Did any of you get one of these? I love it when I hear from vA.

It happens so rarely, I get giddy with excitement

DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

Veterans Benefits Administration

Washington, D.C. 20420

PIN: 71CF29AF

Dear Mr. NOD

I am writing to ask you for your assistance in a study that will allow us to assess and continually improve the services provided by the Vocational Rehabilitation & Employment (VR&E) VetSuccess Program. Per Public Law 110-389 Sec. 334, Congress has asked VR&E to complete a twenty-year Longitudinal Study, and submit a report to them every year, which shows the progress of Veterans who have participated in the VR&E, Chapter 31 program. The purpose of the study is to monitor the effectiveness of this program so that we can find ways to improve it and increase the support we provide to Veterans on a daily basis. The results of this study may benefit other Veterans who participate in the Chapter 31 program in the future.Participation in this study is voluntary and your responses will be kept private to the extent of the law. You can choose to stop participation at any time. The information that you supply is protected by law (the Privacy Act of 1974, 5 U.S.C. 522a and section 5701 of Title 38 of the United States Code) and any data collected will not impact any current or future benefits you may apply for.The survey takes between 15 and 20 minutes to complete and asks about your participation in the VR&E program, recent employment or educational experiences, and any recent visits to medical facilities. Once we receive your completed survey, we will send you a check in the amount of $20.00 for your participation.If you agree to participate, please visit www.VRESurvey.org. The PIN at the top of this letter is your identification number that you will need to complete the survey.If you have any questions about this survey or any questions about your rights as a study participant, please contact us at 1-888-595-3872.I hope you will agree to participate in this very important survey. Your participation will assist current and future Veterans utilizing VR&E Services to receive the highest quality and most comprehensive services possible.Sincerely,R.A. Fanning Director Vocational Rehabilitation & EmploymentCopy of Public LawOMB Number: 2900-0786Expiration Date: 08/31/2015

So, let’s see if I have this correct. They want to pay me $20.00 (US) to dig in my background. Nothing will be sacrosanct and they can identify me using my unique PIN. For 20 bucks I can give them valuable information they will say I “volunteered” when they try to kill my greenhouse request. My responses will be kept private to “the extent of the law.” Since no law is identified and delineated, it is up to a knowledgeable Vet to investigate which law they are proposing to hang him with. vA simply does not flit about collecting information and paying the respondents. This is the third “reminder” since the original request. I did open it up and begin answering questions- right up to when they started asking how much I was making on the side from SSD, stocks, bonds, “other” income, and unreported income from the indoor marijuana farm. Whoa! Just kidding, Mr. Hollaway. No indoor farming here except for the Ficus tree and Jade plant which are hanging on by a thread.While I wouldn’t mind fielding questions from any survey poll, I have come to realize an ugly truth that anything you tell the vA can and will be used against you in an ex parte court of law.Face it. If they “improve” the Independent Living Program any further, it will become non-existent. Since 2001 in the Bush years, it was pruned down to something much like a bonsai tree version of its former 80s glory. Giving them more “input” to pour Roundup® on it is silly. I really don’t need the $20 as much as I need a greenhouse and I’ll be damned if I’m going to give these chowderheads more ammunition to bushwhack other ILP petitioners. Check this out:

VR&E Longitudinal Study SurveyOMB CONTROL NUMBER: 2900-0786

Employment

If you were employed during the past 12 months, how much did counseling, training, job search assistance, or other VR&E assistance contribute to your success?

	A lot
	Some
	A little
X	None
	Was not employed at any time during the past 12 months

8.	What was your gross income during the past 12 months? (Your gross income includes income you received from all sources, before taxes, including earnings from a job, benefits received from government programs, and any retirement, pension, investing, or savings income that you receive regular payments from.)
	$ 0

What’s really eerie is that I just went back on there to copy and paste the above and all the answers I erased last week are back in the blocks that I so carefully deleted. So, on the off chance they try to lift this and dodge the $20 remuneration, they will be blessed with this:

VR&E Longitudinal Study Survey

Household

21.	During the past 12 months, what was your gross household income? (Your household income is the combined before-tax income of people who share their income and live in the same home. Typically, this would be you and your spouse).

$ can’t do math since Interferon treatment

22.

Do you own your principal residence? (Your principal residence is the home where you live for at least half of the year).

	Yes
	No (not sure. Bank says to make plans to move soon)

23.

How many dependents do you currently have? (Dependents include spouses, children under 18, children between ages 18 and 23 who are attending school, children who are permanently incapable of self-support because of disabilities arising before age 18, and dependent parents). Please specify what kind of dependent you have (spouse, child under 18, etc).

# of dependents 2

Type of dependent(s): Goat/horse. 5 if you count dogs and cat

I may soon discover the meaning of “to the extent of law”. Too bad it’s not in paper format so I could affix my Looney Tunes stickers to each page.

2 Responses to VR&E ILP SURVEY

RobertG says:

October 25, 2012 at 15:10

How deceptive! The only thing they didn’t ask for was penis size or sexual preference. I would never answer this piece of crap. Sounds like nancy pelosi wrote it- sign it first read it later we know what is best for you crazy veterans…

randy says:

October 25, 2012 at 14:54

Prepare to receive a letter asking the ages of goat and pony and how much it costs to support them. Then they will partially come to their senses, assuming they had any to start with, and claim that they were sure you meant Joel and Tony. They too have a degree of hearing loss.