Tyler

By ROY MAYNARD
Staff Writer

Congressman Louie Gohmert has come out with guns blazing in defense of a discontinued benefits counseling program at the Tyler Department of Veterans Affairs office.

Ending that program has resulted in the county's separate Veterans Services Office being swamped with referrals in recent weeks. Gohmert, a Tyler Republican, says he's already taking action.

"I have made clear here in Washington, that I intend to push this matter until there is a resolution and, hopefully, the VA personnel responsible for the stagnant quagmire are removed," he said on Wednesday. "Our United States veterans are, and should be, one of our greatest treasures. However, the lethargy and apathy with which some of our VA personnel have treated many of our veterans, especially our older veterans, is a national disgrace."

He cites an example close to home.

"My father-in-law in Tyler is a World War II veteran who has just gone through over two years of paperwork and procedural abuse in which the VA had claimed he owed them money when the reverse was actually true," Gohmert said. "It was a real eye-opener for my wife and me."

The issue was finally resolved just last week - "no thanks to any VA worker we dealt with in Texas," Gohmert added.

"There is no excuse for the deplorable, inattentive manner in which he and many other veterans have been treated," Gohmert said. "Although we have attempted to address and resolve the staff shortage at the Tyler VA through a number of contacts, the Smith County Commissioners Court and my office have yet to receive any proper acknowledgment from the VA. This cannot continue."

Contacted by the Tyler Paper on Tuesday, the VA's regional office in Waco sent a statement indicating that a part-time worker would be hired to resume that benefits counseling program.

"Starting this week, we will have a representative at the VA benefits office in Tyler on Thursdays, to provide veterans benefits information, assistance with filing claims for VA benefits, and other related services," said Tom Morley, public affairs officer for the VA regional office. "We are in the process of selecting a Veterans Service Representative for the position in Tyler. The new Veterans Service Represent-ative will be available in the VA benefits office on a permanent basis, for at least two days per week."

Like Smith County commissioners, Gohmert says he wants to hear that directly from the source. He also says it's time to shake up the Department of Veterans Affairs.

"Having also visited at length yesterday with the head of the new Veterans coalition that has been created to study the VA and replace its deadwood, I am a bit more encouraged," Gohmert said. "The bottom line is that our U.S. veterans deserve proper attention from the federal government they have served. The fact that Smith County has supplemented that assistance is a real tribute to the county."