Obama Speaks on Veteran Healthcare and Executive Pay

President Obama to Sign Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act into Law

Washington, DC - On Thursday, October 22, at 2:15 pm EST, the President will sign into law the Veterans Health Care Budget Reform and Transparency Act, which guarantees a timely and predictable flow of funding for Department of Veterans Affairs medical care. He will deliver brief remarks and be joined by Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki, Members of Congress, and leaders from various Veterans Service Organizations in the East Room Ceremony.

What the legislation does:

-- This legislation will provide timely, predictable funding for veterans' health care by requiring Congress to approve a health care budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) at least one year in advance.
-- It removes partisanship and politics from the veterans funding process forever.
-- It has been a top priority for leading veterans groups for decades.
-- This will help to end inadequate planning and rationed care in the VA health care system.
-- This critical legislation was IAVA's top Legislative Priority for 2009 and the focus of our annual 'Storm the Hill' campaign at the start of the year. Veterans from all over the country worked for ten months to make this happen. reuters