2007.08.04: August 4, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Military: Veterans: Minneapolis Star Tribune: Shalala pledges to continue fight for wounded soldiers
Peace Corps Online:
Directory:
Iran:
Special Report: Iran RPCV, Cabinet Member, and University President Donna Shalala:
February 9, 2005: Index: PCOL Exclusive: RPCV Donna Shalala (Iran) :
2007.07.26: July 26, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Military: Public Health: Boston Globe: Shalala-Dole Presidential Commission recommends "fundamental changes" aimed at simplifying the military's convoluted healthcare bureaucracy :
2007.08.04: August 4, 2007: Headlines: Figures: COS - Iran: University Administration: Military: Veterans: Minneapolis Star Tribune: Shalala pledges to continue fight for wounded soldiers
Shalala pledges to continue fight for wounded soldiers
Shalala said she and Dole have every intention of continuing to push the administration and Congress for changes, including amending the Family Medical Leave Act to allow for up to six months leave for a family member of a wounded service member. Most of the recommendations can be implemented by the administration, though some would require legislative approval. To that end, Dole and Shalala made the rounds on Capitol Hill the day after the report's release, meeting with House and Senate leaders to gain their support. Shalala balanced the demands of the commission — visits to various veteran health care facilities around the country and seven public hearings — along with her duties at the university. She also taught a class on the politics of health care to 150 students. "She's type triple A," Dole said, laughing. "I'm a type A, but she's triple A. She's either got the cell phone going, or the Blackberry or she's in a conversation. She doesn't waste any time. She's all business, 'Let's get this done and get this done right."' "I was at the White House when they asked me about the commission and we sort of kicked names around," Dole said. "Donna's name came up and that was the end of the conversation. "I knew it wasn't going to be partisan, but solution driven," Dole said. "We knew there were problems, otherwise there wouldn't be a commission, but we weren't there to review complaints, we were there to solve the problem." University of Miami President and former Clinton Cabinet member Donna Shalala served as a Peace Corps Volunteer in Iran in the 1960's.
Shalala pledges to continue fight for wounded soldiers
Shalala pledges to continue fight for wounded soldiers
Associated Press
Last update: July 30, 2007 – 7:07 AM
WASHINGTON — Each generation of Donna Shalala's family has served in the U.S. military. Two uncles were killed during World War II and a cousin now serves in Iraq as private first class in the U.S. Army Reserve.
So it hit home when wounded soldiers and their families told her about exhausted wives and mothers forced to relocate or give up jobs to serve as round-the-clock caregivers to the injured. Or when soldiers talked of the maze of bureaucracy that made securing a single medical appointment a major victory.
"It was devastating," Shalala said of the hospital visits she made as co-chair of a presidential commission charged with improving the nation's health care for wounded soldiers. "They and their parents were stunned at the enormity of the challenges. These parents had sent young, healthy men and women off to war and they came back broken.
"No matter whether you were for or against the war or think it should continue or not, you are absolutely supportive of these young men and women who serve," Shalala said. "Our first responsibility was to see that we are serving them."
Shalala, serving in her first high-profile public policy role since stepping down as U.S. Secretary of Health and Human Services in 2000, saw familiarity in the faces of the soldiers — some of whom are the same age as the college students on the University of Miami campus where she is president.
"Anyone of them could have been in the same situation," she said of her students.
Though military members and their families described top-notch medical and emergency care, they told commissioners about being frustrated by layers of bureaucracy when they sought care after leaving the hospital.
"These were people I figured would be cynical and depressed," Shalala said. "They weren't, but boy were they frustrated. That was part of the problem. They didn't want to sit around, waiting for appointments. They want to participate in life."
Appointed by President Bush in the wake of embarrassing reports about the treatment of the wounded at Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington, Shalala joined as co-chair with former Sen. Bob Dole, R-Kansas.
Dole had personal experience with military health care as a badly wounded veteran returning from World War II and the two agreed they wanted to recommend fixes to the system, not assign blame. They presented their findings to Bush on Wednesday.
"The president knew I'm not a bomb thrower," said Shalala, who served as health and human services secretary in the Clinton administration. "He knew I was a professional."
Dole, too, said politics never interfered.
"We're from different parties, but there were no politics in this," Dole said. "It was always 'What can we do that's reasonable, doable and effective?"'
Indeed, Dole said he agreed to team up with Shalala as soon as Secretary of Defense Bill Gates — an old friend of hers — brought up her name.
"I was at the White House when they asked me about the commission and we sort of kicked names around," Dole said. "Donna's name came up and that was the end of the conversation.
"I knew it wasn't going to be partisan, but solution driven," Dole said. "We knew there were problems, otherwise there wouldn't be a commission, but we weren't there to review complaints, we were there to solve the problem."
Shalala balanced the demands of the commission — visits to various veteran health care facilities around the country and seven public hearings — along with her duties at the university. She also taught a class on the politics of health care to 150 students.
"She's type triple A," Dole said, laughing. "I'm a type A, but she's triple A. She's either got the cell phone going, or the Blackberry or she's in a conversation. She doesn't waste any time. She's all business, 'Let's get this done and get this done right."'
The commission recommended "fundamental" changes to the veterans' health care system, including better diagnosis and treatment of post traumatic stress disorder and brain injuries. It also recommended a complete restructuring of the disability and compensation systems for wounded soldiers and increased support for the families caring for the wounded.
Shalala said she knows first-hand the commission's work is being watched carefully. Kathryn Donovan, one of Shalala's former fellows at the White House — now a Navy commander stationed abroad — sent Shalala an e-mail hours after the commission delivered its recommendations to Bush, telling her that colleagues were glued to the television, watching Dole and Shalala being interviewed about the recommendations and pledging to hold lawmakers accountable for carrying them out.
When the interviewer noted that the commission "goes out of existence" with the issuance of the report, Shalala quickly interjected: "Sen. Dole and I don't."
"It's moments like this that motivate these leaders to keep going, even though we've been away from home for 15 months, it's 120 degrees outside, and the frequent afternoon sand storms are miserable," Donovan wrote to Shalala from Iraq. "Thank you so much for your selfless dedication to not only our battalion, but to those that have served and the wounded warriors. Thanks for staying motivated and leading from the front."
Shalala said she and Dole have every intention of continuing to push the administration and Congress for changes, including amending the Family Medical Leave Act to allow for up to six months leave for a family member of a wounded service member.
Most of the recommendations can be implemented by the administration, though some would require legislative approval. To that end, Dole and Shalala made the rounds on Capitol Hill the day after the report's release, meeting with House and Senate leaders to gain their support.
"We're going to keep on it," she said. "The commission expires, we don't."
Links to Related Topics (Tags):
Headlines: August, 2007; RPCV Donna Shalala (Iran); Figures; Peace Corps Iran; Directory of Iran RPCVs; Messages and Announcements for Iran RPCVs; University Administration; Military; Florida; Peace Corps Bibliography; Peace Corps Countries of Service; Peace Corps History; Peace Corps Message Board; Peace Corps Headlines
When this story was posted in August 2007, this was on the front page of PCOL:
Peace Corps Online The Independent News Forum serving Returned Peace Corps Volunteers
| Senator Dodd's Peace Corps Hearings Read PCOL's executive summary of Senator Chris Dodd's hearings on July 25 on the Peace Corps Volunteer Empowerment Act and why Peace Corps Director Ron Tschetter does not believe the bill would contribute to an improved Peace Corps while four other RPCV witnesses do. Highlights of the hearings included Dodd's questioning of Tschetter on political meetings at Peace Corps Headquarters and the Inspector General's testimony on the re-opening of the Walter Poirier III investigation. |
| Dodd issues call for National Service Standing on the steps of the Nashua City Hall where JFK kicked off his campaign in 1960, Presidential Candidate Chris Dodd issued a call for National Service. "Like thousands of others, I heard President Kennedy's words and a short time later joined the Peace Corps." Dodd said his goal is to see 40 million people volunteering in some form or another by 2020. "We have an appetite for service. We like to be asked to roll up our sleeves and make a contribution," he said. "We haven't been asked in a long time." |
| Public diplomacy rests on sound public policy When President Kennedy spoke of "a long twilight struggle," and challenged the country to "ask not," he signaled that the Cold War was the challenge and framework defining US foreign policy. The current challenge is not a struggle against a totalitarian foe. It is not a battle against an enemy called "Islamofascism." From these false assumptions flow false choices, including the false choice between law enforcement and war. Instead, law enforcement and military force both must be essential instruments, along with diplomacy, including public diplomacy. But public diplomacy rests on policy, and to begin with, the policy must be sound. Read more. |
| Ambassador revokes clearance for PC Director A post made on PCOL from volunteers in Tanzania alleges that Ambassador Retzer has acted improperly in revoking the country clearance of Country Director Christine Djondo. A statement from Peace Corps' Press Office says that the Peace Corps strongly disagrees with the ambassador’s decision. On June 8 the White House announced that Retzer is being replaced as Ambassador. Latest: Senator Dodd has placed a hold on Mark Green's nomination to be Ambassador to Tanzania. |
| Peace Corps Funnies A PCV writing home? Our editor hard at work? Take a look at our Peace Corps Funnies and Peace Corps Cartoons and see why Peace Corps Volunteers say that sometimes a touch of levity can be one of the best ways of dealing with frustrations in the field. Read what RPCVs say about the lighter side of life in the Peace Corps and see why irreverent observations can often contain more than a grain of truth. We'll supply the photos. You supply the captions. |
| PCOL serves half million PCOL's readership for April exceeded 525,000 visitors - a 50% increase over last year. This year also saw the advent of a new web site: Peace Corps News that together with the Peace Corps Library and History of the Peace Corps serve 17,000 RPCVs, Staff, and Friends of the Peace Corps every day. Thanks for making PCOL your source of news for the Peace Corps community. Read more. |
| Suspect confesses in murder of PCV Search parties in the Philippines discovered the body of Peace Corps Volunteer Julia Campbell near Barangay Batad, Banaue town on April 17. Director Tschetter expressed his sorrow at learning the news. “Julia was a proud member of the Peace Corps family, and she contributed greatly to the lives of Filipino citizens in Donsol, Sorsogon, where she served,” he said. Latest: Suspect Juan Duntugan admits to killing Campbell. Leave your thoughts and condolences . |
| Warren Wiggins: Architect of the Peace Corps Warren Wiggins, who died at 84 on April 13, became one of the architects of the Peace Corps in 1961 when his paper, "A Towering Task," landed in the lap of Sargent Shriver, just as Shriver was trying to figure out how to turn the Peace Corps into a working federal department. Shriver was electrified by the treatise, which urged the agency to act boldly. Read Mr. Wiggins' obituary and biography, take an opportunity to read the original document that shaped the Peace Corps' mission, and read John Coyne's special issue commemorating "A Towering Task." |
| Chris Dodd's Vision for the Peace Corps Senator Chris Dodd (RPCV Dominican Republic) spoke at the ceremony for this year's Shriver Award and elaborated on issues he raised at Ron Tschetter's hearings. Dodd plans to introduce legislation that may include: setting aside a portion of Peace Corps' budget as seed money for demonstration projects and third goal activities (after adjusting the annual budget upward to accommodate the added expense), more volunteer input into Peace Corps operations, removing medical, healthcare and tax impediments that discourage older volunteers, providing more transparency in the medical screening and appeals process, a more comprehensive health safety net for recently-returned volunteers, and authorizing volunteers to accept, under certain circumstances, private donations to support their development projects. He plans to circulate draft legislation for review to members of the Peace Corps community and welcomes RPCV comments. |
| He served with honor One year ago, Staff Sgt. Robert J. Paul (RPCV Kenya) carried on an ongoing dialog on this website on the military and the peace corps and his role as a member of a Civil Affairs Team in Iraq and Afghanistan. We have just received a report that Sargeant Paul has been killed by a car bomb in Kabul. Words cannot express our feeling of loss for this tremendous injury to the entire RPCV community. Most of us didn't know him personally but we knew him from his words. Our thoughts go out to his family and friends. He was one of ours and he served with honor. |
Read the stories and leave your comments.
Some postings on Peace Corps Online are provided to the individual members of this group without permission of the copyright owner for the non-profit purposes of criticism, comment, education, scholarship, and research under the "Fair Use" provisions of U.S. Government copyright laws and they may not be distributed further without permission of the copyright owner. Peace Corps Online does not vouch for the accuracy of the content of the postings, which is the sole responsibility of the copyright holder.
Story Source: Minneapolis Star Tribune
This story has been posted in the following forums: : Headlines; Figures; COS - Iran; University Administration; Military; Veterans
PCOL38497
97