Military Matters: President Obama's Veterans Initiatives

President Barack Obama has promised to deliver the care and benefits the nation's veterans deserve while transforming the Department of Veterans Affairs into a 21st century organization.

"Keeping faith with those who serve must always be a core American value and a cornerstone of American patriotism," said Obama. "America's commitment to its servicemen and women begins at enlistment, and it must never end."

Transforming VA into a 21st Century Organization

·	Allow All Veterans Back into the VA: Reverse the 2003 ban on enrolling modest-income veterans.

·	Strengthen VA Care: Make VA a leader of national health care reform so that veterans get the best care possible. Improve care for polytrauma vision impairment, prosthetics, spinal cord injury, aging and women's health.

·	Combat Homelessness among Veterans: Establish a "zero tolerance" policy for veterans falling into homelessness by expanding proven programs and launching innovative services to prevent veterans from falling into homelessness.

·	Fight Employment Discrimination: Crack down on employers who commit job discrimination against guardsmen and reservists.

Help for Returning Service Members

·	Ensure a Seamless Transition: Demand that the military and VA coordinate to provide a seamless transition from active duty to civilian life.

·	Fully Fund VA Medical Care: Fully fund VA so it has all the resources it needs to serve the veterans who need it, when they need it. Establish a world-class VA Planning Division to avoid future budget shortfalls.

·	Fix the Benefits Process: Hire additional claims workers, and improve training and accountability so that VA benefit decisions are rated fairly and consistently. Transform the paper benefit claims process to an electronic one to reduce errors and improve timeliness.

Improve Treatment for Mental Health and Traumatic Brain Injury (TBI)

·	Improve Mental Health Treatment: Recruit more health professionals, improve screening, offer more support to families and make PTSD benefits claims fairer.

·	Improve Care for TBI: Establish standards of care for TBI, the signature injury of the Iraq war.

·	Expand Vet Centers: Expand and strengthen Vet Centers to provide more counseling for vets and their families.

Source: American Legion Auxiliary Legislative Newsletter: Issue 24