2024 Disabled American Veterans

Good morning, everybody.

Commander Espinosa, thank you for that kind introduction, and for you and your family’s distinguished service to this awesome nation. As importantly, thank you for leading with unwavering commitment your more than 1 million DAV members for the past year.

Let me also recognize Cody Vanboxel, your National Headquarters Executive Director, AnnMarie Hurley, your Auxiliary National Commander, Jim Marszalek, your National Service Director, Barry Jesinoski, your National Adjutant, and Joy Ilem, your National Legislative Director. Now I’ve said this every time I’ve been with you but I repeat it here: Joy is as good as there is.

Now she, like Barry, is a Minnesotan, so yes, I’m a little biased, but she is an unrelenting advocate for Veterans, and particularly for her sister Veterans, so Joy, thank you so much.

And then, we’re also all thinking of her teammate, Shane Liermann today, of course.

God bless Shane for his unrelenting dedication to his fellow Veterans and DAV members.

Now a special word about Randy Reese, your DC Executive Director. He’s got that nice smile—but of course you’re not fooled by that anymore, and neither am I because he’s a tough SOB—and that nice smile covers a steely determination to do right by disabled Vets, including when that means he’s got to give me the business.

Now of course, to each of you, the power of DAV, its members—it’s great to see so many of you gathered here today. It’s a real honor to be with you, and I appreciate the invitation to come back. 

Thanks for having me here, and thanks for your partnership in serving Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.

I’ve said this before but I’m going to say it again: No one does more for Veterans than you. Veterans have no better advocate than you. And VA has no better partner than you.

Here’s what I’m thinking about.

As the Civil War was ending, President Lincoln charged the nation to care for Veterans, those who’d given so much, who’d shed so much blood, to save our Union.

Nearly eight decades later with the country at war again and drawing on millions of Americans, President Franklin Roosevelt echoed Lincoln, assuring those heroes the “American people would not let them down when the war [was] won.”

In 1988, President Reagan said that America’s debt to you never ends, can never fully be repaid.

And today, as you just heard Tahina say, President Biden calls the commitment to Veterans our country’s one truly sacred obligation—preparing those we send into harm’s way and caring for them, caring for you and your families when you come home.

Now Presidents and Americans make that commitment.

VA’s job is to keep it. And DAV holds us accountable to doing just that.

From your members in the most remote chapters, like Commander Saranna Hack up in Fairbanks, to Commander Kevin Cooper’s Post right here in Phoenix, to Washington, D.C. where Commander Espinosa, Randy, Joy, Shane and Jim represent all of you to the nation, you hold us accountable to that sacred obligation that the President talks of.

With your powerful advocacy, you hold VA accountable, and you hold me accountable.

And accountability is making sure VA’s caring for you with the kind of conviction, determination, and devotion you showed when our country needed you most, making sure we at VA are working for you.

Let me repeat that for a second. We—all of us at VA—work for you.

You may remember that last year in Atlantic City I reported out on that work. I told you we’d had a record-setting year. I told you we’d delivered more care and more benefits to more Vets than ever.

And this morning, here in Phoenix, I can tell you that it’s been another record-setting year because rather than expecting you to change your life to fit into VA’s programs, we’re changing VA to come to you.

That means over 550 in-person clinics this year.  That why I sat down yesterday at CBP HQ’s in El Paso, where as many as half of that dedicated agency’s agents are Veterans, to bring the VA to them.

That means connecting with you over email and text, through the media, and in person—all in the interest of fitting VA into your life. Not the other way around.

So here’s a quick Public Service Announcement.

For the first time at a DAV convention, we’ve brought our regional office and medical exam units here to you—to offer you the opportunity to engage in, maybe even potentially complete the claims process in a single day.

Our health care team is also on-site to assist with enrolling Vets in VA health care, and to answer any questions you may have. So, the claims clinic is in the Expo Hall on Level 200 in the West Building, and staff from VHA’s Vet Center is conveniently located in the Atrium on the 3^rd Street Side.

This central location makes it easy for us and easy for you to access our services. Remember, we work for you everywhere, including here at the convention. So please, come see us before the week’s up.

Now, one way we know we have to work harder is by ensuring that we’re providing services needed by the fastest growing cohort of Veterans—our women Veterans.

This past year, more than 50,000 women Vets enrolled in VA health care, our biggest enrollment of women Vets in a single year on record. 

I told your Commander we had a good year. Now, here’s the good news.

The number of women Vets using VA services has steadily grown—from around 413,000 in 2014 to over 630,000 today.

Listening to Commander Espinosa and DAV helps us ensure we’re doing right by this fastest growing cadre of Veterans.  

Recently DAV released a crucial mental health wellness report for women Veterans, shedding light on the unique challenges facing women Veterans.

Listening to you we’ve learned more about the need for tailored mental health services for addressing these specific needs, and VA is committed to integrating these insights into our programs, ensuring that every woman Vet receives the care and support, not only that she deserves, but that she’s earned.

We’re more determined than ever to providing women Vets with the highest-quality, most comprehensive care available, and VA is constantly supporting innovations to deliver that.

This includes expansion of research specifically focused on suicide prevention in women Veterans, as well as broader studies assessing the use of certain psychedelic compounds in conjunction with psychotherapy to treat posttraumatic stress disorder, military sexual trauma, and depression.

Our efforts extend beyond mental health to encompass a wide range of health care needs. It includes comprehensive and preventative care for conditions such as osteoporosis, nutrition, and heart disease. It expands breast cancer screenings and mammograms for Veterans. And it includes gender-specific services—including gynecological care, reproductive services, and maternity care coordination which is provided for pregnant Vets from eight weeks to one-year post-partum.

Look, these initiatives, and others, are part of our ongoing efforts to build trust with our women Veterans.

We did all of this because we know that access to the entire complement of medically necessary care and resources is vital to the care that we offer Veterans.  That’s working harder and better for Vets.

Now taking that mindset that we work for you, and for all Vets, it means getting claims decisions faster. A decade ago, decisions on average took nearly a year.  Today, it’s less than half that, 155 days. 

We’re faster for a number of reasons, not the least because of the workforce.  And that workforce means business.

Last year we made nearly 2 million claims decisions for Vets. This year, we’re on track to make more than 2.5 million decisions for Vets.

Month after month—for the last five months running— they’ve broken monthly claims-production records.

And more good news here. You’ve been filing more claims than ever since President Biden signed the PACT Act into law two years ago—nearly 4.5 million claims, so far.

But even with all that, I still worry we’re coming up short.

Over a million Vets have filed claims under PACT, and the grant-rate for those is right at 75%.

But there are over 6 million Vets with service that qualifies them for PACT. So, there are still millions of eligible Vets and survivors who haven’t filed, whether for PACT or any other service-connection. We’ve got to keep reaching out.

We have to keep encouraging Vets and their survivors to file—and when they file, to file with accredited Veteran Service Officers like those here at DAV, not with the claims sharks that will take part of their earned benefits.

We’ll stop at nothing to make sure that every Veteran, every family member, every survivor gets everything they’ve earned.

Survivors like Denise Garlington. Denise’s husband, Gregg, was a Sailor who was badly injured while serving as an operation specialist aboard the USS Anchorage. The injuries required invasive knee surgeries, ending his military career.

At the time of his injury, they had two small children and playing with them used to be the highlight of Gregg’s day—but chronic pain made life’s simple pleasures impossible.

Gregg couldn’t work and he couldn’t play with his kids.

Despite chronic pain, unemployment, immobility, Gregg’s claim for increased disability compensation was denied. So Gregg and Denise reached out to DAV.

Tragically, Gregg passed away before receiving a decision on his claim. But with DAV’s help, Denise navigated the complex process and eventually secured a favorable decision from the Board. 

Denise’s story is a testament to the life-changing difference you make as advocates for your fellow Vets and their survivors. And it makes clear that we, together –you at DAV, we at VA—can’t stop working until every Vet, and in this case every survivor, receives the benefits and services they’ve earned.

Now, on health care, we also work for you. Remember, your health outcomes are better when you’re with VA.

It’s the best care and the most affordable care for Veterans.

Quick example. VA’s new Tele-Emergency Care.

If you’re enrolled in VA health care and you’re concerned you need to go to an Emergency Department, you can call your VA Health Connect VISN Clinical Contact Center.

A VA nurse will immediately work with you to get you timely access to the right care.

That might be VA Tele-Emergency Care. It might be a Virtual Clinic that day. It might be an appointment with your Primary Care provider. And if it is an emergency, the VA nurse will call 911 for you and stay on the line with you until help arrives.

This is a new program, so just over 45,000 Vets have participated in it. 

Nearly 60% of Vets who’ve called for help had their issue resolved on the phone with a Tele-Emergency Care Coordinator. Clinical Contact Centers are open 24-7, and Tele-Emergency Care will be live in every VISN this October.

This makes it easier for you to get the care you need without having to drive God knows how long to get to a hospital. So, faster access to high quality emergency care built to fit into your life.

It’s a common-sense idea so sensible that you just know it didn’t originate in Washington. But you also won’t be surprised to know the idea was hatched by a fellow Vet, a Marine VA employee who knows that we work for you.

Tele-Emergency Care is about getting Vets timely access to world-class care. And I’m glad to report that more and more Vets are enrolling in VA care—over 9.1 million.

In just two years since the PACT Act was signed into law, 710,000 new Veterans have enrolled—a 34% increase over the prior two years.

40,000 enrolled under the new PACT Act eligibility—eligibility that we expanded years earlier than the law required—at the President’s insistence.

And more Vets, once enrolled, are using their VA care.

Vets will get 127 million health care appointments at VA this year, far surpassing last year’s record.

Breaking records is good, but it doesn’t mean it’s good enough. There are still potentially millions more eligible Vets who aren’t enrolled.

So, please, spread the word. We won’t rest until every Vet gets the timely access to world class care that they’ve earned. Recognizing we work for you means more benefits and more care to Veterans than ever before.

And it means that how we provide that care and those benefits to you is important, too.

Right now, Vets tell us that that they trust us more than ever. In our most recent Veteran satisfaction ratings, we earned the highest trust scores since we started this process in 2016. That trust is built on dedication to those we serve. 

Like Holly Hoppe, a DAV chapter service officer in De Pere, Wisconsin, who helped Daniel Dielbold, an Army Vet struggling with homelessness and substance use, secure stable housing and earned benefits.

Daniel had served in both Iraq and Afghanistan. He was hard to reach. He needed VA services but wouldn’t come to VA because he didn’t trust us. Then, he lost his unemployment check, attempted suicide, and came to VA for the help he needed.

But thanks to Holly and the benefits and support Daniel was able to access through VA, Daniel is still in the same apartment DAV helped him secure; he’s still paying his own rent; and Daniel now is encouraging other Vets to come to VA—all because you helped us deliver for him.

And that’s what this partnership is all about. We will stop at nothing until Daniel, a combat Veteran, and all his brothers-and-sisters-in-arms get the care, benefits, and the services that they’ve earned and so richly deserve.

Working hard for you and making consistent, steady progress, year after year, and delivering at record levels—that’s our job—but it’s your accomplishment. You played a critical role demanding excellence from VA in keeping our promise to Vets.

You’ve heard this before but let me make sure you hear it from me again. 

As a result of bringing more Vets to VA, we’ve exceeded the most aggressive projections from earlier this year. And that’s why, now, we’ve told Congress we need more money—to keep delivering more care and more benefits to more Vets than ever before.

We’re projecting we’re going to need about $3 billion more in fiscal year 2024, the current fiscal year, for mandatory benefit payments for the nearly 7 million Vets who get their monthly benefit checks. And we need it by September 20 so those October 1 checks aren’t delayed. And next year we’ll need an additional $12 billion for VA health care.

So, we’re working with Congressional leaders and the Office of Management and Budget to address these needs in a way that allows us to continue to deliver more care and more benefits to more Vets, all at record levels. 

That’s what Vets deserve and, more importantly, that’s what Vets have earned. That’s what matters most. So we will not stop pushing until every Veteran, every family member, every caregiver, every survivor gets those benefits and that care. 

So that’s where we are in 2024, providing more care and more benefits to more Veterans than ever. And I’m proud of that. But we’re not satisfied.  And I know you’re not satisfied, either.

How could we be satisfied when we still don’t have a relationship with as many as half of the Veterans in this awesome country?

How could we be satisfied when there are millions of Vets who qualify under the President’s new law, the PACT Act, but who have still not filed a claim?

And how can we be satisfied when we are staring down a monumental public health issue where more than 6,000 Veterans a year die by suicide because they have become convinced that they are a burden on this country, the country that they’ve done so much to strengthen, and the country that still so badly needs them.

How could we be satisfied until every Veteran in crisis knows that there is hope, that help is available, that treatment works, and that suicide is preventable.

So, no. We’re not satisfied. We are not satisfied.

And that, more than anything, is the reason I came back to see you again this year—to hold myself, to hold all my teammates at VA, accountable to you.

God bless you all, God bless our Nation’s Servicemembers, and our Veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors.

Thank you.