Minority Veterans

et me add my grateful acknowledgement to the Native peoples upon whose ancestral homelands we’re gathered, including the Nacotchtank and Piscataway peoples, and to the Native communities who make their home here today.

It’s a tremendous honor to join so many extraordinary Veterans, VA teammates, and community leaders to celebrate the history and enduring legacy of the Tuskegee VA Hospital.

When Private Serna arrived in Europe, he was offered a discharge because he was not an American citizen. Marcelio refused. He refused, knowing full well the brutality and horrors of trench warfare that were ahead of him. So just two years after setting foot in the United States, he climbed into those trenches with his unit—Bravo Company, 355th Infantry, 89th Division.

Thank you, Dr. Wayne Frederick and Kathy Roth-Douquet for that kind introduction. And thank you to Blue Star Families, Howard University, and The Chamberlain Project for putting together this important recognition of the 75th Anniversary of the Integration of the Armed Forces.

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that eligible American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans are no longer required to make copayments for health care and urgent care received through VA. The Biden-Harris administration and VA are proud to implement this rule, which is estimated to impact approximately 25,000 American Indian and Alaska Native Veterans.

Today, the Department of Veterans Affairs announced that it has lowered the interest rate for VA Native American Direct Loans from 6% to 2.5%, making access to housing loans more affordable for Native American Veterans.

West Point was founded on March 16th, 1802, 221 years ago today. Sue Fulton represents West Point’s trailblazing class of 1980, the first to graduate women. Thank you for challenging me every day to do better for all Vets, and for leading the charge for today’s important event.

Good afternoon. Thank you, Ronald, for the many roles you play here at VA, especially as our agency’s representative to the Federal Holocaust Remembrance Program. Let me also thank the Holocaust Resource Center of Buffalo and its Executive Director, Lauren Bloomberg, who helped organize this event.

Kim Bracey, thank you for that kind introduction. It’s a tremendous honor to join so many extraordinary Veterans and community leaders to celebrate the life and enduring legacy of the Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.

We are continuing to closely monitor the storm and its impact on Veterans and employees in its wake. We’re also working closely with our federal partners to support ongoing emergency planning efforts.

Thank you, Chief Bill Smith for that kind introduction, for your steadfast leadership as the Alaska representative of our VA Advisory Committee on Tribal and Indian Affairs, and for your continued service to the nation.

The Department of Veterans Affairs partners with Health and Human Services’ 41 Indian Health Service grant-funded Urban Indian Organizations serving eligible American Indian/Alaska Native Veterans.