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Asian American Village News

By The Associated Press

Shinseki pledges to fix gaps in veterans' care

Jan 06 16:56

By HOPE YEN

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Retired Gen. Eric K. Shinseki pledged to move quickly to fix gaps in health care if confirmed as Veterans Affairs secretary, saying he will reopen benefits to hundreds of thousands of middle-income veterans denied during the Bush administration.

In a 54-page disclosure obtained Tuesday by The Associated Press, President-elect Barack Obama's choice to head the government's second largest agency also urged Congress to set VA funding a year in advance to minimize political pressures. And the former Army chief of staff said he will step down from the corporate boards of defense contractors to alleviate potential conflicts of interest.

"If confirmed, I would focus on these issues and the development of a credible and adequate 2010 budget request during my first 90 days in office," Shinseki wrote to the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, noting that VA funding in the past created "significant management difficulties" that delayed medical care.

The Senate committee is scheduled to hold Shinseki's confirmation hearing on Jan. 14.

Shinseki, 66, said he had resigned from the boards of Honeywell International Inc., which holds billions in contracts with the U.S. Army, as well as Ducommun Inc., which services defense contractors such as Boeing Inc. by manufacturing parts for aircraft. Because he will continue to receive undisclosed sums of deferred compensation from those firms, Shinseki said he will also recuse himself from any VA decisions involving those companies.

The former Army chief of staff also said he will stop doing business at his consulting company Pegasus Associates Inc. and will resign positions at Guardian Life Insurance Company of America, First Hawaiian Bank and DC Capital Partners.

Shinseki, who was once vilified by the Bush administration for questioning its Iraq war strategy, said a top goal will be to fulfill Obama's campaign promise to expand care to veterans who were denied access due to cost-cutting. Such "Priority 8" veterans, whose income exceeded roughly $30,000 annually, were blocked from enrollment in the VA system in January 2003.

During the presidential campaign, Obama promised to restore benefits to the "Priority 8" veterans and to improve overall funding at the VA. The VA was roundly criticized during the Bush administration for underestimating the amount of money needed to treat thousands of injured veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.

Since Obama's election, the VA has indicated it was taking initial steps to send additional money to VA hospitals and clinics later this month to implement a new enrollment plan possibly by June.

"I believe the prudent approach will be to validate the estimated number of these veterans, giving appropriate consideration to the potential impact of current economic factors, and then assess the capacity of facilities and staffing and then quickly create a plan to phase these veterans into VA for care," Shinseki wrote.

In his questionnaire, Shinseki also:

--Pledged to cut down six-month waits for disability benefits in part by switching from paper applications to "an integrated, all electronic claims processing system." Shinseki said his starting point will be achieving VA's strategic goal of roughly 145 days, a benchmark that has eluded the agency despite years of promises by current VA Secretary James Peake and his predecessor, Jim Nicholson.

--Initiate an "independent, thorough" review to ensure that the VA will not delay rollout of millions of dollars in new GI benefits in August. The VA initially suggested it might not be able to meet the deadline, but after criticism insisted it could handle the needed improvements to its information technology systems. At least 520,000 veterans are expected to take advantage come this fall, up from about 250,000 currently.

--Work more closely with the departments of Housing and Urban Development, Labor and the Small Business Administration to increase economic opportunities for veterans and reduce homelessness.

Obama last month announced the selection of Shinseki, the native of Hawaii who is the first Army four-star general of Japanese-American ancestry. If confirmed, he will be the first Asian-American to hold the post of Veterans Affairs secretary.

------

On the Net:

Department of Veterans Affairs: http://www.va.gov/

Senate Veterans Affairs Committee: http://veterans.senate.gov

AP-ES-01-06-09 1704EST

CNN: Gupta approached about surgeon general post

Jan 06 17:11

By NEDRA PICKLER

Associated Press Writer

WASHINGTON (AP) -- President-elect Barack Obama has approached CNN's chief medical correspondent, Sanjay Gupta, to be the country's next surgeon general, the cable network said Tuesday.

CNN said it has kept Gupta from reporting on health care policy and other matters involving the incoming Obama administration since learning he was under consideration for the post.

Two Democrats with knowledge of the discussions over the surgeon general spot said Gupta was under consideration but cautioned there was not yet a final decision on who would fill the post. They spoke on condition of anonymity because they were not authorized to speak to the media on the matter.

Obama's transition office did not immediately respond to requests for comment.

Gupta hosts "House Call" on CNN, contributes reports to CBS News, and writes a column for Time magazine. He is a neurosurgeon and is on the faculty at Emory University School of Medicine in Atlanta. During the Clinton administration, he was a White House fellow and special adviser to then-first lady Hillary Rodham Clinton.

The surgeon general typically isn't heavily involved in shaping an administration's policy, but it can be a very effective bully pulpit. Past surgeons general have proved instrumental in battling tobacco and AIDS.

Having such a well-known TV personality could bring the surgeon general attention not seen since C. Everett Koop help the position under President Ronald Reagan. Koop is best known for pushing to make AIDS a public health issue rather than a moral issue, and Reagan faced pressure to fire him. Koop has said Reagan never interfered.

CNN said Gupta would not comment on the discussions and released a statement that said, "Since first learning that Dr. Gupta was under consideration for the surgeon general position, CNN has made sure that his on-air reporting has been on health and wellness matters and not on health care policy or any matters involving the new administration."

CBS News is a unit of CBS Corp.; CNN is owned by Time Warner Inc.

------

On the Net:

Obama transition: http://www.change.gov

AP-ES-01-06-09 1719EST

Ex-refugee now 1st Vietnamese-American congressman

Jan 06 17:03

By KEVIN McGILL

Associated Press Writer

NEW ORLEANS (AP) -- When Anh "Joseph" Cao was 8 and Saigon was about to fall, his mother asked if he wanted to take a trip to the beach.

Despite his youth, Cao said he still knew the story was a ruse.

"I said, 'Mom, we're not going to the beach. We're going to America," Cao recalled recently. "And she said, 'Yes. Yes, you are going to America."'

On Tuesday, more than 30 years after that refugee child escaped aboard a U.S. military transport plane with his uncle, brother and sister, leaving their parents behind, Cao was sworn in as the first Vietnamese-American to serve in Congress.

The slender 5-foot-2 Republican attorney's history-making victory came against an 18-year incumbent -- the first black congressman from Louisiana since Reconstruction -- who was considered invincible despite being hobbled by scandal.

"People are calling me a dragon-slayer," Cao said recently.

Vu H. Pham, curator of the Smithsonian Institution's Vietnamese American Exhibit, said Tuesday that Cao's rise shows "we've come so far as a refugee community."

"We fled ... a political regime that was persecuting our people. So now, to come here, not only for survival but for freedom, but to take that many levels higher -- to become part of that political freedom, that Democratic process -- that's the strongest statement of what that says about us as a nation," said Pham, who is Vietnamese American.

Until a few weeks ago, Cao, who looks younger than his 41 years, was virtually unknown outside the tightly knit Vietnamese-American community in eastern New Orleans. Then came his narrow victory against Rep. William Jefferson, an icon in the mostly black, mostly Democratic district.

With a boost from Jefferson's legal troubles and a hurricane's fickle path, Cao passed the latest test in his tumultuous life.

Mortar damage once shut down his elementary school in South Vietnam. He remembers scrambling under his bed at night while fragments from explosions rained down on his home.

After escaping the country in 1975, he faced adapting to the American culture without his parents. His mother stayed behind to be with his father, a South Vietnamese military officer who would later spend years imprisoned in a "re-education camp." It would be 16 years before Cao would see his parents again.

Thirty years after fleeing Saigon, Cao escaped again -- this time from Hurricane Katrina, with his wife and two daughters. In its aftermath, Cao emerged as a leader in his hard-hit community, particularly as part of a successful effort to shut down a landfill.

The Rev. Vien The Nguyen, from Mary Queen of Vietnam Catholic Church, said Cao has long advocated for Vietnamese refugees. He characterized him as a tenacious if soft-spoken leader, not a dogmatic politician.

"He's an attorney but he's also a philosophy teacher," Vien said. "So for him it's very difficult to come out and say that one thing or the other is absolute."

Cao earned a physics degree from Baylor University in the 1980s, then entered the Society of Jesus to train as a Roman Catholic priest. He got a master's in philosophy from Fordham University and worked with the poor in Mexico -- service that ultimately led to a change in plans.

"I worked in extreme poverty and had a faith struggle, with the situation of human suffering: Why did a loving and powerful God create a world with so much human suffering?" Cao said.

"My spiritual director told me ... that God sends good people to help address the issue of human suffering."

Cao left priesthood training in 1996 and opted to study law with an eye toward effecting change through politics. He got his law degree, taught at Loyola University Law School in New Orleans and settled in the city's thriving Vietnamese community, which became more politically active as a group after the storm.

A staunch opponent of abortion, Cao was elected to local Republican Party posts and went to the 2008 Republican National Convention.

And he decided to run against Jefferson, who was so popular he was expected to win re-election despite a federal indictment alleging that agents found $90,000 in bribes in his freezer.

"I told my wife," Cao said. "She looked at me and said, `You're crazy. You're not going to win.' I said `I know that."'

Cao figured at least he could use his campaign to draw attention to storm recovery issues.

Then Hurricane Gustav hit New Orleans, delaying local elections by a month. That meant Cao would not face Jefferson on Nov. 4, when black turnout would be high with Barack Obama on the ballot.

The night of Dec. 6, Cao joined friends and family, including his mother and father, in a downtown restaurant to celebrate his win, a feat he might have trouble repeating in 2010 considering his district's demographics.

Joel Waltzer, a fellow lawyer who worked with Cao on the landfill opposition, says don't count him out.

"If you had asked me if he could have won the election against Bill Jefferson, I would have said no," he said. "I think he's got the personality to reach out to people, I really do."

AP-ES-01-06-09 1710EST

Phillies finalize one-year deal with Park

Jan 06 15:36

PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Chan Ho Park and the Philadelphia Phillies finalized their $2.5 million, one-year contract on Tuesday.

"We've acquired a veteran guy who can pitch in either a starting role or as a reliever," Phillies general manager Ruben Amaro Jr. said. "He will come to spring training and be given every opportunity to compete for a spot in the starting rotation."

The 35-year-old right-hander went 4-4 with a 3.40 ERA in 54 appearances for the Los Angeles Dodgers last season. He was 1-0 with a 2.16 ERA as a starter and 3-4 with a 3.84 ERA in relief. Park could compete with Kyle Kendrick, J.A. Happ and prospect Carlos Carrasco for the fifth spot in the rotation. Adam Eaton, under contract for $8.5 million this season, isn't in the mix.

A former All-Star in 2001, Park can earn an additional $2.5 million in performance bonuses.

He averaged 15 wins per season over a five-year span from 1997-2001 with the Dodgers. He was a combined 75-49 in that time with a career-high 18 wins in 2000. In 98 career relief appearances, Park is 5-7 with a 4.44 ERA.

"I'm very happy to be a Phillie," Park said. "It's an honor to be on a championship team. I was trying to beat them in the playoffs last year and now I'm trying to help them win another championship."

The Phillies beat the Dodgers in the NLCS in five games and defeated Tampa Bay in five games to capture their second World Series title.

Originally signed by the Dodgers in 1994, Park is 117-92 with a 4.34 ERA in 378 career games (280 starts) for Los Angeles, Texas, San Diego and the New York Mets.

AP-CS-01-06-09 1544EST

American Samoa Gov.: Monument will draw scientists

Jan 05 20:04

PAGO PAGO, American Samoa (AP) -- The designation of Rose Atoll as a national monument will attract research scientists to American Samoa, the U.S. territory's governor said Monday.

Rose Atoll is home to giant 85-foot tall trees and is a vital nesting ground for threatened green sea turtles and endangered hawksbill sea turtles.

It's the smallest atoll in the world with only about 20 acres of land.

The island has been a National Wildlife Refuge since 1973.

But President George W. Bush is expected to give it stronger federal protections by naming it a national monument on Tuesday. He will also name two other Pacific Ocean areas new marine monuments -- one in the Northern Mariana Islands and another among small Central Pacific islands.

Gov. Togiola T.A. Tulafono, speaking on his weekly radio program, said he wrote Bush in April asking him to take the step because he thought wildlife refuge protections were too weak.

He also said the atoll hosts many fish, and it is the territory's duty to protect them so their numbers don't decline.

"We must protect and preserve the many species including marine life that makes Rose Atoll their home," Tulafono said.

The islet is about 150 miles east of Tutuila, the island where American Samoa's capital of Pago Pago is located. It is 14 degrees south of the equator and about 2,500 miles south of Hawaii.

A delegation from American Samoa is heading to Washington to attend the monument designating ceremony, Tulafono said.

The governor himself won't be able to attend due scheduling conflicts.

AP-WS-01-05-09 2011EST

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