President-Elect Obama Promises to Veterans

In the coming months, this nation will know more about how President-elect Barack Obama intends to run this country and the Veterans Administration. We will soon learn of who the President-elect intends to appoint as the Secretary of Veteran's Administration. The following compiles his promises made in regards to Veterans.

Expand Vet Centers: Barack Obama will expand and strengthen Vet Centers.

Fully Fund VA Medical Care: Barack Obama will fully fund the VA so it has all the resources it needs to serve the veterans who need it, when they need it. The current administration....has consistently underinvested in healthcare for our heroic veterans.

Allow All Veterans Back into the VA: Barack Obama is committed to ending the unfair ban on healthcare enrollment of certain groups of veterans, including “Priority 8” veterans who often earn modest incomes. He has voted to end this unfair policy, which has resulted in the VA turning away nearly one million veterans since 2003. As president, one of Barack Obama’s first acts will be signing an executive order reversing this ban.

Reduce the Claims Backlog: Barack Obama will hire additional claims workers and convene our nation’s leading veterans groups, employees, and managers to develop an updated training and management model that will ensure VA benefit decisions are rated fairly.

Build an Electronic VBA: Barack Obama will transform the paper benefit claims process to an electronic system that will be interoperable with the VA’s health network as well as military records. This will reduce error rates, improve timeliness, and enhance the overall quality of the claims decisions.

Update the GI Bill: The new GI Bill will allow veterans who served after 9/11 to receive payments covering tuition up to the cost of the most expensive in-state public school, a monthly stipend equivalent to housing costs in their area and additional benefits, and an extended period of time in which vets could use the benefit.

Combat Homeless Among Our Nation’s Veterans: Obama will establish a national “zero tolerance” policy for veterans falling into homelessness.

Fight Reservist Employment Discrimination: Barack Obama will invest additional resources into enforcement and investigation in order to crack down on employers who are not following the letter and spirit of the law.

And something that has personally affected my family, and does not apply to us anymore, but is still VERY noteworthy...
End Stop-Loss: Barack Obama will end the policies that allow a service-person to be forced to remain on active duty after his or her enlistment has expired.

While none of these policies have been implemented and it remains to be seen what will occur in the coming months and years, the upcoming administration appears to be aware of veteran problems and appropriately attempting to address the problems.