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Victory won for vets facing extreme delays Fifth Amendment rights securedHumboldt Beacon Posted: 08/20/2009 03:32:08 AM PDT
According to Carl Young, Public Affairs Coordinator for the North Coast Stand-down, veterans and their families have won a significant victory for protections and rights for benefits. “This ruling changes everything about the way the VA will be funded,” Young said. On Sept. 21, the Fortuna City Council will hear from Young on the subject. The next North Coast Stand-down is slated for Oct. 2 through the 4th. In what is considered a landmark decision, the Claimant-Appellant, Philip E. Cushman, remarked that ”U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit...recognized a property right interest in a VA claim, thus triggering the legal protections of due process of law which mandates a fair and impartial VA adjudication process. This...a huge victory for the...million veterans now caught up in VA backlogged claims denial mill,” Cushman said. The court concluded that the case involves an alleged violation of a veteran's right to due process under the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution, where the medical record on which his service-connected disability claim was evaluated contained an improperly altered document. The court added that VA disability benefits are nondiscretionary, statutorily mandated benefits. A veteran is entitled to disability benefits upon a showing that he or she meets the eligibility requirements set forth in the governing statutes and regulations. The court therefor concluded that such entitlement to benefits is a property interest protected by the Due Process Clause of the Fifth Amendment to the United States Constitution. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, this material is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. Reference: http://www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/17/107.shtml __._,_.___ =============================================================
As with previous National Defense Authorization Acts (NDAA), 2004-2008, the 2009 NDAA does not address or correct the following issues--
-375,000 retirees with less than 50% disability denied CRDP
-188,000 Chapter 61 with less than 20 years denied CRDP
(maybe 1/3 will qualify for CRSC)
- 55,000 widows denied relief from SBP/DIC
(they were allowed $50/month in 2008 phased in to add $10/month
over the next 5 years … the average offset is $800-$900/month) 
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