Today’s Hillary News & Views focuses heavily on Clinton’s expansive plans for meeting the needs of our veterans, along with those currently serving in the military.
Clinton used the occasion of Veteran’s Day to roll out her proposals, starting with a self-penned op-ed in the Military Times:
This Veterans Day is an opportunity to reaffirm that America’s promise to our veterans is a sacred responsibility. Yet today we are failing to keep faith with our veterans. Long wait times for health care, crippling claims backlogs, little or no coordination between different government agencies responsible for serving veterans — these problems are serious, systemic and absolutely unacceptable. They need to be fixed, and fixed now.
If we can maintain the most advanced military in the history of the world and fight wars across vast oceans and continents, we can figure out how to ensure that no veterans ever have to wait in line for weeks or months to get care, no matter where they live or what their needs are.
As we work to improve the VA, I will fight as long and as hard as it takes to prevent Republicans from privatizing it as part of a misguided ideological crusade.
I believe in giving veterans more choice in where and how they receive care and I think there should be more partnerships between the VA and private hospitals and community health care providers. But we can’t put our vets at the mercy of private insurance companies without any care coordination, or leave them to fend for themselves with health care providers who have no expertise in the unique challenges facing veterans. Privatization is a betrayal, plain and simple.
As with all new policy proposals, Clinton is featuring the full details on her website.
Some additional highlights:
As president, Hillary will:
Build a 21st-century Department of Veterans Affairs to deliver world-class care.Hillary was outraged by the recent scandals at the VA, and as president, she will demand accountability and performance from VA leadership. Many veterans have to wait an unacceptably long time to see a doctor, or to process disability claims and appeals. Hillary will make the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) a seamless partner in health care. She does not believe that privatization will solve the problems that the VHA is facing—this department must deliver high-quality care while acting as an integrated payer-purchaser and facilitating a full range of services for all veterans, regardless of where they live. Hillary also believes that the VHA must continue to lead the nation in vets-focused research in areas like mental health, traumatic brain injury, and prosthetics.
End the epidemic of veteran suicide and improve mental health services. Veteran suicide is a tragedy—one that is unfortunately becoming more common. Although the VA has made progress toward addressing suicide, Hillary believes we can do more to help our vets. She will expand access to treatment for substance abuse and mental health issues, particularly post-traumatic stress, traumatic brain injury, and other invisible wounds of war. She will continue to advocate for fighting the stigma of mental health care treatment and encourage all vets to seek the help they need.
Move decisively to eliminate the scourge of veteran homelessness. Hillary believes we must reach “functional zero” for veteran homelessness. To do this, we must increase the amount of supportive housing for our nation’s most at-risk veterans while tackling many of the root causes of homelessness, including mental health issues, substance abuse and addiction, and joblessness.
Strengthen opportunities that allow veterans to succeed. Thanks to the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, more than 1.5 million veterans and their family members have been able to pursue higher education. As president, Hillary will make sure the post-9/11 G.I. Bill remains intact for future generations, and she will veto any efforts to undermine the bill. She will also expand programs that better prepare our veterans to live and work in the economy of tomorrow, including partnerships that make the transition from military to civilian careers easier. To give veterans the best possible chance, she will close loopholes—such as the 90-10 rule—that encourage for-profit schools to unfairly target veterans and their families.
Equally support all who have served—including women and LGBT veterans. Women and LGBT veterans deserve equal recognition and equal support from their country. We must ensure the VA responsively serves women veterans, who represent the fastest growing segment of the veteran community. Also, we must recognize and honor LGBT veterans, first and foremost by upgrading discharges that were a result of backward regulations our government no longer observes. Our veteran community is as diverse as our country, and we must ensure the VA and other agencies serve every veteran.