Secretary McDonough

Good morning. Emily Wilkins, thanks for that kind introduction, and for leading this important organization. Let me recognize the Press Club’s American Legion Post and its commander, Tom Young, and all the Veterans Service Organizations represented here.

VA delivered more care and more benefits to more Veterans than ever before in fiscal year 2024 — exceeding last year’s record totals.

VA proposed establishing a first-of-its-kind grant program aimed at increasing access to VA programs and benefits.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to this month's press conference. We're excited. We have a lot of folks joining us today to provide you with a lot of great things that we're doing across the enterprise. So I won't speak too much longer, I'll go ahead and get the Secretary up here and introduce our two guests, and then turn it over to the reporters for questions. So with that, I'll turn it over to Secretary Denis McDonough.

Thanks so much to everybody. Good morning to you. Thank you for inviting me to join you for your 16th Judicial Conference.

You had me a couple of years ago. The fact that you welcomed me back notwithstanding the intervening time as Secretary I take as a mildly positive sign. We’ll see how the reviews are on that at the end of the speech.

Matt [Miller, Dir. VA Office of Suicide Prevention], thanks for that kind introduction and for the opportunity to join the team here this morning to kick off Day 2 of this important Gathering.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs will award $806.4 million in grants to help homeless and at-risk Veterans through the Supportive Services for Veteran Families and Homeless Providers Grant and Per Diem programs.

This training is some of the most important, lifesaving training VA does. And getting it right is never easy. Expectations are necessarily and understandably very high, because the stakes for our Vets are so high.

Good morning, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to this month's press conference. You may have noticed I'm not actually in the room.

Eligible organizations providing employment-based resources and tools to help recently separated members of the Armed Forces and their spouses may now apply for grants from the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

VA Veteran Crisis Line 'Dial 988 then Press 1' marks 2-year anniversary providing access to critical support for Veterans and their families in time of need.

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs is awarding $26.8 million in legal services grants with the goal of increasing access to legal services for eligible Veterans experiencing or at risk for homelessness.