Interagency Council on Homelessness Meets

The United States Interagency Council on Homelessness (USICH) met today for the first time under the Obama Administration. U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki chaired the meeting, at which U.S. Housing and Urban Development Secretary Shaun Donovan was elected rotating Chair for the upcoming year and U.S. Labor Secretary Hilda Solis was elected Vice Chair. U.S. Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius and Melody Barnes, Director of the White House Domestic Policy Council, attended the meeting.

The mission of the USICH is to coordinate the federal response to homelessness and to create a national partnership with every level of government and the private sector to address homelessness in the nation.

“It is simply unacceptable for individuals, children, families, and our nation’s Veterans to be faced with homelessness in this country,” said President Obama. “I am confident that the Interagency Council on Homelessness, under Secretary Donovan’s leadership, will have a renewed focus on coordinating efforts across federal agencies and working closely with our state, local, community-based, and faith-based partners to address these serious issues.”

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President Obama’s 2010 Spending Plan Initiates Transformation for VA Services

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs today announced President Obama’s 2010 budget for VA. The budget emphasizes a Veteran-centric commitment to expanded services with a 15.5 percent increase over 2009, the largest percentage increase for VA requested by a president in more than 30 years.

“Our 2010 budget represents the President’s vision for how VA will transform into a 21st Century organization that is Veteran-centric, results-driven, and forward-looking,” Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki said. “This transformation is demanded by new times, new technologies, new demographic realities, and new commitments to today’s Veterans. It requires a comprehensive review of the fundamentals in every line of operation the Department performs. We must be sure that valuable taxpayer dollars are invested in programs that work for our Veterans.”

The centerpiece of the $112.8 billion VA budget proposal is a dramatic increase in Veteran health care funding, with an 11 percent increase over the current year’s funding (excluding one-time Recovery Act funds).

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Open Letter to Veterans from Sec. Shinseki

My name is Ric Shinseki, and I am a Veteran. For me, serving as Secretary of Veterans Affairs is a noble calling. It provides me the opportunity to give back to those who served with and for me during my 38 years in uniform and those on whose shoulders we all stood as we grew up in the profession of arms.

The Department of Veterans Affairs has a solemn responsibility to all of you, today and in the future, as more Veterans join our ranks and enroll to secure the benefits and services they have earned. I am fully committed to fulfilling President Obama’s vision for transforming our department so that it will be well-positioned to perform this duty even better during the 21st Century. We welcome the assistance and advice of our Veterans Service Organizations, other government departments and agencies, Congress, and all VA stakeholders as we move forward, ethically and transparently, so that Veterans and citizens can understand our efforts.

Creating that vision for transforming the VA into a 21st Century organization requires a comprehensive review of our department. We approach that review understanding that Veterans are central to everything VA does. We know that results count, that the department will be measured by what we do, not what we promise, and that our best days as an organization supporting Veterans are ahead of us. We will fulfill President Lincoln’s charge to care for “. . . him, who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan . . .” by redesigning and reengineering ourselves for the future.

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President’s 2010 Budget Request Strongly Supports VA Programs; Funding Plan Improves Access, Modernizes Technology

President Obama’s first proposed budget for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) expands eligibility for health care to an additional 500,000 deserving Veterans over the next five years, meets the need for continued growth in programs for the combat Veterans of Iraq and Afghanistan, and provides the resources to deliver quality health care for the Nation’s 5.5 million Veteran patients.

The 2010 budget request is a significant step toward realizing a vision shared by the President and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki to transform VA into an organization that is people-centric, results-driven and forward-looking.

“Our success must encompass cost-effectiveness,” Shinseki said. “We are stewards of taxpayer dollars, and we will include appropriate metrics to accurately gauge the quality of our care and the effectiveness of our management processes.”

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American Federation of Government Employees Congratulates Shinseki

The American Federation of Government Employees (AFGE) and its 150,000 members in the VA are eager to work with the secretary to meet the many challenges facing the department, said the organization in a press release today.

The VA currently provides health care for 5.5 million veterans, processes disability compensation payments for 3.4 million veterans, and must process the educational and training benefits for those covered by the G.I. bill.

As Secretary Shinseki mentioned in his opening remarks during his Senate confirmation hearing the great challenge of the department will be to turn the VA into a 21st century system. “The VA is facing challenges on all sides, but it is a new day,” said J. David Cox, AFGE national-secretary treasurer.

“The federal employees of the VA have been waiting for someone with the type of courage and strength of character that General Shinseki has shown throughout his career; to say we are excited is an understatement.”

AFGE National Secretary-Treasurer, J. David Cox, spoke briefly with General Shinseki after his confirmation hearing, letting him know that the union is eager to work with him as a partner in meeting our veterans’ needs.

AFGE is the largest federal employee union, representing 600,000 workers in the federal government and the government of the District of Columbia.

Shinseki Sworn In, Vows 21st Century Service to Veterans

Retired Army Gen. Eric K. Shinseki took the oath of office today as the Nation’s seventh Secretary of Veterans Affairs, assuming the leadership of the Department of Veterans Affairs following Tuesday’s confirmation by the Senate.

“The overriding challenge I am addressing from my first day in office is to make the Department of Veterans Affairs a 21st century organization focused on the Nation’s Veterans as its clients,” Shinseki said.

Shinseki plans to develop a 2010 budget within his first 90 days that realizes the vision of President Obama to transform VA into an organization that is people-centric, results-driven and forward-looking.

Key issues on his agenda include smooth activation of an enhanced GI Bill education benefit that eligible Veterans can begin using next fall, streamlining the disability claims system, leveraging information technology to accelerate and modernize services, and opening VA’s health care system to Veterans previously unable to enroll in it, while facilitating access for returning Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans.

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House VA Committee Chair Applauds Shinseki

“Today’s inauguration of Barack Obama as President brings me hope for the future of America’s veterans. I believe the confirmation of General Eric Shinseki as Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs goes a long way in restoring confidence in the VA,” said House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Bob Filner (D-CA) in a statement released today.

“Confidence in an agency must be earned, and will only come when there is accountability, transparency, and results. Over the years, little by little, veterans have lost faith in the VA. Now we need to reinvest in our veterans and prove to them that we will fight for them just like they fought for us.

“Throughout Secretary Shinseki’s long and distinguished career in the Army, he produced real results and proved that his character is of the highest caliber. I am certain that he understands the hard work and dedication necessary to make VA stand for ‘Veterans Advocate,’ instead of what many believe the VA has become – ‘Veterans Adversary.’

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