United States Veterans Bureau

“ Veterans whose diseases or injuries have become apparent within a brief period after the war are now receiving compensation; insurance benefits have been liberalized. Emergency officers are now receiving additional benefits. The doors of the Government's hospitals have been opened to all veterans, even though their diseases or injuries were not the result of their war service. In addition adjusted service certificates have been issued to 3,433,300 veterans. ”

“ Third, the VA health care system, the largest in the free world, has maintained its independence and high quality during my Administration. We have made the system more efficient and have therefore treated more veterans than ever before by concentrating on out-patient care and through modern management improvements. As the median age of the American veteran population increases, we must concentrate on further changes within the VA system to keep it independent and to serve as a model to the nation and to the world as a center for research, treatment and rehabilitation. ”

“ With the authorization for general hospitalization of the veterans of all wars provided during the present year, the care and treatment of those who have served their country in time of peril and the attitude of the Government toward them is not now so much one of needed legislation as one of careful, generous and humane administration. ”

“ The care which this country has lavished on its veterans is known of all men. The yearly outlay for this purpose is about $750,000,000, or about the cost of running the Federal Government, outside of the Post Office Department, before the World War. The Congress will have before it recommendations of the American Legion, the Veterans of Foreign Wars, and other like organizations, which should receive candid consideration. We should continue to foster our system of compensation and rehabilitation, and provide hospitals and insurance. ”

“ I think every institution of our Government, including the Congress, has a responsibility to dig into this and uncover every available lead which might now assist medical researchers in getting to the heart of what is making our Desert Storm veterans sick, and to identify both the nature and the scope of these illnesses. I think the administration and our Government has a sacred obligation to defend the health of our veterans every bit as much when they come back from war service as we do to protect them during the time they are actually wearing the military uniform of our country. ”

“ To identify and refer members of the Armed Forces with a health care occupation who are separating from the Armed Forces for potential employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. ”

“ By the original War Risk Act and subsequent acts amendatory thereto,—the United States Government recognized its very great obligation to the ex-service men and women who had become disabled through service, and by these Acts provided not only financial aid to the disabled veterans but also all reasonable medical and surgical treatment and care, whether in a hospital, out-patient office, or at home. ”

“ The VA is doing everything it can, including expanding mental health screenings and a proven program that recruits veterans to help other veterans understand what they're going through and get the help they need. ”

“ The people of the United States greatly value military service and recognize the difficult challenges involved in readjusting to civilian life after wartime service in the Armed Forces. (6) It is in the national interest for the United States to provide veterans who serve on active duty in the Armed Forces after September 11, 2001, with enhanced educational assistance benefits that are worthy of such service and are commensurate with the educational assistance benefits provided by a grateful Nation to veterans of World War II. Sec. ”

“ Report Required.— Not later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall, in consultation with the Secretary of Defense, submit to the appropriate committees of Congress a report setting forth the assessment of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs as to the feasability and advisability of including severe and acute post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among the conditions covered by traumatic injury protection coverage under Servicemembers' Group Life Insurance under section 1980A of title 38, United States Code. ”

“ At the same time that we have curtailed the number of employees, we have shortened the workweek by one-sixth or more throughout the Government and have restored holidays. The process of readjustment has been complicated and costs have been increased by a heavy turn-over in the remaining personnel--particularly by the loss of some of our best administrators. Thousands of war veterans have been reinstated or newly employed in the civil service. Many civilians have been transferred from war agencies to their former peacetime agencies. ”

“ I ask that the Department of Veterans Affairs and the Department of Defense immediately establish disability rating systems for stricken Gulf War veterans that are dependent on the degree of individual disability rather than using some arbitrary point system. ”

“ No more important duty falls on the Government of the United States than the adequate care of its veterans. Those suffering disabilities incurred in the service must have sufficient hospital relief and compensation. Their dependents must be supported. Rehabilitation and vocational training must be completed. ”

“ I am sick and tired of watching the Defense Department sidestep this issue with respect to sick Desert Storm veterans. I want those veterans who show these symptoms of severe sickness, who cannot work, who are out of work, unemployed, in many cases uninsurable - I want there to be a disability classification established so they can get disability benefits.
We may not, for the time being, be able to identify precisely what has made them so desperately sick because we do not know an awful lot about how to diagnose and treat these illnesses. ”

“ More than two million of these veterans are attending schools or acquiring job skills through the financial assistance of the Federal Government. Thousands of sick and wounded veterans are daily receiving the best of medical and hospital care. ”

“ One U.S. veteran saw medical aid being given to individuals in civilian clothing under the double railroad overpass when he carried a child back down under the bridge.
2.e. (2) All the veterans interviewed by the U.S. Army who fired at refugees stated that they did not receive any order to fire. Some other veterans, however, stated that they believed that such an order must have been given. ”

“ White inquired as to who is to decide the feasibility and eligibility of patients who are ready to be discharged, stating that he had been waiting for a representative of the Veterans’ Bureau to be sent to his hospital empowered and authorized to make awards of compensation, as if medical officers are expected to do it, their number will have to be increased ”

“ I repeat that there are many important subjects of which I make no mention today. Among these is our great and growing body of veterans. America has traditionally been generous in caring for the disabled--and the widow and the orphan of the fallen. These millions remain close to all our hearts. Proper care of our uniformed citizens and appreciation of the past service of our veterans are part of our accepted governmental responsibilities. ”

“ In fact, one of the things that I'm going to be monitoring very closely is how are we treating the 100,000 plus veterans who are going to be coming home and to make sure the VA has the capacity to provide transition services for veterans who are leaving the service and reentering civilian life, particularly National Guardsmen and Reservists who perhaps did not expect to be fighting in a place like Iraq. It turns out that if you catch a veteran and provide them good services on the way out, they are much less likely to suffer Posttraumatic Stress Disorder and can make the adjustment. ”

“ Article 42
⁠Where Party and government organs, people's organizations, public institutions and state-owned enterprises recruit personnel, they may appropriately relax the age and diploma requirements of veterans, and prioritize recruitment of veterans under the same conditions. Active duty of the non-commissioned officers and conscripts is deemed as a work experience at the community level. ”

“ In passing the Act of June, 1910, Congress merely directed the terms and conditions under which veterans, consistently with state law, can obtain admittance to Homes built, maintained, and operated by the government for the benefit of veterans. ”

“ The administration of all laws concerning the veterans and their dependents has been upon the basis of dealing generously, humanely, and justly. While some inequalities have arisen, substantial and adequate care has been given and justice administered. Further improvement in administration may require some amendment from time to time to the law, but care should be taken to see that such changes conform to the basic principles of the legislation. ”

“ In reciting the activities of the Navy in providing hospital care for veterans, I trust it has become apparent that I have the honor to represent an organization, equipped to aid the Veterans’ Bureau in fulfilling the pledges of our government to its veterans, disabled in the Great War, and manned by a personnel actuated in all ranks by an earnest desire to contribute in the discharge of our obligations. ”

“ Veterans have served and sacrificed in defense of our Nation. When they complete their service, we must do everything in our power to assist them in re-entering civilian life and finding employment. Government as well as private employers should play a prominent role in helping veterans who may be struggling to find jobs. As one of the Nation’s leading employers, the Federal Government is in need of highly skilled individuals to meet agency staffing needs and to support mission objectives. ”

“ On Monday, the Department of Veterans Affairs, led by Secretary Ric Shinseki, will begin making it easier for a veteran with PTSD to get the benefits he or she needs.
This is a long-overdue step that will help veterans not just of the Afghanistan and Iraq Wars, but generations of their brave predecessors who proudly served and sacrificed in all our wars. It’s a step that proves America will always be here for our veterans, just as they’ve been there for us. We won’t let them down. We take care of our own. ”

“ I think we have a well-ordered institution. The matter of compensation does give us some concern.
We have four classes of patients,—Army, Navy, beneficiaries of Soldiers’ Homes and of the Veterans’ Bureau. On the day I left, we had a total of 980 patients, 719 of which were Veterans’ Bureau beneficiaries. These are officers, ex-nurses and ex-enlisted men. I will say that the behavior of these people during my tour of duty at the hospital compares favorably with that of any other institution. We have our troubles ”

“ That’s why, from the earliest days of my Administration, we’ve been strengthening that sacred trust with our veterans by making our veterans policy more responsive and ready for this new century. We’re building a 21st century VA, modernizing and expanding VA hospitals and health care, and adapting care to better meet the unique needs of female veterans. We’re creating a single electronic health record that our troops and veterans can keep for life. ”

“ To the extent permitted by law, the Office shall: (i) advise and assist the Secretary in using, as appropriate, all available authorities to discipline or terminate any VA manager or employee who has violated the public's trust and failed to carry out his or her duties on behalf of veterans, and to recruit, reward, and retain high-performing employees; (ii) identify statutory barriers to the Secretary's authority to discipline or terminate any employee who has jeopardized the health, safety, or well-being of a veteran, and to recruit, reward, and retain high‐performing employees ”

“ America is a force for hope in the world because we are a compassionate people, and some of the most compassionate Americans are those who have stepped forward to protect us. We must keep faith with all who have risked life and limb so that we might live in freedom and peace. Over the past seven years, we've increased funding for veterans by more than 95 percent. And as we increase funding-- (applause.) And as increase funding we must also reform our veterans system to meet the needs of a new war and a new generation. ”

“ It is very undesirable to have the senior grades of the Army composed of men who have come to fill the positions by the mere fact of seniority. A system should be adopted by which there shall be an elimination grade by grade of those who seem unfit to render the best service in the next grade. Justice to the veterans of the Civil War who are still in the Army would seem to require that in the matter of retirements they be given by law the same privileges accorded to their comrades in the Navy. ”

“ The solicitude of Congress for veterans is of long standing. [12] Veterans' pensions, homes, hospitals and other facilities have been supplied on an ever-increasing scale. Many veterans, as did the deceased veteran here, have had to depend upon these benefits for long periods of their lives. Warpouske, for example, appears to have spent more than ten years of his life, at various intervals from time to time, in veterans' homes and hospitals throughout the country. ”