The Administration is committed to serving our veterans as well as they have served us. With Vietnam veteran, wounded warrior and lifetime DAV (Disabled American Veterans) member Secretary Shinseki at his side, President Obama talked to Disabled American Veterans in Atlanta, Georgia about historic commitments to our veterans and their families.
President Obama charged Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Ric Shinseki with building a 21st century VA. Here’s what VA is doing to serve our vets:
It’s easier for about 200,000 Vietnam veterans who may have been exposed to Agent Orange to get the health care and benefits they need.
Co-pays for the catastrophically disabled have been eliminated and the half-million Priority 8 veterans will have their VA health care access restored.
Funding for veterans health care across the board has dramatically increased – this includes improving care for rural veterans and women veterans.
Funding delays for veterans medical care are over. VA is working overtime to create a single lifetime electronic record that our troops and veterans can keep for life.
VA is hiring thousands of new claims processors to break the backlog once and for all and, for the first time ever, veterans will be able to go to the VA website and download their personal health records with one simple click. It will also be easier for vets to check on the status of their claims online or even from their cell phones.
Today, there are about 20,000 fewer homeless veterans than there were before this Administration took office. We’re not stopping until every veteran who has fought for America has a home in America.
The newest veterans returning from Afghanistan and Iraq will have the support and counseling they need to transition back to civilian life. This includes funding the post-9/11 GI Bill, which is already helping nearly 300,000 veterans and family members pursue their dream of a college education.
VA is helping with job training and placement for veterans trying to find work in a tough economy.
Unprecedented resources are being directed to treat the wounds of today’s wars — traumatic brain injury and post traumatic stress disorder. The Caregivers and Veterans Omnibus Health Services Act not only improves treatment for traumatic brain injury and PTSD, it gives new support to the caregivers who put their own lives on hold to care for their loved one.
The Administration is making it easier for those suffering from PTSD to qualify for VA benefits. A veteran can now establish a claim based on his or her own testimony of events that caused PTSD without the requirement of corroborating evidence — no matter what war you served in.
Fonte: White House