Economic, and military force for freedom and Human Dignity that the world has ever known. These are challenging times. I dont have to tell you that. Around the world, as well as here at home, you turn on the tv and we are saturated with heartbreaking images of war and senseless violence and terrorism and tragedy. It can be easy to grow cynical or give in to the sense that the future we seek is somehow beyond our reach. But as men and women who have been tested like few others, you should know better. You know that cynicism is not the character of a great nation. Even as we face, yes, the hard tests of our time, we should never lose sight of our progress as a people or the strength of our leadership in the world. Think about it, six years after the worst financial crisis since the great depression, in some ways the crisis at the potential of being worse than the great depression, thanks to the decisions we made to secure our economy, thanks to the determination of the American People, we are stronger at home. Our businesses have added nearly 10 million new jobs, the longest streak of private sector job creation in american history. Construction and housing are rebounding. Our Auto Industry and manufacturing are booming. Our High School Graduation rate is at a record high. More young people are earning College Degrees than ever before. Millions more americans now have quality Affordable Health care. We have cut the deficit by more than half. And now we have to sustain this momentum so more people share in the progress and the economy works for every working american. Just as we are stronger at home, the United States is better positioned to lead in the 21st century than any nation on earth. Not even close. We have the most powerful military in history. That is certainly not close. From europe to asia, our alliances are unrivaled, our economy is the most dynamic, we have the best workers and businesses and university and scientists. With the Domestic Energy revolution, including more renewable energy, we are more energy independent. Our technologies connect the world. Our freedoms and opportunities attract immigrants who yearn to breathe free. Our founding ideals inspire the oppressed across the globe to reach for their own liberty. That is who we are. That is what america is. And moreover, nobody else can do what we do. No other nation does more to underwrite the security and prosperity on which the world depends. In times of crisis, no other nation can rally such broad coalitions to stand up for International Norms and peace. In times of disaster, no other nation has the capability to deliver so much so quickly. No nation does more to help citizens claim their rights and build their democracies. No nation does more to help people on the far corners of the earth escape poverty and disease and realize their dignity. Even countries that criticize us when the chips are down, when they need help, they know who to call. They call us. That is what American Leadership looks like. That is why the United States is and will remain the one indispensable nation in the world. Now, sustaining our leadership, keeping america strong and secure, means we have to use our power wisely. History teaches us of the dangers of overreaching and spreading ourselves too thin, trying to go it alone without International Support or rushing into military adventures without thinking through the consequences. Nobody knows this better than our veterans and our families our veteran families. Because you are the ones who bear the wages of war. You are the ones who carry the scars. You know that we should never send our sons and daughters into harms way unless it is absolutely necessary and we have a plan and are resourcing and prepared to see it through. [applause] you know the United States has to lead with strength and confidence and wisdom. That is why after incredible sacrifice, by so many of our men and women in uniform, we removed more than 140,000 troops from iraq and welcome to those troops home. It was the right thing to do. It is why we refocus our efforts in afghanistan and went after al qaedas leadership in the tribal regions, driving the taliban out of its strongholds. In just 4 months, we will complete our combat mission in afghanistan and americas longest war will come to a responsible end. And we honor every american who served to make this progress possible. [applause] every single one, especially the more than 2200 american patriots who made the ultimate sacrifice in afghanistan to keep us safe. And now, as afghans continue to work towards the first democratic transfer of power in the history, afghan leaders need to make the hard compromises that are necessary to give the Afghan People a future of security and progress. As we go forward, we will continue to partner with afghans so their country can never again be used to launch attacks against the United States. [applause] as i have always made clear, the blows we have struck against al qaedas leadership dont mean the end to the terrorist threat. Al qaeda affiliates still target our homeland. We have seen that in yemen. Other extremists threaten our citizens abroad, as we have seen most recently in iraq and syria. As commanderinchief, the security of the American People is my highest priority, and that is why with the brutal terrorist group isil advancing in iraq, i have authorized targeted strikes to protect our diplomats and military advisors who are there. Let me say it again [applause] american combat troops will not be returning to fight in iraq, well not allow the United States to be dragged back into another ground war in iraq, is ultimately it is up to the iraqis to bridge their differences and secure themselves. [applause] the limited strikes we are conducting have the necessary to protect our people, and that helped iraqi forces pushed back these terrorists. We have also been able to rescue thousands of men and women and children who are trapped on the mountain. Our airdrops of food and water and Medicine ShowAmerican Leadership at our best, and we salute the brave pilots and crews who are making us proud in the skies of iraq every single day. [applause] more broadly, the crisis in iraq underscores how we have to meet todays evolving terrorist threat, and the answer is not to send in largescale military deployments that overstretch our military and lead to us occupying countries for a long period of time and end up feeding extremism. Rather, our military action in iraq has to be part of a broader strategy to protect our people and support our partners to take the fight to isil. We are strengthening our partners more military assistance to government and Kurdish Forces in iraq and moderate opposition in syria. We are urging iraqis to forge the kind of inclusive government that can ultimately be the antidote against terrorists. We are urging countries in the region and building an international coalition, including our closest allies, to support iraqis as they take the fight to these barbaric terrorists. Today our prayers are with the foley family in New Hampshire as they continue to grieve the brutal murder of their son and brother jim. Our message to anyone who harms the American People is simple america does not forget, our reach is long, we are patient, justice will be done, we have proved time and time again that we will do what is necessary to and well take direct action when needed to defend our omeland and rooting out a cancer like isis wont be easy or quick. Tyrants and murders before them should recognize that kind hateful vision is no watch for the strength and hopes of together for nd the security and dignity and freedom that is the birthright every human being. Even as our war in afghanistan omes to an end well stay vigilant. As todays generation of service us safe and as they come home we have to meet our responsibilities to them they do to america. [applause] so when i was here at the legend years ago, i said said the forcesr between or have has to be sacred and its not just a matter of policy, it a moral obligation. Orking together we have made real progress. It. K about ledge on, weve benefits to make v. A. Available to more than 2 million ore veterans who didnt have more ve e including vietnam vet exposed to agent orange. We helped more pursue education under the post g. I. Bill and other groups have said, once get in the door, the care you receive from the v. A. Very good. The specialized care is among of many st in the world and of the hard working folks at the v. A. Are veterans themselves. Veterans. Erving and we can never thank them work. For their good is what weve come to learn that the misconduct weve seen facilities with long wait times and veterans denied care and folks cooking the books is outrageous and in excusable. Applause] as soon as it was disclosed i the American People and i said, we would not and we will not. And i know the legion has been helping ontline veterans who have been affected. And i know bob is going to give update on the actions that were taking. Ut what i want you to know and directly from me is that were focused on this at the highest levels. Going to get to the bottom of these problems and fix right by ong and do you and right by your families nd that is a solid pledge and commitment that im making to you here. [applause] were making for those who are responsible are eld accountable and reaching out to veterans more than a off er million to get them wait lists and into clinic and reforms at theith Veterans Health administration i signedget that done, nto law the veterans access choice and accountability act which hires more doctors, nurses and staff and if you live more han a v. A. Facility or your v. A. Doctors cant see you fast enough well help you go to a the v. A and e instituting a good culture of accountability. Bob doesnt play. A cadet to recall prayer from west point which of all of he ethos us. Choose the harder right in said wrong. Easier the authority they can them. If you cover up a serious problem you should be and willing fired. By the way if you blow the ups, because her youve identified a legitimate problem you shouldnt be should be ou protected. [applause] my bottom line is this, that e all the good work the v. A. Does every day and progress that weve made over the last several we are very cleareyed about the problems that are still there and those problems us to regain the trust of our veterans and live up to v. A. That is a more effective and more efficient and that truly puts first. S and i will not be satisfied until that happens. Applause] and were in the midst of a new wave of veterans. 1 million Service Members returning to civilian to do more to uphold the sacred trust, not ust this year or next year but for decades to come. Well have to stay focused on the five priorities that i year. Ed last i want to reiterate them for you just so you know what it is that were committing to. Number one, we need to make sure resources s have the you deserve and the new funding passed with the help of the senators, that helps. Its not enough. Given these tough fiscal times ve increased the veteran funding next year and ill continue to resift to exploit to it into a voucher system. We dont need vouchers. That ed v. A. Healthcare you earned and can depend on. System work. Ke the second, we need to make sure veterans are actually getting healthcare you need when you need it. Reforming the v. H. A. And more and staff is a good step, but with this new wave of we need to deliver the care that they need most and is the tailored care and it to help it means doing more to help veterans here all wars who are with traumatic brain injury and we have to end this our dy of suicide among troops and veterans. We cant stand deally by on such tragedy so were doing even more. More than evermore awareness and access toach and more Mental Healthcare. So long as any Service Member or veteran is suffering or feel like they have nowhere to turn they snt get the support need, that means we havent done enough. Know we need to do more. For it and we eard you and which today im announcing 19 executive actions mental approve healthcare for those and their family. One example, were expanding Suicide Prevention training. So colleagues and clinicians can spot the warning signs and our veterans to seek help. Ell improve access to care with more peer support. Eterans counseling veterans at v. A. Hospitals and clinics. Ensure we get coverage that par for other medical conditions and make it easier continue e members to their care as they transition to the v. A. So automatically with the support they need making sure they dont ose access to any medications they may be taking. Well be most of all, keep saying loud and clear to anyone out there who is hurting, it is not a sign of weakness to ask for help. It is a sign of strength. And pick up the phone. You are not alone. We are here for you and every american needs to know if you someone in why uniform or a veteran who is struggling reach help. D help them to get they were there for america, we need to be there for them. Since its peak last year we slashed it by more than 50 . Have been a surgeons back log because of an innumber of veterans and we hoped it up ptsd and agenthad symptoms. Sure they get ke processed right. So well keep at this until we backlog once and for ll and as we do, well keep working to liberate you from those mountains of paper. Eve got to move towards a paperless system, Electronic Health records that they can down on life and cut some of the bureaucratic red tape so you can get the benefits earned faster. Umber four, we need to uphold the dignity and rights of every veteran and that includes ending the tragedy of homelessness among veterans. Again, weve got good news to report. Ableng together weve been to reduce the number of Homeless Veterans by 1 3 and that means night there are the 0 fewer veterans on streets or shelters. But we wont stop until every americawho has defended has a home in america. Thats a basic commitment that have to uphold. And finally we need to make sure troops and veterans have pursue the unity to American Dream, that includes a of of their own. To reduced tled rates. So today were turning that announcing a new partnership in which some of banks and iggest Financial Institutions will implify the process and pro actively notify Service Members and make it easy to enroll. To ther words, were going help more of our troops and military families own their own a crushing debt. Were also going to keep helping to troops transition civilian life. Because the work weve done a ether if you already have military Truck Drivers license, every state now waves the skills so its saidier for you to drivers mercial license. And well keep pushing more states to recognize the training skills and of of our veterans. If you could do a job in a war if youre a medic in it a war zone you shouldnt have to to work in ang 101 hospital here in the United States. If you can handle Million Dollar equipment in a war zone, that should count for in getting certified back here at home. If you can do the kinds of jobs done in the u have most extreme circumstances, im pretty confident you can do that right here at home. To help our troops and veterans pursue their education we worked Loan Services to automatically cap Interest Rates n Student Loans to our Service Members at 6 . For veterans going back to post 9 11 g. I. So far about 6,000 colleges and universities promising to do right by our veterans and more than a thousand colleges and adopted our have eight keys to make sure theyre veterans and g helping them succeed on campus. By the way, every school in them. Ca should join you should be proud if youre educating a veteran and should doing right by them. And well keep helping our veterans finding those private jobs worthy of your incredible talents. Joining with states and local leaders to identify nearly wo dozen cities and regions with the most opportunities for veterans. Michelle and dr. Joe biden leading the call, American Forces to are joining hire or train veterans and spouses. More than half a million so far growing. Veterans unemployment is going down and now actually lower than average. Onal it was higher to begin with and we have been driving it down but more to go. A post 9 11 r veterans. If you want someone who can get no matter what the veteran, hire a vet. So, fixing whats broken at the. A. And ensuring the resources you deserve. Delivering the healthcare that youve earned. The backlog, standing up for your rights and you realize elping he American Dream that you so honorably defended. These are our commitments to you. This is what were focused on. We can do together. Especially as our war in end and an comes to an we welcome home or newest veterans. Them here lot of tonight. E salute scott miller of indiana, a proud hoosier and a proud marine. N afghanistan he went out on travelling to ls remote villages and meeting with tribal elders and building forging partnerships to push back insurgents and here he continues to serve by encouraging businesses across america to give back to the oferans who defended our way life and make our prosperity possible. So thank you, scott. Where is scott here today . Were proud of him. There he is. Applause] salute Master Sergeant greensboro, er of north carolina. Medivac sergeant of her unit helped saved the lives of warriors when life hung in the balance and here at he legion she continues to serve helping homeless come in off the streets and begin their roof over their heads. Thank you, carroll. Carroll . Grew ute sergeant joe who up just outside new york city after his hometown was attacked 9 11. He left his civilian job and joined the army. Afghanistan. R in he spent most of his time on the degree ine in the 120 heat supplying helicopter crews. Serve e he continues to helping veterans complete claims. Ty he says some things are worth fighting for. Worth fighting for. Thank you, joe. You. E proud of scott, carroll, joe, theyre patriots here today who served in afghanistan and iraq. Of our post sk all 9 11 generation vet vans to able and accept he thanks of a grateful nation i ask me men and woman to stand because the American People have know even when the war comes o an end the obligation to these veterans only just gun and this it cant be the work of veteran groups alone. Americans to do it. All the people who served in fghanistan and iraq, were you. Eful for this is not just a job of veterans and the organizations. Every american needs to join us who have care of those taken care of us. Of americans may be fighting our wars. 100 of americans benefit from that 1 . 100 need to be supporting our troops. 100 need to be supporting our veterans. Our need to be supporting families. And everybody can do something. Every american, every business, professional, every school, every community. All of us as one american team, thats how we will truly honor our veterans and thats how we will truly say thank you. Thats how we will uphold the all who servedth in our name. God bless you. Veterans. Our god bless the United States of america. Very much. [applause] patriotic music now remarks from veterans in charlotte, north carolina. Minutes. Good afternoon, everyone. Its a pleasure to be here with charlotte and a true privilege to hear president obamas remarks earlier. I deeply eye appreciate his confidence in me providing me the opportunity to erve at the v. A. President obamas presence here support of the v. A. Over the past 6. 5 years and the eadership he demonstrated in driving greater support and opportunities for veterans are of his strong and unwavering support of veterans. Once again hes taken the lead in calling on the elimination of backlog. The ending of veterans moreessness and better and substantial Mental Healthcare encouraging and companies to seek employees and increasing opportunities and recruiting medical professionals to better serve our nations veterans. Your counsel is important to me. I welcome your advice and how to reinforce the time honored covenant between america and our veterans. The v. A. Owes its existence in legion. The american you lobbied for the creation of bureau in 1921 and fought long and hard to see that first in ome administration in 1930 and then Level Department in 1989. Accomplishments on behalf of veterans are legendary. Past National Commander wrote the first draft of the g. I. Bill before Congress Passed the g. I. Bill and two wave of ore the First World War ii veterans returned home. Pass the e effort to post 9 11 g. I. Bill. Volunteers your donate millions of hours, program. The service your Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation Commission provides assistance to veterans families to make sure they receive the benefits they deserve. And the myriad of other legion et veterans of all generations. Your devotion to veterans isnt lost on me and i want to assure contributions to the v. A. Reform discussions have been of great help. That sort of on going give and take ill be vital as we steps to right the wrongs that have occurred and importantly to the department and come. Ition it for years to no question this is a critical moment for the v. A. E have a lot of work to do to resolve the challenges were facing. Before my confirmation hearing i met with eaders and many members of congress. Again and again i was asked why want to be the secretary of Veterans Affairs . Them and i i told believe this strongly to the bottom of my heart. Higher calling in americas serving veterans. I see the leadership of the v. A. S a great opportunity to improve the lives of the men and woman i care deeply about. More than professional. Personal. s very military me from families. Andas shot down over europe survived the hardships of being a prisoner of war. Father served in the army air world war ii. Both our fathers were educated the g. I. Bill. Exposed to agent orange multiple times and today he eceives care from the v. A. And right now right now as i nephew who is a pilot in the air force is flying the middle east. I tkpwra the United States 1975 ry academy along in with a great friend of mine of many, many years. West point and hen my service as an Airborne Ranger in the 82nd Airborne Division instilled in me a duty to sense of country. Four decades later, the words of which president obama referred to earlier, still guide helped me choose the harder right rather than the easier wrong. Experience at the proctor and Gamble Company a great deal about Strong Company values and about great i believe i can use those Lessons Learned to help change and move forward the v. A. Unlike png, v. A. Might not be concerned by quarterly loss statements or shareholder value, but the v. A. Does have a bottom line, and that bottom line is care for veterans. [applause] v. A. Is in the important business of making positive difference in their lives. And im here to promise you to the that the v. A. Will go beyond its present difficulties and be stronger for it. There are two reasons for that. Mission and values. First, v. A. Has a great mission. It doesnt matter whether you are a gs one or senior executive, Everyone Wants to have a clear purpose for coming to work every single day. There are fewer clearer or more inspiring missions than caring for those who are bearing the battle for our nation. Even with just a few weeks on the job, there is no doubt in my mind that the vast majority of v. A. Employees, many of them veterans themselves, come to work every single day with a strong passion and an Even Stronger sense of purpose. They take great pride in what they do, and importantly, who they do it for. And from what ive seen and from what ive heard, i cannot overstate their enthusiasm for being part of the solution to our current problems. Overwhelmingly, their dedication to the veterans is over 100 . Second, v. A. Has strong institutional values. Those missioncritical ideals and attitudes that profoundly influenced our day to day behavior and performance. Integrity, commitment, advocacy, respect, and excellence, all taken together to spell the acronym i. C. A. R. E. And that is why i wear this button. On my first day at secretary, i asked all of the employees to recommit to these core values. And i have directed the leaders to do the same for the people who work for them. As we tackle v. A. Specific problems, our values cultivate a climate where no one understands what the right thing is and then does it. Said another way, v. A. s way of doing business must conform to how we expect employees to treat veterans and how we expect employees to treat one another. Those expectations extend to how people behave on the job, and how they behave when no one is looking. Its clear that somewhere along the way, some peoples behavior was at odds with v. A. s mission and core values. The result was seen in the stark difference between receiving care, lets say, one of our highest performing locations, like the Medical Center not far from here in columbia, south carolina, and until recently, phoenix. That said, i dont think we can lose sight of the fact that it was in phoenix and elsewhere that met that employees had the moral courage to the right thing, to take a stand, to make sure that their voices were heard about what they saw happening that was going wrong. Those employees are an example of icare at its very best. I just mentioned columbia a moment ago. I think it is important to note that last year, the joint commission, which credits and Certified HealthCare Organizations all over the country named the William Jennings bryan dorm and Medical Center there in columbia, and 31 other v. A. Hospitals to its top performers list in the annual review of patient care. This recognition goes back to my earlier comment that the vast majority of v. A. Employees are 100 committed to veterans and to the highest standards in care. At columbia, and that v. A. Facilities across the country, veterans always come first. I dont think we should overlook that fact. At the procter Gamble Company, the most important metric for its most more than 120,000 employees is customer satisfaction. Its the most important metric for any organization, public or private. For v. A. , that means veteran satisfaction. Our Strategic Land says it clearly. V. A. Of the Customer Service organization. We serve veterans. And despite how well we and it is how well we serve those veterans that ultimately defines the organization. The truth of the matter is, we have to do better, much better. Right now, its up to the department to reaffirm and regain veteran trust. Over the past few months, we have been forced to take a hard look at ourselves through the eyes of a veteran, and through their experiences, good, bad, and indifferent. I think one of the lessons i learned is that we have to be truly veteran focused. We need to continuously measure our performance not just when things go wrong, but also when things go right. It is a 247, 365day a year each job and that is what we intend to do. Right now, we are listening hard to what veterans, employees, congress, vsos, and other stakeholders are telling us. A somewhat ive heard, we are in the process of rapidly developing and instituting an array of changing changes aimed at fixing this problem in the areas of initiatives, leadership, and resources. Heres what we are doing to address these challenges. First, process initiatives. We have reached out to over 266,000 veterans to get them off of a waitlist and into the clinic sooner. In just the last two months, we have made almost 912,000 referrals for veterans to receive care in the private sector. The number of people waiting for appointment has declined by 57 since may 15 of this year. Facilities are adding more clinic hours. We are recruiting to fill vacant divisions positions. We are deploying medical units that are mobile. And we are staffing to provide care to veterans more quickly. We are updating the appointment scheduling system with a short term enhancement until we replace it entirely with the stateoftheart commercial offtheshelf system. We are contracting with outside organizations to conduct a comprehensive, independent audit of the vha scheduling practices. We have directed every center and sector to assess scheduling practices and identify obstacles to timely care. So far, we have conducted over 2300 of these visits. I spoke earlier about the importance of customer satisfaction. Right now, we are building a more robust system for measuring veteran satisfaction. It will capture realtime, sitespecific information on a continuous basis, and it will incorporate social media and online input as well. We will also be reaching out to leading Health Care Systems to see what they are doing to attract Patient Access experiences. The 14day access measure has been removed from all individual employee performance plans, to illuminate any motive for inappropriate scheduling practices or behaviors. To eliminate any motive for inappropriate scheduling practices or behaviors. We have direct access to facilities who need the most improvement. There is a team on the ground in phoenix where we have taken the action on all of the recommendations made in the igs may interim report. Until we get our systems up to capacity, we are expanding the use of private sector care. At the same time, we are better monitoring closely to ensure veterans receive the quality care they deserve, whether in v. A. Or outside v. A. [applause] second, leadership challenges. Too many leaders fail to take ownership of the problems facing