Originally Posted by Guest

First of all Sir-- thank you for your service . Second there is just no excuse for the experience you had with the VA long ago and apparently many Vets are dealing with today .
Sadly you are 100% correct the Gvt can not run anything effiecienty or effectively perhaps the exception is our MIlitary and again perhaps not . Somehow the VA should be privatized or our Vets should get a medical plan that allows them to be treated by any Dr. anywhere of their choosing .

Can anyone name one federal government program
that is managed well, and run in a cost effective manner?
Now you only have a week to answer!

Originally Posted by Guest

needs trumps plan

right here, guess you not use to using Google.

please read


Veterans Administration Reforms That Will Make America Great Again

The Goals Of Donald J. Trump’s Veterans Plan

The current state of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) is absolutely unacceptable. Over 300,000 veterans died waiting for care. Corruption and incompetence were excused. Politicians in Washington have done too little too slowly to fix it. This situation can never happen again, and when Donald J. Trump is president, it will be fixed – fast.

The guiding principle of the Trump plan is ensuring veterans have convenient access to the best quality care. To further this principle, the Trump plan will decrease wait times, improve healthcare outcomes, and facilitate a seamless transition from service into civilian life.

The Trump Plan Will:

Ensure our veterans get the care they need wherever and whenever they need it. No more long drives. No more waiting for backlogs. No more excessive red tape. Just the care and support they earned with their service to our country.
Support the whole veteran, not just their physical health care, but also by addressing their invisible wounds, investing in our service members’ post-active duty success, transforming the VA to meet the needs of 21st century service members, and better meeting the needs of our female veterans.
Make the VA great again by firing the corrupt and incompetent VA executives who let our veterans down, by modernizing the VA, and by empowering the doctors and nurses to ensure our veterans receive the best care available in a timely manner.

The Trump Plan Gives Veterans The Freedom To Choose And Forces The VA To Compete For Their Dollars

Politicians in Washington have tried to fix the VA by holding hearings and blindly throwing money at the problem. None of it has worked. In fact, wait times were 50% higher this summer than they were a year ago. That’s because the VA lacks the right leadership and management. It’s time we stop trusting Washington politicians to fix the problems and empower our veterans to vote with their feet.

Under a Trump Administration, all veterans eligible for VA health care can bring their veteran’s ID card to any doctor or care facility that accepts Medicare to get the care they need immediately. Our veterans have earned the freedom to choose better or more convenient care from the doctor and facility of their choice. The power to choose will stop the wait time backlogs and force the VA to improve and compete if the department wants to keep receiving veterans’ healthcare dollars. The VA will become more responsive to veterans, develop more efficient systems, and improve the quality of care because it will have no other choice.

The Trump Plan Treats The Whole Veteran

We must care for the whole veteran, not just their physical health. We must recognize that today’s veterans have very different needs than those of the Greatest Generation.

The Trump Plan Will:

Increase funding for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD), traumatic brain injury and suicide prevention services to address our veterans’ invisible wounds. Service members are five times more likely to develop depression than civilians. They are almost fifteen times more likely to develop PTSD than civilians. This funding will help provide more and better counseling and care. More funding will also support research on best practices and state of the art treatments to keep our veterans alive, healthy and whole. With these steps, the Trump plan will help the veteran community put the unnecessary stigma surrounding mental health behind them and instead encourage acceptance and treatment in our greater society.
Increase funding for job training and placement services (including incentives for companies hiring veterans), educational support and business loans. All Americans agree that we must do everything we can to help put our service men and women on a path to success as they leave active duty by collaborating with the many successful non-profit organizations that are already helping. Service members have learned valuable skills in the military but many need help understanding how to apply those skills in civilian life. Others know how to apply those skills but need help connecting with good jobs to support their families. Still others have an entrepreneurial spirit and are ready to start creating jobs and growing the economy. The Trump plan will strengthen existing programs or replace them with more effective ones to address these needs and to get our veterans working.
Transform the VA to meet the needs of 21st century service members. Today’s veterans have very different needs than those of the generations that came before them. The VA must adapt to meet the needs of this generation of younger, more diverse veterans. The Trump plan will expand VA services for female veterans and ensure the VA is providing the right support for this new generation of veterans.
Better support our women veterans. The fact that many VA hospitals don’t permanently staff OBGYN doctors shows an utter lack of respect for the growing number female veterans. Under the Trump plan, every VA hospital in the country will be fully equipped with OBGYN and other women’s health services. In addition, women veterans can always choose a different OBGYN in their community using their veteran’s ID card.


The Trump Plan Will Make The VA Great Again

The VA health care program is a disaster. Some candidates want to get rid of it, but our veterans need the VA to be there for them and their families. That’s why the Trump plan will:

Fire the corrupt and incompetent VA executives that let our veterans down. Under a Trump Administration, there will be no job security for VA executives that enabled or overlooked corruption and incompetence. They’re fired. New leadership will focus the VA staff on delivering timely, top quality care and other services to our nation’s veterans. Under a Trump Administration, exposing and addressing the VA’s inefficiencies and shortcomings will be rewarded, not punished.
End waste, fraud and abuse at the VA. The Trump plan will ensure the VA is spending its dollars wisely to provide the greatest impact for veterans and hold administrators accountable for irresponsible spending and abuse. The days of $6.3 million for statues and fountains at VA facilities and $300,000 for a manager to move 140 miles are over. The Trump plan will clean up the VA’s finances so the current VA budget provides more and better care than it does now.
Modernize the VA. A VA with 20th century technology cannot serve 21st century service members and their needs. The VA has been promising to modernize for years without real results. The Trump plan will make it happen by accelerating and expanding investments in state of the art technology to deliver best-in-class care quickly and effectively. All veterans should be able to conveniently schedule appointments, communicate with their doctors, and view accurate wait times with the push of a button.
Empower the caregivers to ensure our veterans receive quality care quickly. Caregivers should be able to easily streamline treatment plans across departments and utilize telehealth tools to better serve their patients. As we have seen from the private sector, the potential for new, innovative technology is endless. Abandoning the wasteful and archaic mindset of the public sector will give way to tremendously effective veteran healthcare.
Hire more veterans to care for veterans. The more veterans we have working at the VA, the better the VA will be. They understand the unique challenges facing their community. To increase the number of veterans hired by the VA, this plan will add an additional 5 points to the qualifying scores of veterans applying for VA jobs.
Embed satellite VA clinics in rural and other underserved areas. The Trump Administration will embed satellite VA clinics within hospitals and other care facilities in rural and other underserved areas. This step will ensure veterans have easy access to care and local hospitals and care facilities can handle the influx of patients without backlogs while tapping the specialized knowledge of VA health specialists.

.....

Lots of that plan sounds very good. A good portion of it is in place and happening right now.

However, much of that plan needs Congressional support AND more money! Can that happen?

Firing government executives is NOT like on The Apprentice. There are lots of protections built into the Civil Service System.

Anyhow, good luck.

Originally Posted by Guest

Lots of that plan sounds very good. A good portion of it is in place and happening right now.

However, much of that plan needs Congressional support AND more money! Can that happen?

Firing government executives is NOT like on The Apprentice. There are lots of protections built into the Civil Service System.

Anyhow, good luck.

Maybe that's why a new type of leadership is needed, one that can really shake up the bloated dysfunctional federal bueracracy

Originally Posted by Guest

Lots of that plan sounds very good. A good portion of it is in place and happening right now.

However, much of that plan needs Congressional support AND more money! Can that happen?

Firing government executives is NOT like on The Apprentice. There are lots of protections built into the Civil Service System.

Anyhow, good luck.

It looks like Hillery's plan can be executed for a lot less money then Donald's plan. It seems like the changes are more in policy that you can imagine.

His plan sound a bit like the wall that Mexico will pay for. Since he hasn't been in office before we need to take his word for it that he will get the money for all these major changes. Did anyone ask him how much these changes will cost and where the money will come from?

Maybe the google expert can dig that out.

It`s all about not upsetting the " Status Quo " and since the Federal Gvt is THE largest employer in the uSA you can bet that 90% of the Federal Non-Military employees will vote for Hillary who IS the Status Quo .

Originally Posted by Guest

Here are five things Hillary’s plan will do:

1. Give military families more flexibility. Hillary would expand family leave and access to child care to help families juggle the demands of military service and parenthood. She would also make military career intermission programs permanent so that servicemembers and their families can take time off to raise children, care for an ill family member, or explore educational opportunities.

2. Support military spouses pursuing jobs and education. Too many military spouses are unemployed or underemployed—and a recent study shows that it costs our economy $1 billion per year. As president, Hillary will expand state and federal resources and engage the private sector to boost training and job opportunities for the husbands and wives of members of the military.

3. Help families who are changing locations or transitioning out of the military. Hillary’s plan will create more flexibility around military moves by taking family circumstances into account in assignments and letting families continue receiving their housing allowance for up to six months after a military member’s Permanent Change of Station (PCS). It will also expand job services and transition programs for families of servicemembers who are leaving the military.

4. Ensure children in military families receive a high-quality education. Hillary’s plan will boost support for Defense Department schools and public schools with a large number of military children. And it will preserve and protect the Post-9/11 G.I. Bill, including educational benefits for spouses and children of military personnel.

5. Champion the care and needs of service members. As president, Hillary will establish a standing council on servicemembers, veterans, and military families to ensure government agencies are meeting their needs. She will also establish a series of town halls on military bases between White House and Department of Defense officials and military families.

Show me Trumps plan.

This is good for the single mothers that have INVADED the military. Another reason women are HATED in the military. Most single mothers get the light, non deploying duty, while the men are sent all over.

Spouses ALREADY get a lot of preferences. Maybe the MINORITY spouses can't make it...they can't make it anywhere.

Huh? The hell with what is NEEDED, let the service member decide when and where they'll be stationed? They get a NEW housing allowance when they PCS.

Military schools and schools near bases (unless minority sh!tholes) ARE better than the average school. The military stays involved in the local schools.

Much of the military is full of minorities, that's why they NEED so much help. These families have gone from government welfare to a government "job" because they can't make it anywhere else. Without the government taking care of everything, they'd be lost.

Hillary isn't REALLY doing anything special.

Originally Posted by Guest

First of all Sir-- thank you for your service . Second there is just no excuse for the experience you had with the VA long ago and apparently many Vets are dealing with today .
Sadly you are 100% correct the Gvt can not run anything effiecienty or effectively perhaps the exception is our MIlitary and again perhaps not . Somehow the VA should be privatized or our Vets should get a medical plan that allows them to be treated by any Dr. anywhere of their choosing .

Definitely NOT, the government runs NOTHING well.

Originally Posted by Guest

Maybe that's why a new type of leadership is needed, one that can really shake up the bloated dysfunctional federal bueracracy

You WON'T get that with another D or R.

Originally Posted by Guest

It`s all about not upsetting the " Status Quo " and since the Federal Gvt is THE largest employer in the uSA you can bet that 90% of the Federal Non-Military employees will vote for Hillary who IS the Status Quo .

The federal government is THE largest EVERYTHING. It IS the economy now.

Originally Posted by Guest

It looks like Hillery's plan can be executed for a lot less money then Donald's plan. It seems like the changes are more in policy that you can imagine.

His plan sound a bit like the wall that Mexico will pay for. Since he hasn't been in office before we need to take his word for it that he will get the money for all these major changes. Did anyone ask him how much these changes will cost and where the money will come from?

Maybe the google expert can dig that out.

It will be a LOT cheaper, because she won't get it done. She is too lazy to do anything proactive. She will complain if she has to sign anything let alone work actively to get anything done. If she was suddenly going to change her ways, it would be construed as a lie, because her job record shows her completing NOTHING worthwhile. She coasted through the Senate and she coasted through the SecState job. She is lazy and a liar so why should anyone suddenly believe that she has changed? Perhaps the bump on her head "changed" her?

Originally Posted by Guest

It will be a LOT cheaper, because she won't get it done. She is too lazy to do anything proactive. She will complain if she has to sign anything let alone work actively to get anything done. If she was suddenly going to change her ways, it would be construed as a lie, because her job record shows her completing NOTHING worthwhile. She coasted through the Senate and she coasted through the SecState job. She is lazy and a liar so why should anyone suddenly believe that she has changed? Perhaps the bump on her head "changed" her?

Nobody with a pulse and a functioning brain!!

Originally Posted by Guest

The addition of art work to the medical center grounds has absolutely nothing to do with veterans waiting long periods of time for appointments.

The appointment scandal was caused by a very poor type of performances standards. The performance standards would say that x number of appointments would be made for veterans within a 3 month period for an outstanding performance rating for the Service Director. Actually, there were 2 sets of appointment books - the real one and the one for performance standards.

It has been ongoing for many years and it finally got exposed. It started with the Medical Center Director and stuff runs downhill - so many were implicated.

Not a fault of any President but just an internal VA Human Resources practice that failed miserably.

There are Federal Regulations which dictate that a certain amount of art produced by American Artists must be displayed in Federal Buildings .
There is actually a " formula " with respect to wall space and the
display of art . These Regulations as I recall were put in place during Clinton I thru pressure from " The National Endowment of The Arts " .

Originally Posted by Guest

There are Federal Regulations which dictate that a certain amount of art produced by American Artists must be displayed in Federal Buildings .
There is actually a " formula " with respect to wall space and the
display of art . These Regulations as I recall were put in place during Clinton I thru pressure from " The National Endowment of The Arts " .

But they spent a million dollars on big rock outside one of the buildings?

Originally Posted by Guest

But they spent a million dollars on big rock outside one of the buildings?

Are you sure about that?

Also, art to some people looks like junk but is valued in the millions. Look at most of Picasso' cubist work. It looks like junk to me but is worth millions.

Originally Posted by Guest

But they spent a million dollars on big rock outside one of the buildings?

Oh I am NOT defending the Federal Regulations about forced spending on Art .

I believe that it is expense that is not needed or helpful except to the so called " Art Community " and we know how they vote .

The federal Department of Veterans Affairs blew through at least $20 million during a decade when the veterans seeking care, including aging veterans of World War II and military personnel returning from Iraq and Afghanistan, were shunted aside and performance audits were altered and forged, so that VA employees qualified for performance bonuses.

“Included in the expenditures is a 27-foot artificial Christmas tree for $21,500 delivered to Chillicothe, Ohio and two sculptures costing $670,000 for a VA facility in California that serves blind veterans,” according to the report produced by the government spending watchdog Open the Books. Open the Books was established as a legacy of Dr. Tom Coburn’s vigilance over government spending during his Senate career.

Other examples of the VA’s art spending spree include $6.3 million in taxpayer funds expended at the Veterans Affairs Palo Alto Health Care System. There, $483,000 went for a large decorative rock and $807,000 was for the site preparation for the rock outside the building. Inside the center, the VA built a $330,000 half arc in the lobby of the mental health clinic, spent $365,000 for a sculpture at the entrance to the pool, and $305,000 for a sculpture in the center’s main lobby. Maybe, the most ambitious of the health center’s art programs was the $285,000 spent for the wall of dozens of rocks that light up to spell out quotes by President Abraham Lincoln and First Lady Eleanor Roosevelt–in Morse Code.

Originally Posted by Guest

There are Federal Regulations which dictate that a certain amount of art produced by American Artists must be displayed in Federal Buildings .
There is actually a " formula " with respect to wall space and the
display of art . These Regulations as I recall were put in place during Clinton I thru pressure from " The National Endowment of The Arts " .

Time to rescind those regs.

Originally Posted by Guest

Are you sure about that?

Also, art to some people looks like junk but is valued in the millions. Look at most of Picasso' cubist work. It looks like junk to me but is worth millions.

The "art industry" is a real money maker...and it IS an industry. Some "art" is mass produced by assistants. The artist just picks the keepers.