LANDRY: Discharge Student Loans for Disabled Vets

BATON ROUGE, La. – (5/24/19) Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry today joined New Jersey Attorney General Gurbir Grewal, Utah Attorney General Sean Reyes, and 49 other Attorneys General in a bipartisan effort urging the U.S. Department of Education (DOE) to automatically forgive the student loans of veterans who became totally and permanently disabled in connection with their military service.

Read more: AG Jeff Landry joins calls for discharge of student loans for permanently disabled veterans

Higgins Hosting Veteran's Workshop

Photo source: Military.com

Congressman Clay Higgins, along with the Louisiana Attorney General Jeff Landry’s office, is hosting a workshop on Monday, March 25th, to assist vets with benefits.

As a veteran, you are entitled to multiple benefits.

Workers from the Louisiana Attorney General's Office, the Louisiana Workforce Commission and the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs along with staff from Congressman Higgins' office will be there to help.

Read more: VETERANS WORKSHOP NEXT WEEK

Check Out Ashleigh Banfield's Takedown of Gregory Salcido

Photo source: Stars and Stripes

Did you see the video of the douchebag that went on a rant that downgraded the US military and the folks that serve?  This assclown has the audacity to spout that the soldiers and sailors in the world's finest military are basically dumbasses and that we shouldn't be proud of their service.  And this was done by a school teacher and a councilman from, of all places, California.

Well, Ashleigh Banfield went on an epic takedown of this clown and it was priceless.  Check this out:

Vitter Calls for VA Secretary Resignation

(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.) called for the resignation of Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) Robert McDonald. In addition to McDonald’s controversial statement yesterday comparing VA wait times to those at Disneyland, Vitter contends McDonald’s leadership at the VA has failed to improve efficiency within the agency.

“Our nation’s veterans who have sacrificed so much deserve far more than insulting, ignorant jokes and a prolonged failure to fix the major problems within the agency,” said Vitter. “Not only has Secretary McDonald blatantly ignored Congressional requests and concerns regarding his choice in personnel, but he has also been very well aware of the terrible wait times in Louisiana including the VA’s failures to get the outpatient clinics completed. He’s dragged his feet in Louisiana, and this insulting Disneyland analogy sums up what many thought of him. Leadership starts at the top, and the VA needs a leader who will prioritize implementing necessary reforms to better serve our veterans. For the sake of our brave men and women in uniform, it’s high time for Secretary McDonald to turn in his resignation.”

Vitter has been critical of Secretary McDonald’s leadership of the VA. Most recently, McDonald appointed Dr. Skye McDougall to be Director of the South Central Veterans Affairs Health Care Network (VISN 16) who lied under oath during a congressional hearing. McDougall lied under oath to Committee members indicating the average wait time for a medical appointment at her then-assigned post in Los Angeles, California was 4 days. CNN later reported that she was lying and the average wait time for new patients at that facility was actually 44 days. Click here to read more.

Vitter, along with Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-La.) and Rep. Charles Boustany (R-La.), has also been working to establish permanent VA clinics in Southwest Louisiana. The lawmakers recently held a call with VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson and Peter Dancy, the new director of the Alexandria Veterans Affairs Health Care System (AVAHCS), to ensure the projects are completed by the end of the year. Click here to read more.

Boustany Calls on VA Secretary to Apologize to Louisiana Veterans

(Lafayette, LA) – Dr. Charles Boustany issued the following statement after media outlets reported that Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald compared veterans’ wait times seeking much-needed healthcare to a trip to Disneyland.

McDonald said: “The days to an appointment is really not what we should be measuring, we should be measuring the veterans’ satisfaction. When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? What’s important?”

Boustany said: “Secretary McDonald’s comments trivializing the struggle of Louisiana’s veterans to get even basic care from the VA showcases everything that’s wrong with the agency. Secretary McDonald has been charged with the health and well-being of the men and women who return home from serving our country in combat. The Secretary’s contemptuous comments are disgraceful, and he should apologize to our veterans immediately.”

In Congress, Dr. Charles Boustany has led the charge to increase access to care for Louisiana’s veterans. In 2014, Boustany passed legislation winning authorization for two new veterans’ healthcare clinics in Lafayette and Lake Charles. Additionally, Boustany was a main proponent of the Veterans’ Choice Program created in 2014, which allows veterans to seek care from private healthcare providers in their communities. Boustany has introduced legislation expanding the Veterans’ Choice Program for veterans in communities that are under-served by the VA, like Lafayette and Lake Charles. He has continued to keep pressure on the VA to keep its promise to Louisiana’s veterans and complete clinics in Lafayette and Lake Charles as soon as possible.

Louisiana Lawmakers: VA Appointment Insult to Louisiana Veterans

Lawmakers cite concerns over selection to supervise VA in Louisiana, highlight false statements and lack of actions on VA wait times

Photo source: abc15.com

(Washington, D.C.) – U.S. Senator David Vitter (R-La.), along with U.S. Representatives Charles Boustany, Jr., M.D. (R-La.), Steve Scalise (R-La.), John Fleming, M.D. (R-La.), Cedric Richmond (D-La.), Ralph Abraham, M.D. (R-La.), and Garret Graves (R-La.), sent a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald to express their concerns with the selection of Dr. Skye McDougall to serve as the Network Director for the South Central Veterans Affairs Health Care Network (VISN 16).  In the letter, the lawmakers urge VA Secretary McDonald to rescind Dr. McDougall’s appointment in light of her history of lying under oath and refusal to take action regarding the controversial wait times for veterans at VA facilities.

“Louisiana veterans deserve the absolute best access to healthcare available, and ensuring that top-notch care for our brave servicemen and women starts at the top of the food chain. Frankly, Dr. Skye McDougall’s appointment to supervise the VA in Louisiana is an insult to our veterans,” wrote the Members of Congress. “Given the fact that the VA is currently working to regain the trust of veterans in Louisiana and across the nation, we firmly request that you rescind Dr. McDougall’s appointment, and instead choose a proven trustworthy leader who will prioritize the needs of our nation’s veterans above a career in bureaucracy.”

Click here to read last week’s letter.

Frank Levingston, Oldest World War II Veteran and Lake Charles Resident, Travels to Washington

Photo source: Dropbox

Louisiana resident and the oldest living World War II veteran, Frank Levingston, was a guest in Rep. Charles Boustany's office during his recent visit to Washington as part of an Honor Flight from New Orleans.  Levingston is a survivor of the Pearl Harbor attack on Dec. 7, 1941 and has recently turned 110.

Vitter, Cassidy, and Boustany Applaud Opening of Lake Charles Interim Veterans Clinic

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senators David Vitter (R-Metairie) and Bill Cassidy, MD, (R-Baton Rouge) and Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, (R-Lafayette) applauded the opening of the Lake Charles VA Interim Clinic on 814 W. McNeese St. The VA is holding an open house to celebrate the clinic’s official opening today from 1:00 – 3:00 pm.

Vitter and Boustany wrote to the VA in February asking the Secretary to visit Louisiana and see the facilities firsthand. VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson visited Lafayette and New Orleans later that month at Vitter and Boustany’s request, calling the existing Lafayette clinic “inadequate and unacceptable.” During the Deputy Secretary’s visit to Lafayette in February, he announced that veterans in Lafayette would be granted access to temporary additional clinic space by the VA. After follow-ups from the Louisiana delegation, Gibson authorized additional clinic space for Lake Charles.

Vitter said: “While I’m glad to see my years of hard work with Congressman Boustany have come to fruition with the opening of this much needed VA clinic providing access to quality healthcare for veterans living in Lake Charles, I will not stop pushing until the permanent Lake Charles clinic is up and running, as are the interim and permanent clinics in Lafayette. The veterans of southwest Louisiana have waited long enough.”

Cassidy said: “Securing a lease for a permanent VA clinic and opening the interim clinic are steps in the right direction. Until the clinic opens and starts seeing patients, we must continue to ensure our veterans have access to reliable, quality care in south Louisiana. Making sure the VA fulfills its mission to serve our veterans and not bureaucrats must be one of our highest priorities.”

Boustany said: “When I called for the Secretary of the VA to come to Louisiana to view the conditions where it’s treating our veterans, Deputy Secretary Gibson called the facilities ‘unacceptable.’ Today’s opening is the result of a lot of hard work and diligence from our congressional delegation in holding the VA’s feet to the fire and ensuring our veterans’ needs are met. I’m proud to have led this effort to provide better facilities and expanded services for our South Louisiana veterans, because they’ve earned it.”

COMPLETE DISRESPECT FOR AN AMERICAN VET

In what appears to be something similar to the "welcome home" Vietnam veterans received following the Vietnam War, a wounded warrior and his family vacationing in Panama City Beach was spit on, as well as his service dog, and the American Flag was ripped apart and urinated on by fraternity members from the University of Florida and Emory University.  As a result, three members of the Zeta Beta Tau fraternity have been been expelled and the fraternity is on suspension from the University of Florida.  The fraternity issued the a statement regarding the incident and the subsequent actions taken by both the frat and the University of Florida.

Read more: Frat boys spit on wounded vet, urinate on American flag