Department of Veterans Affairs

U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran, a Kansas Republican and ranking member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, appears for a podcast recording in September 2022 at the Kansas Reflector office in Topeka. (Tim Carpenter/Kansas Reflector)

VA secretary says agency will cooperate with investigation into veterans crisis line

BY: - November 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough sought to defend the veterans crisis line Wednesday in a letter to the Kansas senator who has raised concerns with how some veterans are treated after calling it. McDonough wrote in the three-page letter to Republican U.S. Sen. Jerry Moran that the VA “takes any allegations […]

A sign on the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

VA veterans crisis line to face new investigation by congressional watchdog agency

BY: - November 15, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Government Accountability Office plans to investigate multiple whistleblower allegations of “gross mismanagement” at the Department of Veterans Affairs veterans crisis line, following a request from Kansas Republican Sen. Jerry Moran, States Newsroom has learned. Moran, ranking member on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a letter to the VA secretary this week […]

Soldiers from Ft. Lee, Virginia help mark Veterans Day ceremonies at the World War II Memorial Nov. 11, 2011 in Washington, D.C. Veterans Day in the United States honors those who have served in the nation’s military and also coincides with the anniversary of the conclusion of hostilities on the western front in World War I. (Win McNamee/Getty Images)

Veterans’ health care coverage expanded by Biden administration

BY: - November 10, 2023

Ahead of Veterans Day, Biden administration officials said Friday the Department of Veterans Affairs will expand health care coverage for certain groups of veterans and their families and create new programs meant to make care more accessible. The VA will make coverage of certain toxic burn pit-related conditions available sooner than anticipated. Family members of […]

Hundreds of people attend the Aug. 17, 2023, grand opening of a Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

With reorganization plans squashed for now, VA celebrates new Rapid City clinic

BY: - August 17, 2023

RAPID CITY — The long-debated, evolving plans for veterans’ health care in the Black Hills took a step forward Thursday with the grand opening of a new outpatient clinic. The 49,000-square-foot Rapid City facility is triple the size of the Department of Veterans Affairs’ previous clinic in the city. That’s a welcome development for Ricky […]

Comedian and activist Jon Stewart hugs Rosie Torres, wife of veteran Le Roy Torres, who suffers from illnesses related to his exposure to burn pits in Iraq, after the Senate passed the PACT Act at the U.S. Capitol Aug. 2, 2022, in Washington, D.C. Demonstrators from veterans-rights groups stood outside the Capitol Building in protest calling on the U.S. Senate to pass the PACT Act. (Drew Angerer/Getty Images)

Veterans exposed to burn pits, toxins urged to apply for retroactive benefits

BY: - August 3, 2023

WASHINGTON — A deadline for a year’s worth of backdated benefits is fast approaching for U.S. veterans suffering illnesses after exposure to open burn pits, Agent Orange and other toxins. Nearly a year ago, President Joe Biden signed the PACT Act, a law supporters describe as the largest expansion of veteran benefits in U.S. history. […]

A sign on the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Johnson votes yes on VA spending bill that renews abortion, transgender fights

BY: - July 27, 2023

WASHINGTON — U.S. House Republicans approved their first government spending bill Thursday, following tense debate about whether the Department of Veterans Affairs should provide abortions in limited circumstances and the GOP’s decision to cut military construction funding. The 219-211 mostly party-line vote (Rep. Dusty Johnson, R-South Dakota, voted yes) on the Military Construction-VA appropriations bill […]

A sign on the Department of Veterans Affairs outpatient clinic in Rapid City. (Seth Tupper/South Dakota Searchlight)

Abortion services to remain available at the VA after close U.S. Senate vote

BY: - April 19, 2023

WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs can continue providing service members with access to abortion in cases of life-threatening complications, rape or incest, after the U.S. Senate narrowly blocked a measure Wednesday that would have scrapped a new Biden administration rule. The VA policy, which also includes abortion counseling, was established after the U.S. […]