Veterans Affairs
President-elect Trump plans to overhaul the Department of Veterans Affairs in a way that he says will eliminate red tape and corruption and replace it with quality care. Trump proposes a 10-point plan:
- Appoint a Secretary of Veterans Affairs who will focus on serving the veteran and restoring integrity to the system.
- Fire and discipline VA employees who fail to perform satisfactorily.
- Ask Congress to pass legislation that will empower the Secretary of the VA to fire and discipline any employee who compromises the well-being of veterans.
- Commission an investigation into VA fraud and use the findings to encourage Congress to reform VA legislation.
- Promote and protect the VA employees who demonstrate honest work.
- Establish a private, 24-hour White House hotline to receive complaints or reports of wrongdoing at the VA. Trump promises to handle personally any issues left unsolved.
- Give bonuses only to people who improve VA service.
- Reform services to ensure veterans are “at the front of the line for health services, not the back.”
- Increase the number of mental health workers within the VA and allow veterans to seek mental health care outside the VA.
- Allow veterans to choose private health care providers if they wish.
Trump’s vision for reform includes increased funding for mental health care, providing more counseling and improving research and treatment. This will enable the VA to address current needs for PTSD, traumatic brain injuries and suicide prevention. Additionally, Trump aims to improve health care for female veterans, ensuring that every VA hospital is staffed with OBGYN services.
Some of Trump’s plans align with the recommendations of the report issued by the Commission on Care, a 15-member group formed by Congress to examine deficiencies in the VA. These improvements will modernize the VA and empower veterans, which means, Trump says, that veterans will come first.
At the time this article was written, cabinet positions were being filled, and Trump had stated his intent to put plans into action swiftly. Although military members and their families can only speculate how Trump’s plans will affect them, the President-elect has indicated that answers and change will come within the first 30 to 100 days of his term.
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