August Krieser

joined the Paralyzed Veterans of America in 1980 and was elected to the WPVA board in 1990. Augie is the Government Relations Officer [GRO] and he is the Chair of the Advocacy/Legislation Committee. He received the Chapter President’s Award in 1992.

Employed by the City of Manitowoc, Wisconsin as a Firefighter for many years, Augie was also certified as an Emergency Medical Technician [EMT] and as an EMT Instructor. Due to a motorcycle accident in 1980 that resulted in quadriplegia, Augie received a medical retirement. He is a member of the Retired Professional Firefighter’s Association [RPFA] Veterans of Foreign Wars [VFW], Disabled American Veterans [DAV], American Veterans of WWII, Korea, and Vietnam [AMVETS], and the Vietnam Veterans of America [VVA].

From 1964-67, Augie was a member of the United States Army and trained in the field of aviation. While stationed in Vietnam Augie was a Crew Chief on an OV1-Mohawk and later a CV-2 Caribou. While in Vietnam, his duties included gathering military intelligence for the Marines on the DMZ and Ho Chi Minh Trail in I Corps by night aerial surveillance. He was assigned to the 20th ASTA Detachment at a small landing field at Hue-Phu Bai. He finished his stint in the military at Fort Benning, Georgia as a Maintenance Chief.

Augie Krieser graduated from Lincoln High School in Manitowoc with the Class of ’64. As a student at the University of Wisconsin-Manitowoc Campus and at Silver Lake College, Augie earned a BA Degree in Psychology and Family Studies, an MA Degree in Political Science, and a BSW Degree in Social work. He is currently working on his MSW Degree in Social Work.

Augie enjoys wheelchair racing, fishing, and target practice. He is a tireless advocate for accessibility, and he derives great pleasure in educating his hometown on ADA requirements. Augie resides in Manitowoc, Wisconsin and is employed full time by a disability rights and advocacy organization known as Holiday House.
This month’s legislative and advocacy reports will be combined into a single report for ease of reading and for the newsletter reader to explore the issues on his/her time to keep up on timely legislation in both veteran and advocacy issues that have an effect on our members. It is felt this type of format will increase interest in issues directly related to our membership in Wisconsin PVA.

As stated in the previous online issue, the most informative website to use in navigating bill status mentioned in this news article is http://thomas.loc.gov/

This site presents various means on bill location or word/phrase if one is not sure of the exact bill number.

Prior to the summer recess, the Senate has unanimously approved U.S. Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-HI) Veterans’ Healthcare Budget Reform and Transparency Act of 2009 (S.423), which would mean secured funding for veterans’ healthcare one year in advance of the regular appropriations process. S.423 would also ensure transparency in the funding process by requiring reports and Government Accounting Office (GAO) audits on the VA’s funding forecasting.

Currently, the VA is funded on a year to year basis that has resulted in late FY funding 1 of the last 22 years. This Senate action occurred during the week of August 17th. The House version (H.R.1016) was passed in early July. The next step is the conference committee, and then sent on to the President to be signed into law.

Since the last report, there has been no further action taken on H.R.1335 and S.821. These pieces of legislation refer to the elimination of certain copayments for catastrophically disabled veterans enrolled in the VA healthcare system (Category 4). Many members of WPVA/PVA are in Category 4 and this is a salient issue for all of our members. The House took last action on their version on July 9th and the Senate’s last action was on April 2nd. In the 110th Congress, the House passed their version and the Senate did not take any action before the start of the last FY. It is hoped, and being addressed by a number of VSO’s to be passed in each side of Congress and settled in conference committee to be sent to the President before the end of this FY that begins on October 1st.

VA Secretary Shinseki has announced the VA is taking steps to assist veterans in seeking claims for Post Traumatic Stress Disorder (PTSD). The VA is publishing a propose regulation in the Federal Register to make it easier for the veteran to claim service connection for PTSD by reducing the evidence required if the stressor claimed by the veteran is related to fear of hostile military or terrorist activity. Additional clinical psychologists, social workers, and other mental health professionals have been hired by the VA healthcare system to exacerbate efforts to alleviate the backlog of claims and potential claims to deal with this increasingly overlooked side effect of warfare. It is understood that some claims revert as far back as the Vietnam Conflict.

In the same vein, Secretary Shinseki announced that combat veterans will receive readjustment counseling and other assistance in 28 additional communities across the country where the VA will establish Vet Centers in 2010. The community-based Vet Centers, already established in all 50 states, is a key component of the VA’s mental health program. It is a key program in the VA healthcare system, providing veterans with mental health screenings and PTSD counseling.

On September 10th, the VA initiated one of the largest innovation competitions in the agency’s history. The competition solicits ideas from VA employees and co-located VSOs who are on the front lines of the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and encourages them to submit entries addressing everything from claims processing times to better process transparency.

The Suicide Prevention campaign of the VA is expanding its outreach to all veterans by piloting an online, one-on-one “chat service” for veterans who prefer using the Internet to reach out for assistance.

The first 2 items of congressional nature may appear to be repeats from last month’s newsletter. This was meant to be so because they are both a foundation of the VA system in years to come. It is strongly urged that each member check the thomas site on the Internet periodically to check for updates. Do not feel uncomfortable in contacting our Senators or your congressperson, stating how strong you feel on the urgency of passage of these bills.

On the state level, Secretary Shinseki has announced a $3.9 million grant to the VA cemetery located at Union Grove. This grant will be used to expand the Sothern Wisconsin Veterans Memorial cemetery. Also, to support the high quality health services for veterans at the state home at King, WI, the VA a grant of up to $526,000 to upgrade this facility’s water supply well.

A very informative newsletter is published by the Easter Seals Society of America. The publication may be subscribed to via e-mail or in written form. This newsletter encompasses all types of disabilities and also contains a wide array of free publications that enlightens all persons on equal rights for all. The newsletter also addresses national and state activities in a timely manner. The subscription is free and anyone can sign up for either type of format by contacting the Easter Seals Society at info@easterseals.com or calling toll free at 1-800-221-6827. This publication also deals with veterans issues.

The Independent Living Council-Wisconsin completed its 3rd quarterly meeting in Superior, WI in early August. A number of issues were discussed, including the healthcare situation facing our society at this time, the right to independent living, the methods of distribution of the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) funding from the federal government down to the state level. The last quarterly meeting is scheduled in November in Menominee, WI. In between these quarterly meetings there are numerous webcasts/teleconferences and monthly Executive Board meetings. Independent Living Research Utilization (ILRU) offers a number of free webcasts that WPVA members may be interested in. Check them out at irlu@irlu.org

Locally, various accessibility issues have again cropped up, but are being dealt with in an orderly manner. The primary issue is what are you doing in your community to make it more accessible? No community is perfect. Please submit your experiences to WPVA for publication. Any improvement you helped make is important!