Veterans Day is a call to action for all Americans to fulfill their sacred duty and serve veterans as well as they’ve served the nation.
That was the message Department of Veterans Secretary Denis McDonough brought in a speech Monday at the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
“Veterans’ valor is a constant reminder of true loyalty, true courage, true patriotism,” he said.
McDonough also highlighted some of VA’s accomplishments over the past year, saying it processed 1.7 million benefit claims in FY 22, which shattered the previous year’s record by 12%.
“And we’ve gotten the claims backlog down to the lowest in years, down to nearly 144,000 claims as of this month,” he added.
“That’s possible by building and maintaining our 155 VA national cemeteries, and by funding construction, maintenance, and expansion of 121 state, territorial, and tribal veteran cemeteries,” he said.
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The online Veterans Legacy Memorial program has also been expanded to about 4.5 million veterans, keeping their stories alive long after they’re gone, McDonough added.
McDonough noted that VA is fighting to maximize access to world-call care for veterans across America.
“For those vets getting care at home, we’re meeting them where they are, doubling down on tele-appeals, tele-health, and tele-oncology,” he said. “VA clinicians have seen more than 9,000 vets through tele-oncology, and we are expanding this life-saving tool to include clinical trials, meaning that rural vets are now getting opportunities previously unavailable to them because of their remote locations.”
McDonough said VA challenges itself daily with three questions: Are we putting veterans at the center of everything it does; is VA improving outcomes for veterans with everything it does and is VA fighting like hell for veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors.
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Noting that the one-year anniversary of the death of Army Maj. Ian Fishback, who wrote a letter to Sen. John McCain in 2005 detailing the abuse of Global War On Terror detainees, is on Nov. 19, McDonough said putting vets at the center of all VA does is vital.
“Every door at VA has to be a front door, with multiple touchpoints for all of our services,” he said. “And that means wherever a veteran is treated at the local, state, or federal level that care has to be integrated, it has to be coordinated, especially when it comes to mental health care. Vets and their families should expect that, demand it.”
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McDonough lauded the passage of the PACT Act, which opens up VA health care and benefits to veterans exposed to toxin across all years. He also noted that VA has expanded its caregiver support program and is making strides in ending veteran homelessness and suicide and in providing care for female and LGBTQ+ veterans.
McDonough also recognized the Press Club’s American Legion Post and its commander, Tom Young, and all the Veterans Service Organizations represented at the event.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.