Veterans Affairs Secretary pledges broader services in Headliners Luncheon address
Making his second appearance at a National Press Club Headliners Luncheon as secretary of Veterans Affairs, Denis McDonough paid homage to veterans and reporters who cover military affairs and touted improvements made at the VA since he became secretary in February 2021.
"Words can never express the depth of our gratitude to you, our vets -- your courage, selflessness, service, and the sacrifices made by you and your families," McDonough said on Nov. 7, days before Veterans Day on Nov. 11, and the 40th anniversary of the unveiling of the Vietnam Veterans Memorial on Nov. 13. He recognized Jan Scruggs, the Vietnam War veteran who founded the Vietnam Veterans Memorial Fund and spearheaded the memorial's creation. Scruggs, who was a special guest at the luncheon, received a standing ovation.
McDonough commended journalists for "holding us accountable" to serve veterans and helping "make the VA better." He cited head table guest Kelly Kennedy, the award-winning investigative reporter and veteran who initiated stories about illnesses caused by the military's disposal of toxins in open-air burn pits. After years of effort, Congress passed and President Joe Biden signed in August the Promise to Address Comprehensive Toxics (PACT) Act, the largest expansion of VA health-care benefits since the VA's founding. The new law puts extra pressure on the VA to process already backlogged benefits claims.
The secretary conceded that his department faces major challenges in recruiting enough health care and claims processing personnel to meet a flood of new benefit claims coming under the PACT Act, and he said abortion services, currently limited to cases involving rape, incest and the health of the woman, are under review.
"We’re processing their (veterans) claims faster than ever before," McDonough said. "In fact, VA processed 1.7 million veteran claims in fiscal year '22 -- shattering 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."
Surveys show that 90% of veterans served by outpatient care "trust that care to be easy, effective, and based in respect.," McDonough said.
The VA is also adopting new technology to improve access to care, including tele-appeals, tele-health, and tele-oncology.
"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.
McDonough cited progress on reducing veterans' homelessness since his speech at the Club a year ago, including placing 38,000 homeless veterans into permanent housing by the end of the year.
"At the end of September, we’d already housed nearly 31,000 vets -- over 81% of our goal -- putting us on track to house even more veterans than we anticipated," McDonough said.
Progress also is being made on reducing the number of veteran suicides with such initiatives as a 988-1 telephone suicide prevention lifeline, McDonough said.
Other changes at the VA include delivering care and benefits to veterans with other-than-honorable discharges and "making sure LGBTQ+ vets are supported -- and well-served -- across VA. Last month, for example, we closed a gap in benefits for surviving spouses of LGBTQ+ vets, righting a wrong that’s a legacy of the discriminatory federal ban on same-sex marriages," McDonough said.