Donald Trump’s released his plan to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs on Saturday. His plan would fire some of the department’s executives and increase funding for treating post-traumatic stress disorder and job training for veterans.
“The VA healthcare program is a disaster. Some candidates want to get rid of it, but our veterans need the VA to be there for them and their families,” Trump’s plan reads. “We must care for the whole veteran, not just their physical health. We must recognize that today’s veterans have very different needs than those of the Greatest Generation.”
Trump’s plan centers on three points, which he identified as ensuring veterans get the care they need “wherever and whenever they need it,” supporting the “whole veteran,” and “make the VA great again.” His plan does not describe the last time he considered the VA to be great.
His plan details several goals, including offering women’s health services at every VA hospital, hiring more veterans to serve at the VA, and embedding satellite VA clinics in rural and underserved areas.
“Politicians in Washington have tried to fix the VA by holding hearings and blindly throwing money at the problem. None of it has worked,” Trump’s plan states. “The guiding principle of the Trump plan is ensuring veterans have convenient access to the best quality care. To further this principle, the Trump plan will decrease wait times, improve healthcare outcomes, and facilitate a seamless transition from service into civilian life.”
Trump, who fell to second in the Washington Examiner‘s most recent power rankings, has a complicated relationship with veterans. He has claimed that Arizona Sen. John McCain — who spent more than five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam — was only a war hero “because he was captured.” Trump meanwhile avoided conscription to fight in the Vietnam War, according to the Washington Post.
The Donald has also touted the support of veterans nationwide, including from a group titled “Veterans for a Strong America.” But that group lost its tax exempt status and CNN reported “scant evidence” exists to show the group has the supporter base it claims to harbor. Whether veterans can look past Trump’s past comments and affiliations with suspicious groups claiming to promote veterans’ interests remains to be seen.
