The White House said Tuesday that its efforts to improve the lives of veterans are bearing fruit, and cited more hiring at the troubled Department of Veterans Affairs as evidence, along with signs that its initiative to end homelessness among veterans is making progress.
In a statement timed for Veterans Day, the Obama administration said it would release a survey next week showing that nationally, homelessness among veterans is down 36 percent since 2010. Officials credited its “opening doors” plan with helping to move the numbers in the right direction.
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That initiative involved a challenge from First Lady Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, Vice President Joe Biden’s wife, to the mayors of major cities to do more to house homeless vets. Since then, more than 800 municipal officials have pledged to end veteran homelessness, officials said, and some cities like New Orleans, New York, Las Vegas and Houston, and entire states like Virginia, have said they have ended homelessness.
Despite that progress, the White House said its work isn’t done.
“[T]his work will not be finished until every veteran has a home, and every community has the tools in place to keep veterans from sliding back into homelessness,” the White House statement read.
Officials released a broader statement saying the administration’s agenda is to boost healthcare, benefits claims, education and employment among vets.
Obama’s record on veterans’ issues has been marred by the several scandals at the Department of Veterans Affairs, most notably the scandal involving long wait times for veterans seeking VA care. But the White House said it’s taking steps to boost personnel at the troubled VA.
Specifically, officials said that in the year since the scandal became public, the agency completed almost 7 million appointments, and hired approximately 1,400 more physicians, 3,800 nurses, 116 psychiatrists and 422 psychologists. The VA has also added primary care exam rooms, and has increased productivity by, among other things, extending clinic hours.
Also, expanding access to care outside the VA helped 1.4 million beneficiaries. Many of the VA’s toughest critics say care outside the VA is key, although the VA has said it wants to scale back the money available for this program.
A poll of 800 veterans commissioned by Vet Voice Foundation found that a majority, 64 percent, opposes privatizing veteran healthcare. Eight in 10 do not want to have to rely on vouchers for private healthcare.
The White House called on Congress to pass several of its veteran-related proposals, including a VA plan to “streamline and improve the way VA delivers care in the community,” one to overhaul the benefits’ claims appeals process, and several affecting the GI bill.
The White House says the wave of hiring has helped the VA make significant progress in eliminating the backlog. At the peak in March 2013, more than 610,000 disability claims needed processing, the White House stated. That is down to 76,000 now. In fiscal year 2014, the VA processed a “record-breaking” 1.4 million claims. Wait times are down from an average of 188 days then to 94 today.
Finding jobs for veterans is another issue. The White House said under the Joining Forces initiative launched in 2011 by Michelle Obama and Jill Biden, the public and private sectors have hired more than 850,000 veterans and their spouses.
On Tuesday, ride-sharing companies Uber and Lyft said they are donating rides to veterans traveling to and from work or job interviews. On Wednesday, Uber riders can use the company’s app to donate rides to veterans.
Finally, the administration announced that all 50 states, the District of Columbia and Puerto Rico now offer in-state tuition rates to veterans and their dependents. The VA also re-launched its “GI comparison tool” to help veterans get the most of their education benefits.
