems in Baltimore and nationwide, Paul Rieckhoff, founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, calls the situation "shameful.

I am writing you to enlist your support in passing legislation to benefit Maryland veterans through the Veterans Trust Fund. For those that do not know, the Veterans Trust Fund authorizes the Maryland Department of Veterans Affairs to receive donations, and then to make grants and loans to veterans and their family members who are in dire financial situations, or to private organizations that help veterans (homeless programs, substance abuse programs,...

James F. Barlow, a retired masonry contractor who drove a weapon carrier at Omaha Beach during the World War II Allied invasion, died Sept. 1 at St. Agnes Medical Center after suffering a fractured hip at his Academy Heights home. He was 87. Mr. Barlow was co-grand marshal of this year's Catonsville July 4th parade and was the commander of two veterans posts. He also led the parade in 1994 for the 50th anniversary of D-Day. Born in Baltimore and raised near Union Square, he attended 14 Holy Martyrs School and was a 1942 graduate of St. Martin's High School, where he was the center on the school's basketball team.

The Department of Veterans Affairs will open a new outpatient clinic for veterans in Southern Maryland next year, Secretary Eric K. Shinseki said Thursday. The facility in Charlotte Hall is intended to serve the large veteran population in Southern Maryland, home to Naval Air Station Patuxent River, Naval Support Facility Indian Head and other military installations. Rep. Steny H. Hoyer welcomed the announcement. He said the current VA outpatient clinic in Charlotte Hall is over capacity and "cannot fully meet the needs of our community.

Elaine Karp-Gelernter, a retired Veterans Affairs psychologist who was also a textile artist, died of complications from pneumonia March 20 at Sinai Hospital. The Mount Washington resident was 78. She was the daughter of Polish immigrants who ran a custom-tailored bridal shop in New York City. She grew up in the Williamsburg section of Brooklyn and earned a bachelor's degree in psychology from Brooklyn College. In 1952, she married Steve Karp, a psychologist. She and her family moved to Mount Washington in 1964.

In Alison Knezevich's recent article on Fort Howard ("Fort Howard multi-use project marches on," March 18), there are many red flags that should alarm not only the citizens of the area but other communities who face the same peril. In numerous editorials, The Sun has expressed concern over the cozy relationship between developers and politicians, and this proposed development is no different except its supporters are waving the veterans flag around it to gather public support. Some of the troubling issues include the failed promises of the developers to inform the community of the required studies and meetings and the fact the residents have filed a Notice of Intent with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs that must be addressed, despite Rep. C.A. Dutch Ruppersberger's rhetoric to the contrary, before a shovel goes in the ground.

A decade after the Department of Veterans Affairs closed its hospital at Fort Howard, most of the buildings at the sprawling Baltimore County waterfront property are boarded up. A big rusty pole in front of the old facility has no flag. But there are plans to turn the site into a huge, mixed-use development for veterans and senior citizens. Nearby residents oppose the developer's proposal, but the Department of Veterans Affairs is moving forward with the project, which has the backing of elected officials.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is looking for a few good men and women to volunteer for a battle it's waging at home — against disease. Actually, more than a few are needed. Officials overseeing health care for the nation's veterans are undertaking what may be the largest effort of its kind in the nation, to collect medical records and blood samples from a million former service members for a bank of genetic information. The idea is to give researchers enough DNA and other data to link specific genes to mental and physical maladies, from post-traumatic stress disorder to heart disease, and eventually develop new preventive measures or treatments.

Fort Howard should be a place for military veterans to heal — not the site of new residential and retail development, residents of nearby communities said Tuesday. About 200 people turned out for a community meeting at the North Point-Edgemere Volunteer Fire Hall, and most opposed Fort Howard Development LLC's plans to build a 1,473-unit development on the waterfront site. Many said they wanted the site to be used for a long-term medical facility and housing for veterans only.