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JOHN McCAIN'S ADDRESS TO THE AMERICAN LEGION
CONVENTION IN PHOENIX -- "My VA Secretary must be
a forceful advocate for veterans and forthright
advisor
to me, so we can make the right choices about
budgeting,
health care, and other veterans' benefit issues."
The Presidential Candidate information
page is here ...
For more about John McCain, use the VA Watchdog
search engine ... click here ...
http://www.yourvabenefits.org/sessearch
.php?q=mccain&op=and
Story here ...
http://www.standardn
ewswire.com/news/21813256.html
Story below:
NOTE: If you wish to post a comment,
go to the end of the story and use our new "Comment"
feature.
-------------------------
Remarks by John McCain at the 90th Annual
American Legion National Convention
ARLINGTON, Va.,/Standard Newswire/ -- U.S. Senator John McCain will
deliver the following remarks as prepared for delivery at the 90th Annual
American Legion National Convention in Phoenix, Arizona, today at 10:00
a.m. PDT (1:00 p.m. EDT):
Thank you all very much. National Commander Marty Conatser, thank you for
the kind introduction. National Adjutant Bob Spanogle, Auxiliary President
Jan Pulvermacher-Ryan, Auxiliary Secretary Pam Gilley: thank you all. If I
may speak for the gang at Tempe Post 2, we are honored to be in the
company of our fellow members of the American Legion. Apparently it falls
to me as well to offer an official welcome the Great State of Arizona. Our
governor is out of town, up in Denver for some big party they're throwing
there. I guess my invitation got lost in the mail.
All of us take pride in being members of this great organization. After
its founding in 1919, the Legion served many of the more than four million
American veterans of the First World War. Today just one of those veterans
survives, a man of 107 named Frank Buckles. Frank lives in West Virginia,
and last week in Orlando the folks at the VFW convention gave him a
standing ovation. I have a feeling that you, too, will want to join in a
round of applause for the last doughboy.
In all the years since, the men and women of the Legion have stayed
faithful to their mission of service to one another and to country. In
Europe, Asia, the Middle East, and elsewhere, America's veterans have
faced different enemies, but they have
 always
found the same friend and ally in the Legion, the VFW, and other veterans'
service organizations. All of us returned from war with a few experiences
we'd gladly forget, but the friendships and camaraderie we brought home
are forever. For keeping us all together, and helping those most in need,
we're all in the debt of the American Legion.
The men and women of the Legion believe in their country's cause in the
world, and you have served and sacrificed for it. You know that when our
leaders speak of this nation's history and purposes in the affairs of the
world, they should do so with confidence, gratitude, and above all with
moral clarity.
There are those who say that our day as the free world's leader has
passed, that our moment is waning. They point to the anti-Americanism that
is sometimes heard in Europe and elsewhere, and take this as a sign that
America no longer has the strength or the moral credibility to lead. The
criticisms tend to pass or quiet down when global threats and dangers
appear. In times of trouble, free nations of the world still look to
America for leadership, because they know the strength of America remains
the greatest force for good on this earth.
My opponent had the chance to express such confidence in America, when he
delivered a much anticipated address in Berlin. He was the picture of
confidence, in some ways. But confidence in oneself and confidence in
one's country are not the same. And in that speech, Senator Obama left an
important point unclear. He suggested that the end of the Cold War proved
that there was, "no challenge too great for a world that stands as one."
Now I missed a few years of the Cold War, as the guest of one of our
adversaries, but as I recall the world was deeply divided during the Cold
War -- between the side of freedom and the side of tyranny. The Cold War
ended not because the world stood "as one," but because the great
democracies came together, bound together by sustained and decisive
American leadership.
All of this is more than an academic debate. For the sake of our own
security, and the defense of our values in the affairs of the world,
American leadership is critical. While we have our share of critics around
the world, when people in the oppressed nations of the world need support,
and solidarity, and hope, they look to America. When they talk about our
country, it is not with distrust or disdain, but with respect and
affection. They do not resent or resist America's democratic influence in
the world -- they thank God for it.
Just days after the Russian invasion of Georgia, Senator Obama had this to
say about the crisis: "We've got to send a clear message to Russia and
unify our allies. They can't charge into other countries. Of course it
helps if we are leading by example on that point." End of quote. I guess
we are left to figure out the rest for ourselves. It's unlikely he was
alluding to Afghanistan, the nation we liberated after 9/11, and continue
to help despite Russian complaints about our related deployments in
Central Asia. And he probably didn't have Kosovo in mind either --
although Russia didn't care much for that military action, either. We and
our NATO allies had to end the Serbian slaughter of civilians in Kosovo
without UN approval, because the Russians blocked the effort in the
Security Council.
If I catch Senator Obama's drift, then, our failure to "lead by example"
was the liberation of Iraq. And if he really thinks that, by liberating
Iraq from a dangerous tyrant, America somehow set a bad example that
invited Russia to invade a small, peaceful, and democratic nation, then he
should state it outright -- because that is a debate I welcome.
In the end, confusion about such questions only invites more trouble,
violence, and aggression. To promote stability and peace, America must
stand firmly on the side of freedom and justice. The next president must
bring to office a clear-eyed view of our nation's role in the world, as
the defender of the oppressed and a force for peace.
Through decades of struggle, free nations prevailed over tyranny in large
measure because of the sacrifices of the men and women of the United
States armed forces. And it will fall to the next commander in chief to
make good on the obligation our government accepts every time any man or
woman enters the military, and again when they receive their DD 214. Those
we depend on as troops should know, when they become veterans, that they
can depend on us. Honoring this obligation will require leadership. And I
pledge to you that as president I will lead -- from the front -- to reform
our VA system and make sure that veterans receive the respect and care
they have earned.
The Walter Reed scandal was a disgrace unworthy of this nation -- and I
intend to make sure that nothing like it is ever repeated. There are other
problems as well that have not received as much media attention. And my
administration will do the hard and necessary work of fixing them, even
when the press and the public are not watching.
Reform begins with appointing a secretary of veterans affairs who is a
leader of the highest caliber, and who listens to veterans and veterans'
service organizations. My VA secretary must be a forceful advocate for
veterans and forthright advisor to me, so we can make the right choices
about budgeting, health care, and other veterans' benefit issues. He or
she will also need to be a high-energy leader, too, because we'll have a
lot of work to do in improving service to veterans.
Veterans must be treated fairly and expeditiously as they seek
compensation for disability or illness. We owe them compassion and
hands-on care in their transition to civilian life. We owe them training,
rehabilitation, and education. We owe their families, parents and
caregivers our concern and support. Veterans should never be deprived of
quality medical care and mental health care coverage for illness or injury
incurred as a result of their service to our country.
As president, I will do all that is in my power to ensure that those who
serve today, and those who have served in the past, have access to the
highest quality health, mental health and rehabilitative care in the
world. And I will not accept a situation in which veterans are denied
access to care on account of travel distances, backlogs of appointments,
and years of pending disability evaluation and claims. We should no longer
tolerate requiring veterans to make an appointment to stand in one line
for a ticket to stand in another.
I'm not here to tell you that there is a cost that is too high to be paid
in the care of our nation's veterans. I will make sure that Congress funds
the VA health care budget in a sufficient, timely, and predictable manner.
But I will say that every increase in funding must be matched by increases
in accountability, both at the VA and in Congress. And this requires an
end to certain practices and abuses that serve neither our veterans, our
country, nor the reputation of Congress itself.
Exactly because funding VA programs command bipartisan support, some in
the Congress like to attach unrelated appropriations and earmarks to VA
bills. The result is to mix vital national priorities with wasteful and
often worthless political pork. Earmarks show up in bills of every kind,
and not just VA bills. That's how we end up budgeting hundreds of millions
of dollars for bridges to nowhere, and for other wasteful projects that do
not serve the public interest. The principle here is simple: Public money
should serve the public good. If it's me sitting in the Oval Office, at
the Resolute desk, those wasteful spending bills are going the way of all
earmarks: straight back to the Congress with a veto.
When we make it clear to Congress that no earmark bill will be signed into
law, that will save many billions of dollars that can be applied to
essential priorities, and above all to the care of our veterans. But
reform doesn't end there. We must also modernize our disability system to
make sure that eligible service members receive benefits quickly, based on
clear, predictable, and fair standards. And we must address the problems
of capacity and access within our VA health care system. While this will
involve a wide range of initiatives, I believe there is a simple and
direct reform we should make right away.
My administration will create a Veterans' Care Access Card to be used by
veterans with illness or injury incurred during their military service,
and by those with lower incomes. This card will provide those without
timely access to VA facilities the option of using high-quality
health-care providers near their homes. For many veterans, the closest VA
facility isn't close enough. And many of their local providers are already
familiar with the most common needs of veterans. Often, all that prevents
them from receiving local care is a system for sharing medical records
among VA, DOD, and civilian hospitals and doctors. My reform will improve
care, reduce risks, and broaden access all at the same time.
This card is not intended to either replace the VA or privatize veterans'
health care, as some have wrongly charged. I believe the VA should always
be there to provide top-quality care for our veterans. And I believe that
the VA should continue to provide broad-spectrum health care to eligible
veterans, in addition to specialized care in areas such as spinal
injuries, prosthetics, and blindness -- services in which the VA sets the
standard in medical care.
Even so, there are veterans eligible for care who are not currently able
to receive it, on account of distance, wait times, or the absence of
certain specialties. And for this group, the new card I propose will offer
better alternatives, to provide the benefits they have earned.
Reform must also recognize that greater care is needed for certain types
of injuries. In the Senate, I co-authored the Wounded Warrior Act, which
was the first major legislative initiative to address post-traumatic
stress disorder and traumatic brain injury. As president, I will build on
this legislation to improve screening and treatment for these severe
injuries suffered by many in Iraq and Afghanistan.
The VA must also broaden its care for the women who are entering the armed
forces in greater numbers than ever, and who are suffering from the same
war wounds -- visible and invisible -- suffered by other veterans. The
American Legion was founded just one year before the women of America
received the right to vote, in a constitutional amendment that became law
88 years ago today. Among the many wrongs that have been righted in that
time, women are now welcomed and respected as equals in the ranks of the
armed forces of the United States. Yet the growing ranks of women veterans
have left the VA lagging behind in the services it provides. As rapidly as
possible, we must improve the VA system so that it can fully assess and
treat conditions that predominantly or exclusively affect women. And here
the Veterans Care Access Card will prove especially valuable, affording
women medical options while the VA improves capaci ty and expands
services.
These are among the elements of my reform agenda for the VA system. And
today, as other occasions, I have stated in the plainest, most
straightforward terms that the Veterans Health Care Access Card will
expand existing benefits. I don't expect this will deter the Obama
campaign from misrepresenting my proposals, but lest there be any doubt
you have my pledge: My reforms would not force anyone to go to a non-VA
facility, and do not signal privatization of the VA. Use of the Card would
be optional. Only high quality health care providers would be used.
Participating veterans would incur no additional charges. And my reforms
will not replace any scheduled expansion of the VA network -- including
those facilities designed to serve veterans living in rural and remote
areas. This is, very simply, an effort to expand care to a group of
eligible veterans who are not now receiving care.
I suppose from my opponent's vantage point, veterans concerns are just one
more issue to be spun or worked to advantage. This would explain why he
has also taken liberties with my position on the GI Bill. In its initial
version, that bill failed to address the number one education request that
I've heard from career service members and their families -- the freedom
to transfer their benefits to a spouse or a child. The bill also did
nothing to retain the young officer and enlisted leaders who form the
backbone of our all-volunteer force.
As a political proposition, it would have much easier for me to have just
signed on to what I considered flawed legislation. But the people of
Arizona, and of all America, expect more from their representatives than
that, and instead I sought a better bill. I'm proud to say that the result
is a law that better serves our military, better serves military families,
and better serves the interests of our country.
No one who has worn the uniform of his or her country can ever take these
matters lightly. We all learned an ethic in the service of looking after
one another, of leaving no one behind, and this commitment did not end
when we left the service. As a matter of duty and of honor, whatever our
commitments to veterans cost, if I am president those commitments will be
kept.
The next president will have many responsibilities to the American people,
and I take them all seriously. But if I am elected, I will have one
responsibility that outweighs all the others. And that is to use whatever
talents I possess, and every resource God has granted me to protect the
security of this great and good nation from all enemies foreign and
domestic.
It is every veteran's hope that should their children be called upon to
answer a call to arms, the battle will be necessary and the field well
chosen. But that is not their responsibility. It belongs to the government
that called them. As it once was for us, their honor will be in their
answer not their summons. Whatever we think about how and why we went to
war in Iraq, we are all humbled by and grateful for their example. They
now deserve the distinction of the best Americans, and we owe them a debt
we can never fully repay. We can only offer the small tribute of our
humility and our commitment to do all that we can do, in less trying and
costly circumstances, to help keep this nation worthy of their sacrifice.
Many of them have served multiple tours in Iraq and Afghanistan. Many had
their tours extended. Many returned to combat sooner than they had been
led to expect. It was a sad and hard thing to ask so much more of
Americans who have already given more than their fair share to the defense
of our country. Few of them and their families will have received the news
about additional and longer deployments without aiming a few appropriate
complaints in the general direction of people like me, who helped make the
decision to send them there. And then they shouldered a rifle or climbed
in a cockpit and risked everything -- everything -- to accomplish their
mission, to protect another people's freedom and our own country from
harm.
It is a privilege beyond measure to live in a country served by them. I
have had the good fortune to know personally a great many brave and
selfless patriots who sacrificed and shed blood to defend America. But I
have known none braver or better than those who do so today. They are our
inspiration, as I suspect all of you were once theirs. And I pray to a
loving God that He bless and protect them. Thank you.
-------------------------
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