Veterans bulletin [Jan. 2009]

Sonny Perdue Governor

Georgia Department of Veterans Service
Veterans Bulletin

Pete Wheeler Commissioner

Resolve to see your veterans benefits counselor this year!

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Georgia Veterans ... guardians of liberty January 2009
IN this issue: shinseki sworn in as secretary of veterans affairs

Georgia Department of Veterans Service
Veterans Bulletin January 2008
Cover Story
Meet Your Benefits Counselor This Year Page 3
VA Benefits Are Tax Exempt Page 3
Shinseki Sworn In As Secretary Of Veterans Affairs Page 4
Top VA Headlines Page 4

Georgia Department of Veterans Service Floyd Veterans Memorial Building E-970 Atlanta, Georgia 30334-4800 (404) 656-2300 gavetsvc@vs.state.ga.us www.sdvs.georgia.gov

Georgia Veterans Bulletin
The Georgia Veterans Bulletin is published quarterly by the Georgia
Department of Veterans Service, Public Information Division, Floyd
Veterans Memorial Building, Room E-970, Atlanta, GA 30334-4800.

Pat Phillips

Chairman, Veterans Service Board

Pete Wheeler

Commissioner

Tom Cook

Assistant Commissioner, Claims and Field Operations

Len Glass

Assistant Commissioner, Administrative Service

Heldon (Bill) Jung

Director, Education & Training

Brian Zeringue

Public Information Manager

Jon Suggs

Editor, Veterans Bulletin

Georgia Veterans...guardians of liberty

A Note To Our Readers:
Welcome to the digital edition of the Georgia Veterans Bulletin. If you are already familiar with our publication, you will find the same valuable information that has always been in these pages, accompanied by a few additions and enhancements.
By bringing the Bulletin to you online, the Georgia Department of Veterans Service is saving valuable budget dollars, a necessary choice given our state's current fiscal status.
But this is more than a mere cost-saving change. There are many advantages to digital publication, and we aim to make use of much this medium has to offer.
Most notably, this marks a move from a quarterly to monthly publication schedule. We intend to bring you more news, more often.
Remember, every hypertext link in this document is clickable. Wherever you see a website address, such as www.va.gov, you can click on the link and be taken to that site.
We would like to encourage you to subscribe to our news feed via RSS. You may do so here: http://sdvs.georgia.gov/rss/sdvs_ press_releases.xml. Whenever a new Bulletin is published, whenever the Department issues any news release, you will be among the first to know.
As always, thank you for your service to our country and do not hesitate to call upon us.


Local State Veteran Service Offices

Ready to Assist in Filing for VA Benefits

SDVS News Release January 7, 2009
Whether a veteran's condition is the result of recent or long past military duties, the door remains open for him or her to seek help and submit a claim to the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs for disability compensation.
Each claim submitted is processed and answered with an explanation as to why it was or was not approved. Policies governing how a veteran's claim is processed and rules of law affecting a decision may not be fully understood by the veteran.
The Georgia Department of Veterans Service is the agency of state government that was established for the purpose of advising, counseling, and assisting Georgia's veterans and their families in receiving their rightful benefits under the vast, frequently changing, and complex framework of veterans' laws.
"We exist to serve those who have served," says Georgia Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Pete Wheeler.
"Our job is to explain in detail

federal and state benefits and, if entitled, assist veterans and their dependents in obtaining them," Commissioner Wheeler points out. "We have 47 field offices located throughout the state and a claims division whose mission is to do just that - assist and advise ALL veterans, their dependents, and survivors."
Veterans and their dependents can receive personal assistance in filing for VA benefits and other entitlements at any of the 47 field offices. The department's claims staff, located in the
VA Regional Office Building in Decatur, monitors VA claims filed and, when needed, assist with the preparation and presentation of appeals.
Commissioner Wheeler further explains the necessity for personal assistance in pursuing, filing, and tracking claims results from the legal principle that veteran's benefits are not awarded automatically--all must be applied for.
"The VA pays a veteran exactly what he or she is entitled to by the law, and no more," Commissioner Wheeler points out. "Our ultimate goal is to ensure that a Georgia

veteran or his or her dependents receive any and all benefits to which they are entitled."
The field offices staff can also assist in certifying a veteran's eligibility for the many benefits provided by the state (for example drivers licenses, special motor vehicle license plates, honorary hunting and fishing licenses, discounts at Department of Natural Resources facilities, Certificates of Exemption from payment of certain fees and taxation).
Commissioner Wheeler encourages all Georgia veterans to visit the department's field office nearest to where they live for information concerning the possibility of being eligible for a federal or state benefit and on how to go about filing a claim for benefits.
Contact information of the nearest field office can be found in the local phone book in the state government section under Department of Veterans Service or through the department's website, www.sdvs. georgia.gov. All offices are opened from 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., Mondays through Fridays; except on approved state recognized holidays.

Remember: VA Benefits Are Tax Exempt

SDVS News Release January 21, 2009
ATLANTA As the tax deadline approaches, Georgia Commissioner of Veterans Affairs Pete Wheeler wants to remind all veterans and their dependents that benefits paid under any law administered by the U. S. Department of Veterans Affairs are tax exempt.
"This is especially helpful for those veterans and their dependents living on fixed incomes," Commissioner Wheeler comments.

VA benefits that are tax exempt include disability compensation and pension payments paid either to veterans or their families; education, training, and subsistence allowances; grants for homes designed for wheelchair living; grants for motor vehicles for veterans who lost their sight or the use of their limbs; GI insurance dividends paid to either veterans or their beneficiaries; and interest on dividends left on deposit with the VA.
Commissioner Wheeler points out that interest accumulated on

money from VA benefits deposited into any type of interest-bearing account may be taxable. He encourages veterans with questions relating to these tax issues or any other tax matter to consult with a tax advisor. Taxpayers can also receive tax assistance by contacting the IRS weekdays at 1-800-829-1040 between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. or at www. irs.gov
IRS Publication 525, "Taxable and Nontaxable Income" has a section devoted to veteran's income. To order the publication call 1-800-829-3676.

Georgia Veterans...guardians of liberty



Shinseki Sworn In, Vows To Update VA

Former General Aims to Deliver 21st Century Service to Veterans
VA News Release January 21, 2009
WASHINGTON Retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki took the oath of office Wednesday, January 21, 2009, as the Nation's seventh Secretary of Veterans Affairs, assuming the leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs following his confirmation by the Senate.
"The overriding challenge I am addressing from my first day in office is to make the Department of Veterans Affairs a 21st century organization focused on the Nation's Veterans as its clients," Shinseki said.
Shinseki plans to develop a 2010 budget within his first 90 days that realizes the vision of President Obama to transform VA into an organization that is people-centric,

results-driven and forward-looking. Key issues on his agenda
include smooth activation of an enhanced GI Bill education benefit that eligible veterans can begin using next fall, streamlining the disability claims system, leveraging information technology to accelerate and modernize services, and opening VA's health care system to Veterans previously unable to enroll in it, while facilitating access for returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.
Shinseki, a former Army Chief of Staff, takes the reins of a 284,000employee organization delivering health care and financial benefits to millions of veterans and survivors under a $98 billion budget authorized this year through networks of regional benefits offices and health care facilities from coast to coast.
Born in 1942 on the island of Kauai, Hawaii, Shinseki graduated from the U.S. Military Academy at West Point, N.Y., in 1965. He served two combat tours and was wounded in action in Vietnam. He served with distinction in Europe, the Pacific and stateside, eventually becoming the Army's senior leader from June 1999

to June 2003. Retired from military service
in August 2003, Shinseki's military decorations include three Bronze Stars and two Purple Hearts.
Shinseki succeeds Dr. James B. Peake as Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
The Georgia Veterans Bulletin published a biography of Secretary Shinseki in December, available here:
http://sdvs.georgia.gov/vgn/images/portal/cit_ 1210/44/12/129281837VBDecember08.pdf

VA News Of Interest To GA Veterans
VA To Offer Health Care to Previously Ineligible Veterans
The Department of Veterans Affairs announced today plans to re-open enrollment in its health
care system by July 2009 to about 265,000 veterans whose incomes exceed current limits. (1/8/09)
http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1641

VA Assisting Veterans with Health Care Costs For veterans struggling financially due to a job loss or decreased income, the Department of
Veterans Affairs offers an assortment of programs that can relieve the costs of health care or provide care at no cost. (1/6/09) http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1638

Some Veterans to See Another Travel Reimbursement Increase

Service-disabled and low-income veterans who are reimbursed for travel expenses while

receiving care at Department of Veterans Affairs facilities will see an increase in their payments

beginning January 9. (12/29/08)

http://www1.va.gov/opa/pressrel/pressrelease.cfm?id=1633

Georgia Veterans...guardians of liberty