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Officials Launch Task Force to Root Out ‘Anti-Christian Bias’ in VA

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Veterans Affairs leaders launched a department-wide investigation into allegations of anti-Christian bias on Monday, asking employees to report fellow staffers for any “informal policies, procedures, or unofficial understandings hostile to Christian views.” The move . . . follows a government-wide mandate for investigations into discriminatory practices against Christian beliefs. . . 

In a department-wide memo distributed Monday, VA Secretary Doug Collins said that a new department task force will “review all instances of anti-Christian bias” throughout VA operations. That includes “adverse responses to requests for religious exemption” and “any observations of mistreatment for not participating in events or activities inconsistent with Christian views.”

In the past, some employees have claimed discrimination for being required to provide treatment of LGBTQ+ individuals or birth control medication to patients, claiming religious objections.  . .

Collins memo also asks employees to report “any mistreatment or reprimand issued in response to displays of Christian imagery or symbols.”In February, Collins ordered that displays of flags not in keeping with VA messaging — including LGBTQ+ Pride flags and other advocacy banners — be removed from department workspaces and common areas. . .In addition to his VA leadership role, Collins serves as an Air Force Reserve Chaplain and is a practicing Southern Baptist. (Read more from “Officials Launch Task Force to Root Out ‘Anti-Christian Bias’ in VA” HERE)

Veterans Affairs Ends Distribution Of Taxpayer-Funded Chemical Castration Drugs

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The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to “phase out” the distribution of chemical castration drugs to trans-identifying veterans, the agency announced on Monday.

“All eligible Veterans – including trans-identified Veterans – will always be welcome at VA and will always receive the benefits and services they’ve earned under the law. But if Veterans want to attempt to change their sex, they can do so on their own dime,” VA Secretary Doug Collins said in a statement.

According to an agency press release, VA will no longer offer so-called “cross-sex hormone therapy” to retired service members “who have a current diagnosis or history of, or exhibit symptoms consistent with gender dysphoria.” Eligible members who “are already receiving such care from VA” or “were receiving such care from the military as part of and upon their separation from military service and they are eligible for VA health care” are exempt from the directive.

VA disclosed that veterans who fail to meet such criteria “are not eligible for cross-sex hormone therapy through VA health care,” and that the agency “will not provide any other medical or surgical therapy for gender dysphoria to any patients in any circumstance.” “Any and all savings” garnered from the VA’s cessation of the aforementioned services will be “redirected” toward “severely injured VA beneficiaries.”

“VA has not kept consistent and reliable records regarding the total number of Veterans who endured these procedures, the total amount of money spent on them or the total number of employees involved,” the department said. “Veterans Health Administration estimates indicate that less than one tenth of one percent of the 9.1 million Veterans enrolled in VA health care are trans-identified.” (Read more from “Veterans Affairs Ends Distribution Of Taxpayer-Funded Chemical Castration Drugs” HERE)

Veterans Affairs Rescinds Memo Banning V-J Day Kiss Photo

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The Department of Veterans Affairs says it is not banning the use of the famous World War II photo showing a sailor kissing a woman in white after an internal memo directed otherwise.

The famous “V-J Day” photo shows a U.S. Navy sailor kissing a total stranger in Times Square in the immediate aftermath of the news that Japan had surrendered.

The memo last month from RimaAnn Nelson, the Veterans Health Administration’s top operations official directed VA medical facilities to “promptly” remove the photo and replace it with something more appropriate

“The photograph, which depicts a non-consensual act, is inconsistent with the VA’s no-tolerance policy towards sexual harassment and assault,” the memo stated.

“To foster a more trauma-informed environment that promotes the psychological safety of our employees and the veterans we serve, photographs depicting the ‘V-J Day in Times Square’ should be removed from all Veterans Health Administration facilities,” the memo directed. (Read more from “Veterans Affairs Rescinds Memo Banning V-J Day Kiss Photo” HERE)

Senate Passes Measure Protecting Vets’ 2A Rights From Veteran Admin Overreach

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On Wednesday, the Senate passed Sen. John Kennedy’s (R-LA) amendment protecting military veterans’ Second Amendment rights from Department of Veteran Affairs (VA) overreach.

During the end of Barack Obama’s second term as President, Breitbart News pointed to a Los Angeles Times report showing veterans’ concern over losing their 2A rights if they needed help managing their money.

According to the Times, “A strategy used by the Department of Veterans Affairs” meant that veterans “declared incompetent to manage pension or disability payments and assigned a fiduciary” were reported to the National Instant Criminal Background Checks System (NICS). The report to NICS meant they could not longer buy a firearm. . .

But various sources indicate Biden’s VA has continued reporting veterans to NICS.

For example, Fox News noted the policy still exists. “Under current law, the Department of Veterans Affairs reports a veteran’s name to the FBI’s National Instant Criminal Background Check System when they seek help managing their finances in a conservatorship,” according to the report.

(Read more from “Senate Passes Measure Protecting Vets’ 2A Rights From Veteran Admin Overreach” HERE)

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Transgender Veterans Still Waiting On VA’s Promise of Surgery Options

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One year after Veterans Affairs officials announced they would take steps to provide gender confirmation surgeries for transgender veterans, no procedures have been completed and none are likely to be scheduled for months to come.

Department officials said they are still going through the rulemaking process, with no stated schedule for its end. VA does not currently provide any gender confirmation surgery options for veterans.

The long timeline following the high-profile announcement of the news last summer — during Pride month — has left some veterans advocates frustrated and worried that the promise may not even be fulfilled.

“The clock is ticking,” said Lindsay Church, executive director of Minority Veterans of America.

“I understand the reasons behind the delay and the desire to make sure it is implemented fully, so it can’t just be overturned by a later administration. But they haven’t even gotten to public comment yet. A half measure on this isn’t going to be enough.” (Read more from “Transgender Veterans Still Waiting On VA’s Promise of Surgery Options” HERE)

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“He Doesn’t Care”: Obama Fails to Visit Phoenix Veterans Affair

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President Obama’s motorcade drove by a troubled Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital but did not stop during his swing through the city touting the nation’s housing recovery.

The drive-by had reporters traveling with the president wondering whether he might stop by the hospital during his visit to Phoenix, but the motorcade continued straight to the high school where Obama delivered remarks about his latest executive action to cut mortgage insurance costs for borrowers using Federal Housing Administration loans.

It also spurred new criticism from Republicans, who along with vets groups, had called on Obama to visit the hospital located a mile from the school where he spoke.

“It is a testament to this president’s misplaced priorities that he would choose a photo op for his next executive action over visiting the VA hospital where veterans died on secret government waiting lists instead of getting care,” Republican National Committee Chairman Reince Priebus said in a statement Thursday afternoon.

Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., early this week had urged Obama to make a stop at the VA hospital, and vet groups have been equally vocal in urging the president to visit. (Read more about Obama failing to visit Phoenix Veterans Affair HERE)

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Veteran Tells Congress He Was Handed a ‘Death Sentence’ by VA Hospital

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Photo Credit: AP Photo / David Goldman

Photo Credit: AP Photo / David Goldman

Barry Coates knows he will die soon and thus become another preventable patient death resulting from botched care at a Department of Veterans Affairs hospital.

In November 2010, Coates sought treatment for severe abdominal pain and rectal bleeding at a VA hospital in Hartsville, S.C.

The doctor recommended a colonoscopy to determine if his suffering resulted from early stages of colorectal cancer.

For more than a year, Coates faced delay after delay, churning through one doctor after another until finally the routine medical test was performed in December 2011.

It showed he had advanced colorectal cancer, which could have been treated more effectively if had been detected that first day.

Read more from this story HERE.

Veterans Affairs Forced Chaplains from Program for Quoting Scripture, Praying in the Name of Jesus

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Photo Credit: REUTERSTwo Baptist chaplains said they were forced out of a Veterans Affairs chaplain training program after they refused orders to stop quoting the Bible and to stop praying in the name of Jesus.

When the men objected to those demands, they were subjected to ridicule and harassment that led to one of the chaplains leaving the program and the other being ejected, according to a federal lawsuit filed Friday.

The Conservative Baptist Association of America is suing Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki; the group’s suit alleges two of its chaplains were openly ridiculed by the leader of the San Diego-based VA-DOD Clinical Pastoral Education Center program.

“Not only was the treatment these men received inappropriate, it was also a violation of federal law and the religious freedom guarantees of the First Amendment,” said John Wells, an attorney representing the Colorado-based denomination.

“No American choosing to serve in the armed forces should be openly ridiculed for his Christian faith,” he said, calling it one of the most blatant cases of religious discrimination he has ever seen.

Read more from this story HERE.

VA spends almost $100k on coffee break at Florida conference

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The Department of Veterans Affairs spent $90,747 on coffee and refreshments during morning and afternoon breaks at a pair of training conferences in Orlando last year.

These are the same conferences where the $52,000 video parody of the movie Patton – paid for with taxpayer dollars – was first screened. The total cost of the two VA get-togethers held in July and August 2011 at the Marriott World Center in Orlando was about $5.3 million.

The coffee klatches were needed to carry participants between their regular meals, which tallied $98,189 for four days of catering, and their “morning and evening refreshments,” which came with a price tag of almost $185,000.

At least the VA employees were not famished when they arrived at Karaoke Night, which cost $862.

The new numbers come from the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, which has been pressing the VA for spending details related to the human resources training conferences since it learned earlier this month that whistleblower tips led to an investigation by the agency’s inspector general.

Read more from this story HERE.