Difference between revisions of "Talk:Donald Trump achievements: Veterans"

Latest revision as of 04:18, December 3, 2019

VA to deal with under/unused buildings

[1] Might be a very noteworthy achievement, though it seems like the decisions have not translated into action yet. --1990'sguy (talk) 16:45, 20 June 2017 (EDT)

Many of these buildings are small buildings that have been used for storage or housing landscaping equipment on larger campuses. There is now increased security at VA facilities, and access to the specific building is in many cases tied to access to the VA campus. One large VA building is in the middle of a state mental hospital, it would be difficult to turn it over to another purpose that requires a location that is welcoming to the public. Finally, some Congressmen would resist reduced federal spending in their district. JDano (talk) 17:00, 20 June 2017 (EDT)

Due to "historic preservation status" of many VA buildings, it is very hard for the department to get rid of them and save money.[2] --1990'sguy (talk) 23:06, 20 July 2017 (EDT)

VA forced to rehire worker

Even under the new laws passed to make it easier for the VA to fire employees, the Merit Systems Protection Board is still making it keep those employees, as seen in this example: [3][4][5] --1990'sguy (talk) 21:51, 9 August 2017 (EDT)

The VA fired the employee, Brian Hawkins, again.[6] --1990'sguy (talk) 21:58, 20 September 2017 (EDT)

Problems remain in the VA

Between July and September 2017, the VA only filled half its capacity to make medical appointments, and this while veterans still have to wait about 30 days before scheduling an appointment: [7] It's clear that the VA is improving, but it still has obvious problems. --1990'sguy (talk) 11:24, 19 September 2017 (EDT)

Obama holdovers also appear to be a problem in the department: [8] --1990'sguy (talk) 22:52, 29 November 2017 (EST)

This "fact check" from the Associated Press does not take a positive view on whether Trump is keeping his promises regarding the VA, though the MSM has been unduly harsh on the Trump Administration: [9] --1990'sguy (talk) 22:29, 15 January 2018 (EST)

The VA deep state apparently purged 200,000 healthcare applications during the Trump Administration, which seems to be a bad action: [10] --1990'sguy (talk) 11:48, 13 May 2019 (EDT)

The VA didn't spend most of the money given to it to help prevent veteran suicides: 1,2 --1990'sguy (talk) 13:56, 13 August 2019 (EDT)

Somewhat interesting op-ed on what Trump can still do to improve the VA: [11] --1990'sguy (talk) 15:10, 23 August 2019 (EDT)

This articles states that the VA isn't being particularly transparent in informing veterans of the implementation progress of the Mission Act: [12] --1990'sguy (talk) 08:04, 24 September 2019 (EDT)

The number of veteran suicides is also a problem: [13] --1990'sguy (talk) 20:21, 25 September 2019 (EDT)

The VA changed how it calculates veteran suicides: [14] --1990'sguy (talk) 23:18, 2 December 2019 (EST)

Potential achievements

Here are some additional bills Trump signed into law in late 2017 and early 2018 pertaining to veterans: 1,2,3 Though these new laws probably are too minor and insignificant to add, it is at least good to note them here just in case. --1990'sguy (talk) 18:55, 15 March 2018 (EDT)

Also, the VA cut its number of central office positions by 10%: [15] This might be something good to add. --1990'sguy (talk) 23:34, 16 April 2018 (EDT)

Maybe we should add the spending bill Trump signed into law today, regarding VA funding (1,2,3,4,5,6)? It may not be significant enough (annual spending bill, attached with funding to other areas of government, etc.), though. --1990'sguy (talk) 23:02, 21 September 2018 (EDT)

This isn't very significant, but the VA banned smoking and vaping at its hospitals: [16] --1990'sguy (talk) 14:14, 11 June 2019 (EDT)

Another insignificant decision, but the VA banned injectable amniotic tissue products: [17] --1990'sguy (talk) 20:53, 14 June 2019 (EDT)

This seems symbolic, but Trump signed a law making Vietnam Veterans Day an official holiday: 1,2,3 --1990'sguy (talk) 14:39, 28 June 2019 (EDT)

Unsuccessful VA reforms

Proposed reforms of the VA were removed from the omnibus spending bill that Trump signed last month: [18] Hopefully, the reforms we saw in 2017 will continue. --1990'sguy (talk) 23:37, 16 April 2018 (EDT)

Veterans Choice Program

In this interesting article/interview, Robert Wilkie, the new VA secretary, states that without a fix, the Veterans Choice Program could collapse: [19] --1990'sguy (talk) 19:11, 3 August 2018 (EDT)

Another article on the VA's struggle to implement the law: [20] --1990'sguy (talk) 08:49, 13 November 2018 (EST)

Interesting articles

Here's a somewhat interesting article on VA Secretary Robert Wilkie's Veterans Day speech, which might be useful: [21] --1990'sguy (talk) 21:35, 11 November 2018 (EST)

The VA is working to improve the quality of its care for women, as more of them join the military: [22] --1990'sguy (talk) 14:28, 1 March 2019 (EST)

Interesting statements -- and potentially useful articles -- by Trump on how the VA is doing well: 1,2,3 --1990'sguy (talk) 17:57, 24 April 2019 (EDT)

The AP is refusing to give Trump credit for the VA's relatively improved performance, and while I won't cite this article, I'll note it here: [23] --1990'sguy (talk) 02:04, 27 May 2019 (EDT)

Potentially useful article on the VA's actions on vet suicides: [24] --1990'sguy (talk) 11:42, 20 June 2019 (EDT)

Trump will become the first president to attend the NYC Veterans Day Parade: 1,2 --1990'sguy (talk) 08:51, 7 November 2019 (EST)

More articles on Trump's attendance and speech there: 1,2 --1990'sguy (talk) 15:31, 11 November 2019 (EST)

Somewhat interesting article on Trump, 2020 Democrats, and veterans: [25] --1990'sguy (talk) 09:02, 12 November 2019 (EST)

Some potential images to use regarding Trump and veterans: [26] --1990'sguy (talk) 16:06, 23 October 2019 (EDT)