Disabled American Veterans

Joe Parsetich, thanks for that kind introduction. It is great to be among this great company. I want to highlight a couple folks who really make this partnership what it is: Randy Reese, Marc Burgess, Darlene Spence, Burl Jimmerson, and Joy Ilem, whose status as a Minnesotan is only outshone by her relentlessness and unrivaled reach on Capitol Hill. You are the glue that makes this great organization run, and that brings our partnership to life. Thank you, for everything.

I’ll begin by just saying, thank you for your service, your devotion to Vets, and for our partnership in serving them, as well as they have served this country. These past two years, we have delivered more care and more benefits to more Vets than at any other time in our nation’s history; thanks to many people, including each and every one of you. We’re going to keep fighting like hell for Vets, together and for all Vets, to give them the best outcomes. And we’re looking forward to collaborating even more effectively, to build on what’s working, and to fix what’s not.

I want to focus on our partnership—because we have no more important partner than you. I see that every day, but earlier this year I saw the real impact of your work. This past summer, Rich Batcho—an incredible DAV volunteer from Nevis, Minnesota, about an hour from where I went to college—was on his way to drive a rural Veteran to his VA appointment. There had been bad storms in the area over the previous weeks, and trees had fallen all over the property—including onto the Veteran’s house and garage. So, the driver picked up the Veteran and started asking about the storm damage. He quickly learned that the Veteran had been without electricity—for almost a week—and that he was having a hard time getting an electrician to come out.

A week without electricity, in the middle of the summer. So Rich immediately sprang into action. On the road to the clinic, he called another DAV volunteer in the area—Darius Simon—who immediately called the local DAV commander, Jason Bristlin. Darius already had his saws in his truck, so he and Jason got right to work cutting down the fallen trees. Within four hours—four hours—the electricity was back on in the Veteran’s house, just as Rich’s car was pulling back up the driveway to return the Veteran from his appointment. In just four hours, three DAV volunteers—three Veterans—had worked together to get this disabled Veteran running power and water. 

The impact that you make on behalf of Veterans every single day is inspiring. This is what our work is all about—getting the job done for Veterans, together, whether that means providing the best care in the world, benefits they’ve earned, or a dignified last resting place that honors their service and sacrifice. So, when you hear from a Vet who needs something—just like those three incredible Veterans in Minnesota—I want your first call to be to us. Together, we can solve problems with full transparency, holding nothing back, continuing to build trust by telling the whole story. We are proud of our accomplishments. But we are going to be candid about our failings—candid with ourselves, with you, with Vets, and with the American people. We still can, and still must, be better—and do better—for the Veterans we serve. So, let me touch on our goals for this year: more care, more benefits, for more Vets.

Let’s start with more care. Over the last two years, we’ve delivered more care to more Vets than at any other time in our nation’s history. In just the past year, Vets had over 73 million outpatient appointments at VA and 37 million more outpatient appointments with community care providers in your states. Meanwhile, we’ve seen a staggering 3000% increase in virtual home visits since 2020—over 23 million total in that time span.

And in the midst of such revolutionary change in how we deliver care, Vets are continuing to tell us they trust VA. On average, for outpatient care, trust is hovering around 90%—including among historically marginalized Vet populations. All of you in this room help us earn and maintain that trust, every single day. But we need to build more trust with women Vets, whose trust score is down at 87%, and significantly improve trust with our younger, post-9/11 Vets. Across the board, the younger the Veterans, the less they trust us.

And to build that trust, we need to make their care experience better and more effective, no matter if it is in the direct care system, or in the community. And we need your help, our strong partnership, strengthening effective networks, and making sure network members help us coordinate care for Veterans. Because VA doesn’t always get community care records back in a timely manner. Sometimes, we don’t get those records back at all. It means we can’t coordinate the Vet’s care. It means we can’t manage the cost of their care. It means that the care gets less effective, and more expensive. The trend should be just the opposite—more effective, less expensive.

Now, one reason community care is sometimes slow is because we need more staff to do the work. I’ll hit hiring in a minute. But I want to ask you to sit down with community providers in our network and in your states and let’s get their help. We need them to sign up for our Health-Share Referral Manager system; the technology we have that will improve communications, coordination, and medical documentation sharing between VA and community providers. And if not Health-Share, there’s the Joint Legacy Viewer, E-fax, and the Postal Service. We need them to use VA’s Request for Services process to meet any additional needs of Vets they’re seeing. And we need them to talk to us so we can all do better, for Vets.

Another place we have to deepen our partnership is on our number one clinical priority—mental health and suicide prevention. We all have to be there for Vets when it matters most, especially in times of crisis. Two years ago, we failed a Veteran—Major Ian Fishback—because we didn’t carefully coordinate our response to his needs across federal, state, and county systems. I can update you today that we spent the last year—among VA Office of Mental Health and Suicide Prevention, VISN 10, and Michigan state authorities—so we’re better positioned to ensure that a Vet isn’t responsible for managing complex governmental bureaucracies. We’re responsible. We have to do that, for all Veterans.

And this is the charge President Biden gave us in this year’s State of the Union. Vets need and deserve suicide prevention solutions that meet them where they are, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach. So, I want to quickly run through five of the solutions we’re continuing to implement this year:

First, we just announced a final round of prizes through our Mission Daybreak challenge—totaling nearly $20 million across 40 teams—to build out proven new solutions developed by Americans in communities across the country. These investments will help develop innovations that will save Veterans’ lives.

Second, the Staff Sergeant Parker Gordon Fox Suicide Prevention Grants are getting resources to local suicide prevention services where Vets are, funding local innovations among people who know their Vets best.

Third, we launched Suicide Prevention 2.0, designed to recruit, hire and train more than 100 licensed mental health providers serving Veterans at high risk of suicide. At VA—as in every health care system in the country—we are badly in need of additional trained mental health professionals.

Fourth, we’re significantly expanding VA coverage through the COMPACT Act, opening doors of emergency care when Vets need it most—access to any health care facility, VA or not—for free emergency mental health care. Now, the COMPACT Act is connecting us to Veterans who may have never worked with us in the past, so it is critical that we continue listening and seeking feedback from Veterans, our VA employees, our community partners, and all of you. In the weeks since this benefit has been implemented, we have already received very valuable feedback. For example, we have heard that additional communication and education to Veterans about who qualifies for this important benefit would be helpful. Additionally, we have heard how important it is for our community partners to hear from VA quickly when seeking approvals for care payment. We are using this feedback to get better. And you have my commitment that we ensure that Veterans receive the suicide crisis care they need when and where they need it without ever having to worry about receiving a bill. 

Finally, we’ve brought on over 1,300 peer support specialists. These peer support specialists are all Vets, trained to use their personal experiences with their own recovery to help struggling fellow-Vets reconnect, find a sense of belonging, and access resources at VA and in their communities. Look, here’s what we know after decades of success with twelve step programs. Recovery takes work every day. Every day. It takes recognition of a higher power. And we also know that nothing helps one’s recovery quite like helping out someone else who is fighting through recovery, through everyday challenge. Vets helping Vets, long after they take off the uniform. There’s nothing better than that. There’s no one who does that better than DAV.

Now, I know, that’s a lot. But suicide prevention takes all of us … pulling together in the same direction to save lives. And with all this work, and more, saving lives is exactly what we’re going to do. And, together, we will do it.

Now, let me touch on how we’re partnering–VA and DAV–to get more benefits to more Veterans. Right now, we’re delivering more benefits, more quickly, to more Veterans than ever before, and the Board of Veterans’ Appeals is a big part of that. But we can do better, and your benefits advocates are helping us get there.

Volunteers like Wanda Daniels in Georgia. Wanda is a 25-year Air Force Veteran who currently serves as the Adjutant for DAV’s Georgia office. Not only that, she serves as her chapter’s benefits advocate—Chapter 92 in Jefferson, Georgia. Every week, she travels two hours to the department’s headquarters to handle her duties as adjutant. And she’s always on the move, meeting Veterans wherever is most convenient for them to help process their VA claims. She is especially proud of the work she’s done to reach underserved women Veterans, ensuring they receive the benefits they’ve earned from their service to this country.

This past year, she was awarded the President’s Lifetime Achievement Volunteer Service Award in recognition of the thousands of hours she has volunteered on behalf of her fellow Veterans. President Biden’s letter read, “We are living in a moment that calls for hope and light and love. Hope for our futures, light to see our way forward, and love for one another. Through your service, you are providing all three.” Hope, light, and love. There are few people who embody these traits more than DAV volunteers like Wanda.

So we at VA have to do our part to ensure the best possible outcomes for Veterans. We have to keep working to shorten Vets’ waits by ensuring they’re in the right line with files ready for a final decision. And we at VA have a lot of work to do communicating better with Vets about why claims were denied, what they can do to challenge denials, and how to close information gaps in their claims long before their hearing. The first time Vets know what’s missing from their files cannot be when the judge tells them. So, we have to work together to maximize Vets’ chances of getting that claimed benefits on appeal.

Now, I tell you this because we set an all-time record last year getting Vets over 1.7 million decisions on their claims. And we’re on pace to break that record this year. Just since the PACT Act was signed last August, Veterans and survivors have filed more than a million claims—over 24% more than the same period last year. To date, we’ve awarded 103,000 toxic exposure claims out of 128,000 we’ve reviewed. Again, that’s thanks to your help … in part because you made such a strong presence across the country at the PACT Act Week of Action events in December. And we have to make sure every Vet knows about these new toxic benefits and how to file a claim.

Here’s why. A Vet exposed to herbicides while serving in Thailand in the early ‘70s had been trying to get service-connection for Parkinson’s disease, diabetes mellitus type II, and peripheral neuropathy the last seven years. All his previous claims and appeals had been denied.  Well, on the first day of this year—the first day we granted PACT Act benefits—that Vet was granted service connection for 13 disabilities. That’s because the PACT Act added a presumptive for his service in Thailand. For him, that’s a retroactive and monthly benefit that will go a long way supporting his well-being for the rest of his life. So, help us tell your Vets:

First, apply for toxic exposure benefits and care right now. Applying before August 10^th this year means benefits will be backdated to August 10 of last year, the day President Biden signed the bill into law.

Second, enrolled Vets should get a toxic exposure screening at their VA medical center. Nearly 2 million [1.8M] Vets already have. And if they’re not enrolled, let’s get them enrolled.

Third, some Vets worry that applying for toxic exposure benefits will impact their current benefits. The truth is that with the PACT Act, they’re 32 times more likely to have their benefits increase—or stay the same—than to see a decrease.

Fourth, there are people who’ll try to convince Vets they need to pay somebody or use a lawyer to apply for their VA benefits. Not true. Working with VA or a VSO, it’s free and easy to apply.

And fifth, everybody can learn more about the PACT Act and apply anytime by visiting VA.gov/PACT or calling 1-800-MY-VA-411 … 1-800-698-2411.

So, we’ve talked about more care and more benefits. Now, let’s talk about reaching more Vets, and how our partnership can ensure we reach more Vets. First, we’re investing in modern facilities to expand access. We opened 17 new CBOCs last year providing better access for 2.8 million Vets. This year we’re awarding and completing significant major construction projects that will serve millions more. And, thanks again to the PACT Act, we have new authorizations and funding for 31 major leases to improve access for over 4.5 million Vets.

Let’s continue to ensure we work together to ease the exercise of these leases and share data on how we position them correctly, so that we bring care to Veterans rather than expecting them to bring themselves to the care. And we still need more people to ensure we’re processing claims quickly and providing timely access to world class care.

That’s why we’re aggressively hiring for positions across VA. VBA has hired 2,500 people so far this year and anticipates needing about 4,500 more. So far this year, VHA has hired over 18,500 people. But we need over 33,000 more. So, we need your help finding and hiring the best of the best. Send us Vets to hire. Send us people who believe in our mission and want to serve Vets. Send us people like Serena, who we hired in Michigan. Her grandfather’s a World War II Vet, and she said, “I just want to give back because Vets have given their whole lives for our freedom.”

And reaching more Vets—that means all Vets. All Vets. After World War II, our country failed a million Black Vets … failed them—men and women both, at every level. After they finished fighting in Europe and the Pacific, Black Veterans had to fight something back home as insidious as any enemy. Racism. Unfortunately, that fight’s still raging, and VA isn’t immune. There have been unacceptable disparities in benefits decisions because of racial bias, and discrimination based on sexual orientation and gender identity.

We’re committed to right these wrongs, to ensure we’re combating institutional racism and discrimination rather than perpetuating it. So, we’ll continue to take steps to ensure Black Vets and all minority and historically underserved Vets get what they have earned and so richly deserve. We’ll be taking a series of steps this coming year—building on steps we’ve taken over the last two years—to ensure that our fastest growing cohort of Veterans, women Vets, feel welcomed at VA.

And we will be taking the next steps to make sure we are providing the full spectrum of care to transgender Vets. I’m not naïve about the environment we’re operating in, and the pressure we can all feel around politics. But some things are beyond politics. All Veterans deserve timely access to world-class health care and earned benefits. Not some Veterans. All Veterans.

Because when you and all our Veterans signed up to serve, we made a promise to you, to them. If you fight for us, we will fight for you. If you serve us, we will serve you. If you take care of us, we will take care of you when you come home. Our country, as a whole, makes that promise. But it’s our job at VA to keep that promise, to each of you and to every Veteran. Every Veteran.

And here’s my commitment to you. We will never settle for anything less. That’s the lens through which I have seen my work to date, and I’ll stand by that approach this year. And in the spirit of the partnership I have spoken with you about today—and I’ve intended to conduct myself with over these last two years together—I’ll always be candid with you about those decisions, and always open to you, to your feedback, and to your advice. Even if, if not especially when, we disagree. Oftentimes, that’s when it matters most.

I look forward to working with you in the year ahead, and I look forward to your questions. And may God bless all of you, our servicemembers protecting our country today, and our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.