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CLINTON/GORE ON ISSUES OF CONCERN TO VETERANS
For decades Americans struggled and sacrificed to
defend freedom and democracy and to win the Cold
War. Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to
the soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and airwomen
whose talent and dedication led to our victory.
Bill Clinton and Al Gore have consistently
supported veterans. They deeply appreciate the
sacrifices of those who were called to serve our
country and fight for the ideals for which it
stands. Our veterans deserve the best we have.
A Clinton/Gore Administration will work to improve
health services at VA hospitals and preserve them
strictly for veterans. We must ensure that men and
women in the armed services and defense industries
have opportunities to shift their talents to the
civilian sector. Bill Clinton and Al Gore have
offered a detailed plan to utilize the talents and
energies of those who have served in the military
to meet many of our pressing needs at home in the
fields of medicine, education, law enforcement and
industrial technology.
The Clinton/Gore Plan
Health care
- Appoint a Secretary of Veterans Affairs who
understands the real problems facing veterans
and can go directly to the President to cut
through bureaucracy and improve services for
our veterans.
- Ensure the VA receives the funding it needs
to provide excellent, timely care to veterans
and oppose opening VA hospitals up to
non-veterans.
- Cut bureaucracy at the VA to decrease waiting
periods for outpatient services and to ensure
that benefits arrive on time.
- Ensure advance notification of any changes in
benefits packages and programs for disabled
veterans.
- Fund programs to deal with the common mental
health problems of veterans, such as
Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome.
Employment in a post-Cold War economy
- Gradually scale down our military forces by
shifting military personnel from active duty
to the National Guard and reserves and
gradually limit recruitment and reenlistment
efforts.
- Provide early retirement incentives, with a
pro-rated pension for military personnel with
15 to 20 years of service to encourage
voluntary down-sizing.
- Work with states to provide alternative
certification programs for military personnel
who retire to take jobs in critical
professions like education, health care or law
enforcement, and increase their military
credit by one year for each year of such
employment.
- Train military personnel for critical
civilian professions by allowing them to take
a one-year educational leave of absence with
pay before officially beginning their
retirement.
Taking care of our soldiers
- Expand Veterans Centers to help veterans,
their spouses, children and other family
members learn to deal with the scars of war.
- Assist homeless veterans by converting closed
military bases to homeless shelters, with
priority for veterans. These centers should
provide medical care, job training, and job
counseling.
- Make resolution of the POW/MIA issue a
national priority by insisting on a full
accounting of all POWs and MIAs before
normalizing relations with Vietnam; working
with the Russian government to reveal any
information it has on Americans held; and
declassifying pertinent government documents.
- Reevaluate the discharge process,
particularly as it affects Vietnam veterans
and the enforcement of the statute of
limitations.
The Record
Veterans affairs
- Under Bill Clinton, Arkansas has ranked first
nationwide three years in a row in per capita
veteran reimbursement by the U.S. Department
of Agriculture.
- Strongly supported the budgets and
initiatives of the Arkansas Department of
Veterans Affairs and Arkansas Veterans Home.
- Appointed directors who ensured the agency is
represented by strong veterans advocates;
these directors are valuable advisors on
Governor Clintons staff.
- The Governors Task Force on Veterans Affairs
ensures that all veterans have a voice in
issues that concern them.
- Governor Clinton has shown unwavering support
of the County Veterans Service Officer
program, the backbone of a statewide veterans
assistance program.
- Signed executive orders in 1983, 1989 and
1990 to ensure that there is a veterans
preference in state hiring.
- Senator Gore has opposed President Bush's
efforts to open VA hospitals to non-civilians.
He recently wrote a letter to President Bush
criticizing his inadequate funding for
veterans health.
- Opposed attempts to reduce the travel
allowance for veterans needing VA medical
care.
- Supported legislation to improve veterans'
health care with two cost-of-living increases
in service-connected disabilities and
compensation
- Supported the Agent Orange Act of 1991.
- Supported full funding for the Homeless
Veterans Reintegration Program, which is
tremendously successful at locating and
helping homeless veterans by teaching them
important job skills.
Honoring veterans
- Bill Clinton was the first donor to three
non-profit corporations established to expand
the three national cemeteries in Arkansas, two
of which were in imminent danger of closing.
- Strongly supported a bill to provide a
$25,000 state appropriation to each fund drive
and signed legislation into law.
National Guard and Reserve
- Authorized and supported the Arkansas
National Guard's deployment to overseas
locations for training purposes.
- Directed the formation of family support
groups in every location from which the 7,000
Arkansas Reserve and National Guard men and
women were deployed for active duty in Desert
Storm.
- Oversaw Operation Welcome Home , which was
the third largest troop appreciation parade in
the nation. Veterans of every conflict
participated in the parade.
- Formed the Arkansas POW/MIA Verification Task
Force to investigate the presently unknown
fates of 26 Arkansans. Governor Clinton
appointed members to the force based on their
record of involvement with veterans.