Obama renews pledge to transform VA - Air Force News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Air Force Times

Obama renews pledge to transform VA

President Barack Obama spoke Monday about keeping his promises to transform veterans programs and cast that pledge against the personal story of his grandfather, a World War II veteran who benefited from VA help.

Speaking at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which marked its 20th anniversary as a cabinet-level department, Obama expressed confidence in his VA secretary, retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki, to fix much of what ails the agency.

Obama said the homecoming of U.S. combat troops as they withdraw from Iraq over the next 18 months will be a “test” of the nation’s commitment to veterans.

“I intend to start that work by making good on my pledge to transform the Department of Veterans Affairs for the 21st century,” he said.

Transformation, he said, began with a plan to add $25 billion to the VA budget over the next five years.

“With this budget, we don’t just fully fund our VA health care program — we expand it to serve an additional 500,000 veterans by 2013; provide better health care in more places; and dramatically improve services related to mental health and injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder and traumatic brain injury,” he said.

“We also invest in the technology to cut red tape and ease the transition from active duty. And we provide new help for homeless veterans, because those heroes have a home — it’s the country they served, the United States of America. And until we reach a day when not a single veteran sleeps on our nation’s streets, our work remains unfinished.”

Obama said his grandfather enlisted in the Army after the attack on Pearl Harbor, and after the war went to college on the GI Bill and bought a home with federal government help. Obama said his mother was born at Fort Leavenworth, Kan., while his grandfather was deployed.

“I think about my grandfather whenever I have the privilege of meeting the young men and women who serve in our military today,” Obama said, because it reminds him of the importance of VA programs.

“So while the mission of this department is always vital, it is even more so during long and difficult conflicts like those that we’re engaged in today,” Obama said. “Because when the guns finally fall silent and the cameras are turned off and our troops return home, they deserve the same commitment from their government as my grandparents received.”