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Abbie Bennett Profile picture
Abbie Bennett
@AbbieRBennett
Senior energy/enviro reporter ⚡🌎 @SPGlobal | Teach @merrillcollege | Was @cbsradio, @newsobserver | @UNCHussman 💎 | 🐱lady | https://t.co/Or4mCfneFh
Mar 17, 2021 • 4 tweets • 3 min read
March 17 @DeptVetAffairs #COVID19 update:
- Active cases and hospitalizations hit lowest levels since mid-Oct. 2020 this week.
- 499 patient deaths so far this month, VA could reach 11,000 total patient deaths this week
- 2 more staff deaths (4 this month)
radio.com/connectingvets… @DeptVetAffairs The good news is that VA's active cases, hospitalizations & deaths are overall down significantly compared to recent months, and more VA facilities are opening up vaccine eligibility to all enrolled vets.
Lawmakers want to expand vax even further:
radio.com/connectingvets…
Feb 26, 2021 • 43 tweets • 45 min read
These announcements are likely to become more and more common with @DeptVetAffairs expected to receive 600,000 more doses next week. Make sure to keep an eye on your local VA to see when appointments might open up for your group.
radio.com/connectingvets… @DeptVetAffairs The Amarillo, Texas VAMC just announced its opening Moderna vaccinations to veterans of all ages through a walk-in vaccination clinic starting tomorrow morning. Image
Jan 14, 2021 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Senior defense official on call with reporters today: "We clearly recognize the threat from domestic extremists, particularly those who espouse white supremacist or white nationalist ideologies." "...Private studies express between 2001 and today right-wing extremists are responsible for more deaths in this country than any other extremist group," senior DoD official says.
Dec 11, 2020 • 6 tweets • 2 min read
Really sitting with this tonight and I think what sticks out more than anything is that VA didn’t take any action against the man (a VA contractor) with a history of abusing women (VA staff) but focused seemingly all it’s attention on discrediting the victim. I know this isn’t a revelation to anyone, really. But it’s disturbing that it appears there wasn’t much concern that a man with a track record of sexual harassment potentially escalated to violence against a woman in a hospital in broad daylight around witnesses and cops.
Dec 10, 2020 • 21 tweets • 17 min read
New: @VetAffairsOIG found in a nearly yearlong review that Secretary Wilkie and his staff disparaged and sought to discredit a veteran and Congressional advisor who reported a sexual assault at the D.C. VA hospital.

radio.com/connectingvets… @VetAffairsOIG The @VetAffairsOIG was unable to substantiate that SecVA Wilkie investigated, or asked his staff to investigate the veteran, but did find evidence he and his staff made comments that attempted to discredit her, accusing her of a history of complaints.
radio.com/connectingvets…
Dec 9, 2020 • 4 tweets • 1 min read
Inbox: GAO finds, unsurprisingly, that Gulf War Illness claims are "complex and hard for VA to process."

Those claims are also denied at a higher rate than many others.

VA is in the final stages of officially defining the condition, hopefully in 2021.

gao.gov/assets/720/711… The good news is there's some incredibly encouraging researching being done by VA experts that could pave the way for a cure: radio.com/connectingvets…
Dec 9, 2020 • 32 tweets • 36 min read
Today at 10 a.m., @SenateVA @SVACDems holds a hearing on @DeptVetAffairs and the pandemic. Also at 10 a.m., @VetAffairsDems @HouseVetAffairs holds a hearing on toxic exposures and VA presumptive service connection. @SenateVA @SVACDems @DeptVetAffairs @VetAffairsDems @HouseVetAffairs VHA Executive Dr. Richard Stone is among those testifying in the Senate today.

Former SecVA @DavidShulkin is testifying on the second panel of the House hearing.
Sep 16, 2020 • 8 tweets • 6 min read
If you'll let me, I'd like to interrupt your TLs for a moment to talk to you about Pat Duva, a 29-year-old Marine veteran who is dying of a rare brain cancer, and whose family asked me to help share his story.
connectingvets.radio.com/articles/29-ye… @USMC Pat is a history nerd and wanted to be a teacher. You'd want him on your trivia team. He from Jersey and fancies himself a pizza connoisseur. He turned down full college scholarships to become a Marine after watching the 9/11 terrorist attacks firsthand.
connectingvets.radio.com/articles/29-ye…
Aug 5, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
New: More than 2 dozen vets and half a dozen VA pharmacy staffers told me they're seeing veterans' USPS mail-order prescriptions delayed by weeks.

"We are swamped with patient complaints over delivery delays," one VA pharmacy chief said.

connectingvets.radio.com/articles/veter… About 80% of VA outpatient prescriptions are delivered by mail, fulfilled at 7 massive, "highly automated" hub pharmacies.

So far, VA officials are providing little to no information about how the USPS delays are VA's mail-order prescription system.

connectingvets.radio.com/articles/veter…
Jun 3, 2020 • 30 tweets • 8 min read
New from @USGAO: In January 2017, Trump said he and VA would consult private citizens to help address VA issues. This raised questions about influence on VA’s decisions.
GAO found interactions between VA officials and private citizens in 2016 and 2018.
gao.gov/products/GAO-2… @USGAO Background: connectingvets.radio.com/articles/congr…
Apr 20, 2020 • 28 tweets • 10 min read
This timeline from VA on how the department prepped for #coronavirus is wild and let me tell you why. Here's what it leaves out (this'll have to be a thread):
- Let's start with Feb. 27, when VASEC Wilkie turned down additional help from Congress. connectingvets.radio.com/articles/va-to… This was followed by 4 weeks when VA did not communicate with the public, vets, VSOs or members of Congress as requested about a coronavirus plan.
All the while, VA leaders assured Congress they were prepared as the first veterans began testing positive.
connectingvets.radio.com/articles/veter…
Mar 20, 2020 • 4 tweets • 2 min read
March 20 UPDATE:
- A second veteran has died of the virus.
- VA now tracking 130 cases of veterans testing positive for #Covid19. Up from 83 yesterday.
- VA also says it has administered "over 1,192 tests" nationwide.
connectingvets.radio.com/articles/va-is… The first veteran to die of the virus was in Portland, Ore. The second was in White River Junction, Vt.
connectingvets.radio.com/articles/first…
Mar 16, 2020 • 5 tweets • 2 min read
UPDATE: VA now says it is tracking 30 veterans who have tested positive, or presumptively positive, for #COVID19. #coronavirus

VA still says it has administered 100 tests -- unchanged since last week.

1 veteran so far has died because of the virus.

connectingvets.radio.com/articles/first… Those 30 cases are in: Colorado, California, Nevada, Maine, Arizona, New York, Ohio, Georgia, Louisiana, Oregon, Washington, North Dakota and Vermont.
Dec 10, 2019 • 39 tweets • 30 min read
.@HASCRepublicans @HASCDemocrats hearing this afternoon on military diversity in recruiting and retention. Doesn’t look like any of the witnesses are women. armedservices.house.gov/hearings?ID=B2…

Hearing was expected to start at 2 p.m. but is delayed. @HASCRepublicans @HASCDemocrats Public and media were just allowed into the hearing room. Hearing still delayed, but here's where you should be able to stream it when we begin: