Disabled American Veterans Mid-Winter Meeting

Thank you, Will Robinson, for that kind introduction. My thanks, of course, to all the service officers and DAV members—it is great to see so many of you here today. Good afternoon, everyone. Before I get into it, I’ll give a shout-out to my teammates manning the VA info booth today. They’re here for you. We all work for you. If you have any questions at all about our work at VA, talk with them—they’re here to help with any questions you might have and some you might not know you have.

I’ll begin with a story. Jennifer Alvarado joined the Navy as a 19-year-old single mom. She served her country honorably before she was medically retired in 2006. But after years of intimate partner violence, compounded by repeat military sexual trauma—or MST—Jennifer left the military in survival mode. Jennifer tried VA years ago but didn’t have a positive experience. So she left VA care, disappointed and further traumatized.

As the years passed, she struggled to hold down a job. She was at risk of homelessness and relied on food banks to keep a meal on her family’s table. As her life continued to spiral out of control, she found solace in drinking. And at one point, she considered suicide. But one fateful day, she decided to give VA a second chance.

So, where did Jennifer turn first? DAV. She walked straight into her local DAV office with a giant box of medical records. Jennifer dropped them on Joe Kauffman’s desk, a DAV service officer out of Philly, and said that she would not leave until he helped her. And that’s exactly what he did. While helping Jennifer, Joe connected her to Elizabeth DePompei, one of DAV’s fabulous comms people. And what happened next changed everything. Elizabeth listened—building a bond of trust, making Jennifer feel safe—for the first time in years. So Jennifer opened up. She accepted help.

Elizabeth’s here today, so I’ll speak to her directly. Jennifer says that you might not realize the impact you had on her and the impact you have on so many of her fellow women Vets. She shared her story and cried with you for countless hours. Most importantly, with your help—alongside Joe and many others at DAV—Jennifer started receiving the care she needs, earned, and so richly deserves.

She says that the care she gets today at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center is “phenomenal” and that she can’t imagine going anywhere else. There’s so much to take away from Jennifer’s story, which I’ll come back to later. But what strikes me most is that Jennifer trusts VA again and she’s getting the care she earned, all because she connected with this incredible team at DAV. Her story shows the impact you are having in communities and neighborhoods around the country. Serving Veterans. Saving lives.

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. And that’s exactly what you’ve been doing.

Let me quickly hit a few wavetops. Last year:

• Veterans submitted over 2.4 million claims—an all-time record, and 39% more than in 2022.
• Veterans submitted nearly 2.3 million intents-to-file—another all-time record, and 62% more than in 2022.
• VA processed nearly 2 million claims, surpassing the previous record by nearly 16%.
• VA delivered $163 billion in earned benefits to over 1.5 million Veterans and survivors—an all-time record.
• Vets had 116 million health care appointments—surpassing the previous record by 3 million.
• The Board of Veterans’ Appeals processed over 103,000 appeals—an all-time record.
• Over 46,500 homeless Veterans were permanently housed—surpassing our goal of 38,000.
• And 4.1 million Veterans now rest in VA national cemeteries.

Now look, behind all those statistics are Veterans—Veterans like Jennifer—like so many of you in this room. And all of those accomplishments are yours. All of you should be rightly proud. You play a critical role—a key enabler in achieving VA’s mission—in keeping our promise to Veterans. Like I said this summer in Atlantic City, we have no better partner than DAV.

And we aren’t letting up this year. Together, we’re going to bring new Vets to VA, we’re going to expand access to VA, and we’re going to help Vets thrive. We want to bring as many Veterans as possible into our care, because VA is proven to be the best, most affordable health care in America for Vets. That’s why, beginning March 5th, we’re making three new groups of Veterans eligible for VA health care—years earlier than envisioned in the PACT Act:

1. Veterans who were exposed to toxins or other hazards during military service;
2. Veterans who were assigned to certain duty stations in Southwest Asia or parts of Africa;
3. And Veterans who deployed in support of certain operations after 9/11. 

Here’s what that means for them. If they served in Vietnam, the Gulf War, Iraq, or Afghanistan, they can enroll. If they deployed to any combat zone after 9/11, they can enroll. If they deployed in support of the Global War on Terror, they can enroll. And even if they never deployed but were exposed to toxins or hazards while training or serving on active duty here at home—by working with chemicals, pesticides, lead, asbestos, certain paints, nuclear weapons, x-rays, and more—they can enroll, too. Bottom line: all Veterans exposed to toxins and other hazards—at home or abroad—are eligible to enroll in VA care, beginning March 5th. This is the biggest expansion of VA care in generations, and we want Vets to apply as soon as possible.

It’s quick and easy to enroll. They don’t need to be sick or file a claim to become eligible. All they have to do is show that they served in one of those locations or operations—or participated in one of the activities that could have exposed them to toxins or hazards. Even if they don’t think they need this care today, they might need it tomorrow, or the next day, or 30 years from now. All they have to do is enroll. Then, they have access for life. So, let’s not miss this opportunity: better, more affordable health care is waiting for Veterans. And they can go to VA.gov/PACT to get it. I appreciate your helping spreading the word on that.

One more important request before I close. Starting April 20th, we will no longer send a Veteran’s or family members’ benefit payments to more than one bank account. We’re making this change to help protect Veterans and families from fraud and to ensure that we’re able to pay Veterans on time, every time, without error. This will require all Veterans and beneficiaries who receive GI bill payments and other benefit payments across multiple banking accounts to select one account by April 20th. For example, if a Vet receives GI Bill payments to one of their bank accounts and disability compensation payments to another, they’ll need to select one account, for all benefits, by April 20th. This shift will impact nearly 50,000 of 800,000 total GI Bill beneficiaries.

Fortunately, VA has all of the contact information for these Veterans. We are aggressively reaching out to these student Veterans through text message, phone, and email on a weekly basis through April 20th. They will continue to receive text messages and emails until they have updated their information in VA.gov. We’re also working with schools, Veterans Service Organizations, and other relevant parties to make sure that Veterans meet the deadline. The easiest way for these Vets to make this change is to log on to VA.Gov/Change-Direct-Deposit. Importantly, not a single Veteran will miss a benefits payment of any type—even if they do not switch their accounts by the deadline. And for any students who do not consolidate their bank accounts for benefits by April 20th, VA will consolidate them on their behalf—electing their non-education benefit pay account as their primary bank account. We will ensure that every single Vet has access to the benefits they earned and deserve, and that no Veterans lose their education benefits as a result of these changes. So, my last ask—between now and April 20th, please, help us spread the word on this transition.

With that, I’ll end with something I said at your annual conference in Atlantic City, last summer. I said that the reason I come to these conventions is to hold myself—and all of VA—accountable to you. I said that if we at VA are not living up to the highest of standards, I want you to let me know. Because this work takes all of us. VA can’t—and doesn’t—keep our country’s promise to Vets alone. Partnerships like yours help us tackle some of our most pressing priorities on preventing Veteran suicide, ending Veteran homelessness, improving health care access, and more.

We cannot keep our promise to Vets without you. Because Vets trust DAV, they talk to you when something is not working the way it should. So your work helps us better understand what Veterans experienced in uniform, what they’re going through here at home, and how we can better help them, oftentimes bringing something to our attention that we did not know was happening.

We saw this in a prominent way last week, with DAV’s release of their report on women Veterans. This report was the result of hard work of Joy Ilem, Naomi Mathis, Elizabeth DePompei, and many other members of the DAV team. It detailed how VA can be better—how VA must be better—to support women Veterans’ mental health and to prevent suicide through gender-tailored care. Vets like Jennifer, whose story I told earlier. Her story—and the stories of several of her fellow sisters-in-arms—are included in last week’s report. Their stories—alongside the recommendations in DAV’s groundbreaking report—will make VA better, not just for women Veterans, but for all Veterans.

Jennifer says, “I have prayed to God for nearly 20 years for myself and for other Veterans, that the VA would hear us … that the right person would hear the right voice … to hold themselves accountable, to make the system better, and to do better for Veterans. Someone is finally listening.”

That’s because of you. You help us serve Veterans far better than we can alone. You make us better able to serve Vets by holding us to account. You and your work have a direct and positive impact on the lives of Vets. Jennifer said it best. I am blessed to see your inspiring work every single day. And I thank God for each and every one of you. We still can, and still must, be better—and do better—for the Veterans we serve. So, when you hear from a Vet who needs something—I want your first call to be to us. Together, we can solve any problem, big or small, 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, with Congress, and with the American people. Because America’s Vets deserve our very best, and we’ll never settle for anything less.

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