Open Government Plan Emphasizes VA’s Commitment to Transparency

Where is the openness? Where is the transparency?

What happened to (it been months) GWVI-TF recommends that VA Coordinate with DoD to leverage the Deployment Health Working Group (DHWG) as the principal mechanism for VA to receive data on environmental exposures of active duty military personnel । Strategies to improve future DoD/VA data sharing. There is No direct line phone numbers veterans can reach or write.

Paul Sullivan of Veterans for Common Sense (VCS) ( www.veteransforcommonsense.org ) writes:

According to this gem of a press release, VA wants to have their cake and eat it, too.

On the one hand, and this is so cute, VA mentions Facebook and Twitter as part of open government.

On the other hand, VA becomes more clouded by denying our VCS FOIAs seeking information about the VA employees who "impeded" Gulf War scientific research, as reported by VA's OIG last years. We sent our FOIAs to VA last November. VA has not provided any documents. Next week, when we testify before Congress, VCS will blast VA for failing to honor FOIA and, more importantly, for blocking research, treatment, and benefits for our hundreds of thousands of ill Gulf War veterans.