A
story written by a Knight Ridder writer today recounts how many veterans and their families aren't accessing $22 billion worth of benefits that are due them. The reason? They don't know they exist.
The story details the pension and disability compensation benefits that are going unclaimed by millions of families. There are small, non-federal-government agencies around the country that attempt to get the word out as best they can, but I was thinking that dKos would be an excellent vehicle for "broadcasting" this issue. More on the flip.
Today a diary appeared here which detailed the increasing numbers of "Fighting Dems" appearing on the political stage. It is a fact that the Democrats are strong advocates of the military and participate in high numbers in military service.
While I don't know how to tie things together exactly, I do know that Kos himself and many contributors here have served our country as members of the military. Maybe those among us who are more savvy regarding outreach programs and organizing such could prevail upon the current Democratic officials as well as the prospective candidates to do something "proactive" regarding this particular state of affairs. You would think with all the information- gathering technology that is being (ab)used these days that finding these people is not such a far-fetched proposition.
The article provides links to the VA as well as an 800 number for anyone who knows of a veteran who might not be accessing their rightful benefits. My apologies if this issue has already been diaried here.