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Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans Respond on President Obama's 100th Day in Office
Posted by Michelle McCarthy on April 29 2009

Today, Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director and Founder of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the nation's first and largest nonpartisan organization for veterans of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, issued the following review of President Obama's commitment to veterans' issues in his first 100 days in office:

“Overall, it has been a solid 100 days. Though the third-party billing issue set the Administration off to a rough start, they quickly recovered and responded well. Since, President Obama has taken significant action on three of the top issues facing America’s veterans.  His budget request increases VA funding by 15% this year and by $25 billion over the next five years.  The President also reiterated his support for advance appropriations for veterans’ health care and announced plans to streamline troops’ transition from the military to the VA. The Administration has been listening to veterans priorities and deserves real credit for meeting with IAVA and the leaders of other VSOs twice in his first hundred days ,” said IAVA Executive Director Paul Rieckhoff. “These are three huge steps forward. But there is still much more to do.  Veterans’ invisible wounds, like Post Traumatic Stress Disorder and Traumatic Brain Injury, are not going away. And, as hundreds of thousands of veterans return from Iraq to an economy in turmoil, the Administration must show strong leadership to address the growing veterans’ unemployment and homelessness crisis.”

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