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 The president was embarrassed earlier this year when it was
revealed that the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) had been
covering up lengthy delays in providing healthcare to former
military personnel.
Obama, speaking at the American Legion's national convention in
Charlotte, North Carolina, announced steps to improve availability
of mental health care for military personnel as they move to
civilian life and expanded research into post-traumatic stress
disorder and suicide. He said efforts to improve veterans'
healthcare would continue.
"Misconduct we’ve seen at too many facilities with long wait times
and folks cooking the books is outrageous and inexcusable," he said.
"What I want you to know directly from me, is we are going to get to
the bottom of these problems, we are going to fix what is wrong, we
are going to do right by your families."
The president also said that banks, including Wells Fargo & Co
<WFC.N>, Bank of America Corp <BAC.N> and Quicken Loans, were taking
steps to make it easier for members of the military to obtain lower
interest rates on their mortgages.
"We’re going to help more of our military troops and their families
own their own home without a crushing debt," Obama said.
The White House said the initiative, in which mortgage servicers
will actively seek out people eligible for lower rates rather than
waiting for applicants, will help tens of thousands of military
families save money.
On a $200,000 mortgage, an interest rate reduction of 1 percentage
point would result in over $1,500 a year in savings, White House
National Economic Council director Jeffrey Zients said.
Obama had campaigned on a pledge to improve services for the surge
of veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan and the
Veterans Affairs scandal undermined public confidence in him.
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The VA scandal broke last spring. As a result, Eric Shinseki
resigned as head of the agency. Earlier this month, Obama signed a
$16.3 billion bill to provide veterans with more timely medical care
and fix problems in the VA.
The president drew applause from the American Legion audience when
he repeated his pledge not to involve U.S. ground troops in Iraq to
combat Islamic State militants.
The location of the speech, North Carolina, also has relevance for
Obama because the state’s incumbent Democratic senator, Kay Hagan,
is in a tight race against her conservative Republican challenger,
Thom Tillis.
The president hopes to retain Democratic control of the U.S. Senate
in the November election, improving his chances of moving forward on
his agenda in his final two years in office. However, most polls
show Republican winning the six new seats necessary to gain a
majority in the upper house of the legislature.
But Obama is unpopular in the Tar Heel State, and Hagan has sought
to distance herself from him. She recently criticized him for not
doing enough to help veterans in North Carolina.
(Reporting By Mark Felsenthal; Editing by Jonathan Oatis)
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