... BOTCHED VA COMPUTER CONTRACT -- Ronald Aument, VA's former deputy under ... the blame at the feet of Ronald Aument, former deputy under secretary for benefits ... bigger and bigger. For some of Aument's managerial low points, use .../sessearch.php?q=aument&op=and Now, he ...-- Former Veterans Affairs Official Ronald Aument Joins Consulting Firm Bearingpoint New Appointment Will ..., today announced the appointment of Ronald Aument as director and strategic advisor in Bearingpoint ... Defense and Veterans Affairs healthcare practices. Aument joins the firm after 35 years of ... In his new role at Bearingpoint, Aument will strengthen the firm's team... http://www.vawatchdog.org/08/nf08/nfJUL08/nf073108-1.htm
2. VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH - 04-09-2007 #6 -- DELAYED BENEFITS FRUSTRATE VETERANS -- Hundreds of thousands of disability claims are pending at the VA and current wars are likely to strain the system further.nf040907-6.htm
... job, my house and everything else." Ronald R. Aument, VA deputy undersecretary for benefits, acknowledged that the department ... not as though we're working on commission here," Aument said. "There is very much a shared passion in ... have time to submit documents and other evidence bolstering their cases, Aument said. The VA load is getting heavier. Disability- ... than 3.5 million veterans and their survivors last year. Aument said VA has increased its claims workforce by more than 580 ... "huge surge" of claims from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, Aument said, and claims for severe disabilities such as lost limbs... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfAPR07/nf040907-6.htm
... PARALLEL LINES NEVER MEET: WHY THE MILITARY DISABILITY RETIREMENT AND VETERANS AFFAIRS DEPARTMENT CLAIM ADJUDICATION SYSTEMS ARE A FAILURE Thomas J. Reed* " '[T]o care for him who shall have borne the battle and for his widow, and his orphan . . . .' "1 I. INTRODUCTION ................................................................. http://www.vawatchdog.org/10/nf10/nffeb10/feb10files/ParallelLines09.pdf
... be tapped to handle the ongoing response. In response to the breach, Ronald Aument, VBA deputy undersecretary for benefits, said in his testimony before the House ... information and a workgroup will provide recommendations for improving the protection of that data, Aument said. Since VA Secretary James Nicholson suspended all telework at the VBA, ... in an attempt to reduce the amount of information employees store locally their computers, Aument said. He added that rapid expansion of information technology has presented the department .... VA has discussed changing its reliance on Social Security numbers as unique identifiers, Aument said, adding that might not be a workable solution since the Defense Department... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old newsflashes JUN 06/newsflash06-21-2006-7.htm
5. VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH - 05-06-2007 #1 -- WOUNDED VETS, BROKEN SYSTEM -- America's injured servicemembers are coming home to face another battle: with red tape, delays and a VA ill-prepared to handle a long war's crushing caseload. A special report from CQ Weekly. And, a look at the ongoing battle between Rep. Bob Filner, House Vets' Chair, and the former Chair, Rep. Steve Buyer: A Little War of Their Own.nf050607-1.htm
... . . to give them the same types of service we give the active-duty members, said Ron Aument, the VA s deputy undersecretary for benefits. Data the VA released in February confirmed that active- ... clogged. You have an entire system that s been designed around the notion of being a nonadversarial process, Aument said. You are now bringing attorneys into the process whose very training is to be a zealous advocate ... goal of shortening the time it takes veterans to get a ruling on initial claims to 125 days, although Aument said that this may not be realized until fiscal 2009 at earliest. However, some veterans groups predict... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf050607-1.htm
6. VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH - 05-16-2007 #3 -- MANY VA EXECUTIVE BONUS WINNERS SAT ON REVIEW BOARDS THAT AWARDED THE BONUSES -- Raises questions of conflict of interest at the highest levels of VA management.nf051607-3.htm
... shorter than they really were. The IG has said problems lingered in 2006 despite VA promises. -Ronald Aument, deputy undersecretary for benefits: "His knowledge of VBA programs and operations and his breadth of experiences across VA have contributed greatly to VBA's progress in improving services to veterans." Aument helps manage a disability claims system that has backlogs of 400,000 to 600,000 veterans. The ... the VA's strategic goal of 125 days to process claims. Nicholson has called the delays unacceptable. Aument also is praised in his bonus proposal for requesting needed money and resources. The VA is now moving... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf051607-3.htm
... and security training so that all employees will have completed it by the end of this month, said Ronald Aument, VA's deputy undersecretary for benefits. These are some of the technical and policy changes that ... our procedures to ensure that sensitive veterans' data is neither mismanaged nor used for any unauthorized purpose,' Aument told a joint hearing of House Veterans Affairs subcommittees on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs and on Economic Opportunity ... all records contained complete data, and without the Social Security number we cannot search for an address,' Aument said. Some Social Security numbers were invalid and some veterans were deceased. Despite positive steps, representatives... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old newsflashes JUN 06/newsflash06-21-2006-4.htm
8. VA Watchdog dot Org - VA NEWS FLASH - 07-20-2007 #1 -- NEW REPORT SHOWS WIDE DIFFERENCES IN STATE-TO-STATE VA DISABILITY BENEFITS -- Institute for Defense Analysis report says injured veterans could be shortchanged in their government disability pay depending on where they live.nf072007-1.htm
... In interviews, Patrick Dunne, VA's assistant secretary for policy, planning and preparedness, and Ronald Aument, the VA's deputy undersecretary for benefits, said they welcomed the findings and would take additional ... with its medical personnel to ensure claims processors have enough information to make a decision based on objective criteria, Aument said. The agency also is doubling the size of its quality assurance program _ currently 15 people _ ... home from Iraq and Afghanistan. "If we work on accuracy, consistency will in turn follow," Aument said. -----------------... http://www.vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfJUL07/nf072007-1.htm
... 11 bankruptcy. They will be reorganizing. An interesting point here is: In July of 2008, Ronald Aument, former deputy under secretary for benefits at the VA, played Beltway revolving-door and took a top job at Bearingpoint. The name Aument is familiar to any veteran who has had to deal with a delayed or denied claim. Now, we can only hope that Aument gets "reorganized" right out the door. For more about Bearingpoint and the Corefls software fiasco, click... http://www.vawatchdog.org/09/nf09/nffeb09/nf022009-2.htm
... and involvement of lawyers would increase costs to veterans and to the department without significantly improving the process. Ronald Aument, VA deputy undersecretary for benefits, cited fiscal 2005 statistics showing that during the appeals stage in which ... while claimants represented by a veteran service organization actually got slightly better results -- 22.3 percent. Aument cited a Supreme Court decision that stated: "As might be expected in a system which processes such ... becomes convinced veterans would gain more in terms of increased benefits than they would lose to their attorneys," Aument said, adding, "Available evidence shows that is unlikely, hence we cannot support the bill'... http://www.vawatchdog.org/old newsflashes JUN 06/newsflash06-10-2006-4.htm
