This country and its leadership has a continuing and unique obligation to
the men and women who served their nation in the armed forces and help
maintain or restore peace in the world.
My commitment to veterans, as evidenced by my record, is characterized by a
conscientious and consistent emphasis in these general areas:
First, we have worked to honor the Vietnam veteran. During my
Administration, and under the leadership of VA Administrator Max Cleland, I
was proud to lead our country in an overdue acknowledgement of our Nation's
gratitude to the men and women who served their country during the bitter
war in Southeast Asia. Their homecoming was deferred and seemed doomed to
be ignored. Our country has matured in the last four years and at long last
we were able to separate the war from the warrior and honor these veterans.
But with our acknowledgement of their service goes an understanding that
some Vietnam veterans have unique needs and problems.
My Administration was able to launch a long sought after psychological
readjustment and outreach program, unprecedented in its popularity,
sensitivity and success. This program must be continued. The Administration
has also grappled with the difficult questions posed by some veterans who
served in Southeast Asia and were exposed to potentially harmful
substances, including the herbicide known as Agent Orange. We have launched
scientific inquiries that should answer many veterans' questions about
their health and should provide the basis for establishing sound
compensation policy. We cannot rest until their concerns are dealt with in
a sensitive, expeditious and compassionate fashion.
Second, we have focused the VA health care system in the needs of the
service-connected disabled veteran. We initiated and are implementing the
first reform of the VA vocational rehabilitation system since its inception
in 1943. Also, my Administration was the first to seek a cost-of-living
increase for the recipients of VA compensation every year. My last budget
also makes such a request. The Administration also launched the Disabled
Veterans Outreach Program in the Department of Labor which has successfully
placed disabled veterans in jobs. Services provided by the VA health care
system will be further targeted to the special needs of disabled veterans
during the coming year.
Third, the VA health care system, the largest in the free world, has
maintained its independence and high quality during my Administration. We
have made the system more efficient and have therefore treated more
veterans than ever before by concentrating on out-patient care and through
modern management improvements. As the median age of the American veteran
population increases, we must concentrate on further changes within the VA
system to keep it independent and to serve as a model to the nation and to
the world as a center for research, treatment and rehabilitation.