Protecting Our National Treasures

Okay, it was a softball question. I can admit that. The President addressed veterans funding just two nights earlier during his prime time press conference and it's an arena he could stand to score some points in. And, to be perfectly honest, that whole bit about "our veterans are a national treasure" was an attempt to score some points in the Digg-style Open for Questions layout. I mean who's going to vote that down? (For the record, 134 didn't like my question)

So I played the game and scored. My question was one of five chosen from some 103,000 for the White House's online town hall. But it doesn't matter if it was an easy layup for the President, the point is I helped push the message that our veterans, and specifically veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, are not getting the care they need and deserve. According to the President, that's going to change. The President's budget includes increased funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs as well as priority items including:

• increased funding for health care
• expanded eligibility for veterans health care
• outreach and services related to mental health care and cognitive injuries
• better technology
• greater benefits to veterans who are medically retired
• programs to combat homelessness by safeguarding vulnerable veterans.

Unemployment, a maze of inefficient and neglectful VA bureaucracy and the dangers of PTSD aren't the only problems facing our veterans. The President, the VA and all of us have a ways to go before we, as a nation, give our veterans the proper treatment they deserve, but I'm glad to hear answers like this coming out of the White House. It's too bad South Carolina's senators can't say the same.

DR. BERNSTEIN: Thank you for clearing that up. (Laughter.) This next question comes from Columbia, South Carolina: "The unemployment rate for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans is higher than the national unemployment rate. Our veterans are a national treasure. How can you, the VA, and I ensure our veterans are successfully transitioning into civilian life?"

THE PRESIDENT: That's a great question. You know, I had just an extraordinary honor -- yesterday was Medal of Honor Day. And I went to Arlington National Cemetery, and we had a ceremony in front of the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier with a collection of Medal of Honor winners from all our various wars.

And a special place of honor was a guy named John Finn, who had been present the day Pearl Harbor was bombed. He was on one of the ships, was shot by -- was strafed by the fire from the planes coming in, and yet still had the presence of mind to shoot down a plane, and won the Medal of Honor -- or was awarded the Medal of Honor for that.

And it just reminds you that we wouldn't be here if it hadn't been for the sacrifices of earlier veterans. We would not -- (applause) -- we would not enjoy the same safety and security and liberty that we do.

So when our veterans come home from Iraq and Afghanistan -- and they have performed brilliantly, they have done everything that's been asked of them, regardless of what your views are on these wars -- they have earned these benefits that all too often we fail to give them.

And that's why in my budget we are increasing veterans funding by more than any time in the last 30 years. We're going to make sure that we deal with the -- (applause) -- we're going to make sure that deal with the backlog that too many veterans experience in terms of getting benefits. We're going to make sure that homeless veterans are receiving housing and services.

The homeless rate for veterans is multiple times higher than it is for non-veterans. That's inexcusable. It means that we're going to provide services for Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder, that we're going to provide services for Traumatic Brain Injury that are the signature injuries of these recent wars. So we are going to significantly increase veterans spending.

Now, just as is true generally, government alone can't do it. So all of us individually are going to have roles. If you're a business owner, hiring a veteran, not discriminating against somebody who's a veteran is going to be absolutely critical. In your communities, in your churches, in your neighborhoods, making sure that there's outreach and celebration of veterans when they come home, that's going to be critical.

I think we've done a much better job during these wars than we did during Vietnam, where in many cases our treatment of veterans was inexcusable. But we can always do more. Government is going to do its role, and then we've got to make sure that our communities do their role, as well.

Transcript via The White House. See the full online town hall HERE or just watch my 3:47 with the President HERE.

Cross posted at Indigo Journal