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Obama Signs Historic Legislation for Veterans Health Care, IAVA Attends White House Signing
October 22, 2009Paul Rieckhoff, Founder and Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA) quotes:
"Today, the President's signature transformed VA care for America's veterans forever. At the signing, I witnessed the President put an end to the rationing of care for our country's veterans, even when Congress fails to deliver the VA budget on time. This is a historic investment in the future of veterans' health care that will benefit millions of American heroes. With this legislation, politics can no longer stand in the way of VA funding and VA Secretary Shinseki is more effectively set up for success. Just two weeks ago the Senate failed to pass the VA budget for the twentieth time in twenty-three years. This failure further illustrates the need for advanced appropriations; as the VA cannot count on Congress to pass their budget on time. Veterans deserve better than late budgets and month-to-month planning. Advance Funding has been the goal of veteran service organizations for over two decades. Working together, we were able to achieve this landmark legislation. IAVA thanks the President for his leadership and Congress for their continued support of this issue for our nation's veterans." Full release.