Taking a page from member Randy, I have contacted the President in hopes of getting to the bottom of why only 1,836 Veterans qualified for the Independent Living Program in 2012. As we pointed out in prior posts, only 2,428 new ones even bothered to apply for it in the upcoming fiscal year.

I posited the question thus: If you had 25 million slots for  the Supplementary Nutrition Aid Program (SNAP or food stamps) and only 18 million came forth and availed themselves of this free food, would it not seem something was amiss? Or if there was $550 Billion set aside for mortgage relief and underwater mortgages and nary a soul stepped forward to apply, would you assume everyone was hunky dory with their current financing? Of course not. You’d ask a lot of pointed questions and request the data. Common sense says free food and free money usually causes a stampede to a government trough. Why so much elbow room only at the ILP?

VA’s IL Program has slots for 2,700 of its most “severely disabled Vets” annually yet they cannot even fill them. VA is also authorized to spend up to $25 K on each of us so identified without seeking VA permission from DC. If it costs more, they ask for it. Or at least that’s the way it’s supposed to work. Apparently it only works in Atlanta because of the efforts of Vet’s advocate and chief pit bull Bruce McCartney.

Wyoming and Manila, Philippines have not had a soul in this program for over nine (9) years. Vermont isn’t much better at seven. VA does not consider this an anomaly. They simply hire more VA counselors for $94 K a year to inform us why the Santa Clause is forecasting coal with occasional tears. They don’t want to lose the appropriation so they fill it with salary rather than Vets helped. Anybody out there have a better explanation? Well, I suppose the severely disabled folks in Wyoming could be unable to saddle up the mare and sashay over to Cheyenne for their ILP confab. The Vets in Manila might be language-challenged and need interpretive assistance but this is not VA’s concern.

I have asked President Obama to please not hand this off to the little people and ask them to give VA a “Whazzup?” query. We know what that will provoke. I defused the next little dig they are fond of.  Remember every time you contact the Senator, VA’s congressional Interests desk Bozo will remind the politician that the Vet is already rolling in dough. VA lavishly remunerates me with the unheard of princely sum of over $2900 a month but this has nothing to do with ILP. Similarly, my wife works full-time trying to make mortgage and tax payments. VA’s pittance does not a salary nor a living income make. That’s why they pay them $90+ K a year which is three times more than we’re getting. Somehow that never sinks in. We Vets are flush with disposable income. Tax-free, I might add.

I have asked him what 38 USC §3120 actually means if not Independent Living. Subservient living? With so much authorized and promised if we qualify, it seems being “severely disabled” would be a pretty easy thing to ascertain. It’s hard to fake right upper quadrant pain and pruritis or a SGPT of 350. I realize the Catch 22s abound in these things. We are more than aware of this in the compensation arena.  One would still expect a 15 % success rate nevertheless. ILP runs about $ 500/Vet/year at most ROs with a “win” rate of 4 percent. “Win” meaning a significant grant.

VA obviously does this in Atlanta day in and day out. The honchos in DC at VACO say “Rog on the ILP”. Everyone agrees it exists but, like God, you cannot reach out and touch this enigma. VA went so far as to authorize my computer for purely vocational reasons theorizing narrowly that if I help Vets, that is a noble vocational endeavour that is simply unremunerated. My spirit is remunerated.

I look forward to VA’s nuanced excuses for why all of us are ineligible for this valuable program. If it requires even more of a definition than “severely disabled” and the newer “necessary and vital to life” codicil, I’m not sure how someone in a coma in ICU will ever participate or benefit from it. What should we be putting in for? Dialysis machines? Portable IV infusion rigs? Maybe one of those motorized candy apple-red wheelchair runabouts? Oops. That’s a hobby. I’ve heard of them scheduling races out back in the alley down at the Tacoma VFW bar on Pearl Street.

For Vocational Use Only

As Randy put it. Why go to the Congressman or Senator? Let’s cut to the chase.  Why is this so difficult? Why just the cordless phone for “Help. I’ve fallen down and I can’t get up.” or a grab bar? They’re handing out cell phones left and right to Homeless Vets and Welfare Queens. You cannot tell me that’s coming out of the IL program because it takes three months just to get an appointment to watch the moronic video and have them explain why you are not a candidate for Voc Rehab. I’m not counting the time involved in appealing it to the BVA. Add three years to that tunnel and you could be dead before you see it. Oh. Wait. Delay. Deny…