Romney Campaign Press Release - Mitt Romney's Strategy For Restoring Faith With Our Veterans

Mitt Romney addressed the VFW National Convention today at the Reno-Sparks Convention Center in Reno, Nevada. Below is his strategy to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs and restore faith with our veterans.

Restore Faith With Our Veterans

As president, Mitt Romney will implement reforms to the Department of Veterans Affairs to restore faith with our veterans. The system has struggled to keep up with the needs of our returning warriors. Since 2008, the backlog for disability benefit claims has doubled, veteran suicide rates have sharply increased, and the unemployment rate for returning veterans remains high above the national average.

Get Veterans Working Again

Mitt Romney will unleash the American economy to grow again and create well-paying jobs. He will cut taxes, lift job-killing regulations, and slash debt to encourage job creators to invest and grow their businesses. He will reverse President Obama's defense cuts that could force 200,000 troops out of the service. With the unemployment rate for returning veterans at unacceptable levels, it is vital that veterans aren't sent from the front lines to the unemployment lines.

Make the System Work

Governor Romney will not allow an entire generation of veterans to lose faith with the VA. Because veterans strongly prefer to receive care within the VA system, focus will be directed toward improving and strengthening that system.

Modernize the VA 

• Mitt Romney will reduce the backlog of benefits claims by eliminating unnecessary bureaucracy, implementing a reliable electronic claims processing system, and ensuring that the VA is able to handle the more complex claims arising from the post-9/11 wars.

Simplify Claims for Common Injuries

• For disability claims that require less documentation to prove injuries, an expedited application process for disabilities commonly incurred or aggravated by military personnel should be created.

Make World-Class Health Care Available To All Veterans Who Need It

• Mitt Romney will expand the footprint of the VA health system to reach more of the 41 percent of veterans that live in rural areas and speed the availability of Internet-based consultations, tele-homecare, and tele-monitoring. He will ensure that the VA health system can meet the unique needs of veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan with debilitating injuries.

Reverse Obama-Era Defense Cuts

President Obama signed legislation that cut half a trillion from the military, while submitting a budget request that grew nearly every other federal agency. Mitt Romney will prioritize restoring, preserving, and protecting the proud Armed Forces that our veterans built. That means reversing cuts that could:

• Force thousands of troops out of uniform and onto an overburdened Department of Veteran Affairs.
• Degrade training, equipment, and leadership needed by our deployed forces in Afghanistan.
• Shrink the military to the smallest Navy since 1916, the smallest Army since 1940, and the smallest Air Force in our history.

Make National Defense and Veterans A Top Priority

President Obama's first term was marked by significant cuts to our wartime military, but expansive growth to the rest of the government. Mitt Romney believes that keeping the American people safe from harm is our Republic's most sacred responsibility. Defense and veteran spending is less than 20% of the federal spending, but has absorbed over 50% of deficit reduction efforts to date. Governor Romney will rebuild, revitalize, and restore a military that has been worn ragged by ten years of war and systemic budget cuts. Mitt Romney will:

• Put our Navy on the path to increase its shipbuilding rate from nine per year to approximately fifteen per year and maintain a fleet of 11 aircraft carriers.
• Modernize and replace the aging inventories of the Air Force, Army, and Marines, and selectively strengthen our force structure.
• Add 100,000 active duty troops.
• In the first 100 days, begin reversing Obama-era cuts to missile defense and commit to a robust multi-layered national ballistic-missile defense system to deter and defend against nuclear attacks on our homeland and our allies.