Monterey, CA : Veterans Administration New Leader Confirmed By The Senate

View From A Nonprofit Serving Senior Citizens In Carmel, Carmel Valley, Gonzalez, Greenfield, King City, Marina, Monterey, Pacific Grove, Pebble Beach, Salinas, Seaside And Soledad California

The Senate unanimously confirmed former Procter & Gamble CEO Robert McDonald to be the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs just a day after congressional leaders put together a $17 billion funding bill to help reform the agency and expand care.  The latest analysis by the Congressional Budget Office estimates the Senate bill which has already passed would cost $35 billion through 2016 in order to hire new doctors and make it easier for veterans who are unable to get an appointment quickly to arrange for outside care.  Although it's an enormous amount of money, it's clear that the agency needs modernization and reform to bring it into modern times.  "Secretary McDonald is inheriting a VA in crisis, but he also inherits a VA worth saving," John Stroud, commander of the Veterans of Foreign Wars told the Wall Street Journal.  I agree, although this is going to be a long struggle to fix it.

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