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HOW WILL THE OBAMA PRESIDENCY IMPACT
VETERANS'
BENEFITS? -- With cost-cutting high on the new
administration's agenda, will veterans feel the
pinch?
President-elect Barack Obama and Vice
President-elect Joe Biden
For more about Obama and Biden, use the VA
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by Larry Scott
 In
January we will have the Obama / Biden administration in Washington, D.C.
What will this mean for veterans?
Many promises have been made. Will they be
kept?
Cost-cutting is part of the agenda for the new
administration. Will veterans feel the budget pinch?
As readers of VA Watchdog dot Org, I know you
have expectations.
Please use the comment section at the bottom of
the page for your thoughts on the new administration and how they will
handle veterans' issues.
Below is the Obama / Biden position on veterans'
issues:
Plan to keep our Sacred Trust with
Veterans
The Problem
Wounded Troops Suffer:
The Walter Reed scandal showed that we don't always provide returning
service members with the care they deserve.
Veterans Budget Shortfalls:
In 2005, a multi-billion dollar VA funding shortfall required Congress
to step in and bail out the system.
Benefits Bureaucracy is
Broken: There are currently more than
400,000 claims pending with the Veterans Benefits Administration. VA
error rates have grown to more than 100,000 cases a year.
There is Shortage of Care
for PTSD: Veterans are coming home
with record levels of combat stress, but we are not adequately providing
for them.
Barack Obama and Joe Biden's Plan
A Sacred Trust
Barack Obama and Joe Biden believe
that America has a sacred trust with our veterans. They are committed to
creating a 21st Century Department of Veterans' Affairs that provides
the care and benefits our nation's veterans deserve.
- Allow All Veterans Back
into the VA: One of Obama's first
acts will be reversing the 2003 ban on enrolling modest-income
veterans, which has denied care to a million veterans.
- Strengthen VA Care:
Obama and Biden will make the VA a
leader of national health care reform so that veterans get the best
care possible. They will improve care for polytrauma vision
impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging, and women's
health.
- Combat Homelessness
among Our Nation's Veterans: Obama
and Biden will establish a national "zero tolerance" policy for
veterans falling into homelessness by expanding proven programs and
launching innovative services to prevent veterans from falling into
homelessness.
- Fight Veterans
Employment Discrimination: Obama and
Biden will crack down on employers who commit job discrimination
against guardsmen and reservists.
Help for Returning Service Members
Obama and Biden will improve the
quality of health care for veterans, rebuild the VA's broken benefits
system, and combat homelessness among veterans.
- Ensure a Seamless
Transition: Obama and Biden will
demand that the military and the VA coordinate to provide a seamless
transition from active duty to civilian life.
- Fully Fund VA Medical
Care: Barack Obama and Joe Biden
will fully fund the VA so it has all the resources it needs to serve
the veterans who need it, when they need it. Obama and Biden will
establish a world-class VA Planning Division to avoid future budget
shortfalls.
- Fix the Benefits
Bureaucracy: Obama and Biden will
hire additional claims workers, and improve training and
accountability so that VA benefit decisions are rated fairly and
consistently. They also will transform the paper benefit claims
process to an electronic one to reduce errors and improve timeliness.
Improved Mental Health Treatment
Obama and Biden will improve mental
health treatment for troops and veterans suffering from combat-related
psychological injuries.
- Improve Mental Health
Treatment: Obama and Biden will
improve mental health care at every stage of military service. They
will recruit more health professionals, improve screening, offer more
support to families and make PTSD benefits claims fairer.
- Improve Care for
Traumatic Brain Injury: Obama and
Biden will establish standards of care for Traumatic Brain Injury, the
signature injury of the Iraq war.
- Expand Vet Centers:
Obama and Biden will expand and
strengthen Vet Centers to provide more counseling for vets and their
families.
Barack Obama's Record
Record of Advocacy:
As a member of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, Obama
passed legislation to improve care and slash red tape for our wounded
warriors recovering at places like Walter Reed. He passed laws to help
homeless veterans and offered an innovative solution to prevent at-risk
veterans from falling into homelessness. Obama led a bipartisan effort
in the Senate to try to halt the military's unfair practice of
discharging service members for having a service-connected psychological
injury. He fought for fair treatment of Illinois veterans' claims and
forced the VA to conduct an unprecedented outreach campaign to disabled
veterans with lower than-average benefits. Obama passed legislation to
stop a VA review of closed PTSD cases that could have led to a reduction
in veterans' benefits. He passed an amendment to ensure that all service
members returning from Iraq are properly screened for traumatic brain
injuries. He introduced legislation to direct the VA and Pentagon to fix
disjointed records systems and improve outreach to members of the
National Guard and Reserves.
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posted by Larry
Scott
Founder and Editor
VA Watchdog dot Org
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