Moulton Releases Plan to Care for District and Nation's Veterans

Press Release

Today, at Salem State University and before more than 50 people, Seth Moulton, Marine veteran and Democratic candidate for Congress in Massachusetts' 6th Congressional District, and leading military experts from the district and state talked about steps Congress can take to improve health care and opportunities for our nation's veterans. Moulton released his plan, Caring for our Veterans, which he will champion Congress.

"Congress is failing our veterans," said Moulton. "As a veteran who gets my health care from the VA, I see it firsthand. We have never had fewer veterans in Congress in our nation's history, so it's not surprising that so few Members of Congress understand the urgency of the problem. I will not rest until Congress addresses the systemic problems with veterans care and gives our veterans the quality of care they have earned and deserve."

Moulton's plan consists of two priorities:

1. Improve VA health care access and quality, especially for those suffering from post-traumatic stress (PTS), by dramatically increasing funding for mental health care and streamlining the VA claims approval process.

2. Expand opportunities in the GI Bill to include increased civilian job training and homelessness initiatives.

Joining Moulton at the summit was GEN David McKiernan (Ret.), Commander, International Security Assistance Force; Joy Cumming, the Executive Secretary at the Massachusetts VFW; Molly Simmons, Ph.D. in veterans affairs; and Peter Ickes, Senior Partner at the Silver Park Group and a leader in the effort to create job opportunities for veterans.

"The United States has been at war for more than a decade," said Simmons. "We are fortunate that brave men and women have volunteered to fight on the behalf of all Americans, and we owe it to them to care for them when they return home. More needs to be done in particular to provide them with the medical care they need and deserve. It is embarrassing that thousands of veterans are still waiting for services they were promised when they joined the service."

"Returning service men and women to healthy productivity in the civilian economy is far too challenging," said Ickes. "Even though their proven technical, collaborative and leadership skills should be in high demand as businesses everywhere are seeking to reignite growth. Better exchanges of mutual understanding is key to releasing the value of military training and experience to help American businesses innovate and grow. The good news -- such an exchange is now practical, useful and economic."

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