Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare system in a 10-point reform plan presented Monday at a speech in Virginia Beach, Va.
"The VA scandals that have occurred on this Administration's watch are widespread and inexcusable," Mr. Trump said, listing a handful of examples that occurred at the VA in recent years.
His 10-step plan includes bolstering mental health resources for veterans, reforming visa programs for veterans and creating a White House Hotline for VA complaints. He promised that every valid complaint would be addressed, or "I will pick up the phone and fix it myself, if need be."
Mr. Trump also said he would appoint a VA secretary whose "sole mandate will be to serve our veterans" and would push for legislation in Congress to give the VA secretary the authority to remove or discipline employees who put veterans' health at risk. He also proposed an investigation into wrongdoing at the VA and promised to remove and discipline employees who "fail our veterans or breach the public trust."
"We are going to ensure every veteran in America has the choice to seek care at the VA, or to seek private medical care paid for by our government," Mr. Trump concluded in his tenth point. "Never again will we allow a veteran to suffer or die waiting for the care they so richly deserve."
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