Clinton/Gore '96 The Briefing Room
Bill Clinton & Al Gore on the Issues



Honoring Our Veterans
Oo honor our veterans ... gratitude and ceremonies are not enough. We must protect the benefits you have earned, address fully the dangers imposed by modern warfare, and preserve what you fought for: the American Dream at home and our leadership around the world.”

—President Bill Clinton

President Clinton and Vice President Gore are fighting to protect the benefits earned by the men and women who have served in our armed services and to address the new needs and challenges created by our changing world.  The Administration is working to make the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) more efficient and responsive by improving services and by saving money. The President and Vice President have aggressively responded to veterans of the Persian Gulf War who suffer from undiagnosed illnesses. We are also addressing the challenges created as the military downsizes after the Cold War, and we are meeting the needs of homeless veterans.

The Clinton Administration is helping veterans by:

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Restructuring the VA medical system to ensure that resources focus on patient care. The Administration has also proposed that the VA medical facilities be allowed to keep a portion of the money collected from third parties.
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Ensuring that disabled veterans and military retirees receive full cost-of-living adjustments on benefits.
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Fighting to fully fund veterans benefit programs.
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Protecting compensation for mentally incompetent veterans. This Administration has successfully opposed Congressional attempts to eliminate such funding.
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Ensuring that veterans and their families are buried with dignity through increased funding for the National Cemetery System.
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Announcing that Vietnam veterans with prostate cancer and peripheral neuropathy are entitled to disability payments because of their exposure to Agent Orange. The Administration will also seek legislation to provide help for veterans’ children who suffer from spina bifida. In 1993, President Clinton extended disability benefits to Vietnam veterans with other illnesses caused by exposure to Agent Orange.
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Establishing the Presidential Advisory Committee on Gulf War Veterans’ Illness aimed at finding the causes of these illnesses and improving the care available to Persian Gulf veterans. As part of this effort, the Administration expanded funding for research and medical care at the Departments of Defense, Veterans Affairs, and Health and Human Services.
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Hiring more veterans in the federal government. Despite overall hiring decreases across the federal government in the last three years, the percentage of jobs going to veterans has increased. The proportion of veterans among new full-time hires increased from 23.6% in 1992 to 33.3% in 1994. The federal government continues to lead the nation in the percentage of veterans in its workforce.
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Helping over 1.5 million veterans obtain civilian jobs through the Department of Labor’s veterans’ employment service. Nearly 500,000 separating service members and their spouses received job search training under the department’s Transition Assistance Program. The veterans’ unemployment rate has been cut by almost a third during the first three years of the Clinton Administration—from 7.2% in January 1993 to 4.9% in January 1996.
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Improving processing time and reducing pending caseload for compensation and pension claims at the Veterans Benefits Administration. In fiscal year 1997, the Veterans Benefits Administration will process original compensation claims 33 days faster than in fiscal year 1997, and the pending caseload will be reduced by 20%.
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Fighting to break the cycle of homelessness among veterans. This Administration has more than doubled VA funding of programs for the homeless. As part of a new Homeless Providers Grant Program, VA awarded more than $11.8 million to 59 public and private nonprofit groups to develop new programs to assist homeless veterans.


Building on Our Progress

President Clinton will continue to work for veterans by:

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Working to improve services to veterans to simplify complex eligibility rules and to save money through streamlining.
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Continuing to restructure the VA’s health care system.
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Continuing to improve veterans’ benefits delivery system to give veterans more efficient service.
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Continuing to work with the Presidential Advisory Committee to find causes and to care for Persian Gulf veterans with undiagnosed illnesses.
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Continuing to include veterans and veterans’ service organizations in discussions of issues that affect them.

Meeting Our Challenges * Protecting Our Values



Paid for by Clinton/Gore ’96 General Committee, Inc.