Issue Position: Veterans

Issue Position

Our veterans have made the ultimate sacrifice. We owe them the care they were promised and the benefits they have earned. As Secretary of State, I have worked to ensure that members of the military never have to ask, "Does my vote actually count?" I traveled to the Middle East to meet with deployed soldiers to learn how to improve voting procedures for military personnel stationed overseas. My recommendations formed the basis of a bipartisan bill that was signed into law that will allow military members and their families to register to vote and update their registration online, ensure that military voters have sufficient time to vote in special elections and extend existing protections to state and local elections and National Guard members.

Washington has fallen short of honoring our commitment to our veterans. Our veterans should not struggle to find jobs or access care. Kentucky is the home of over 350,000[35] veterans, the fourth largest in the nation. It is a disgrace that so many veterans across Kentucky have compensation claims pending, more than 10,000 in the Louisville VA backlog alone.[36] I'm shocked that Mitch McConnell opposed plans to reduce this backlog and voted against veterans jobs legislation.[37] This is wrong.

I'm committed to serving Kentucky's 350,000 veterans and I will fight for the quality health care, benefits and treatment they have earned. We must expand education and training opportunities for service members and veterans, facilitating public/private partnerships that help them translate their military skills for the civilian workforce. We must improve access to health care services, including mental health, prosthetic care and wound regeneration. And we must improve collaboration between the Department of Defense and Department of Veterans Affairs, ensuring that veterans receive the benefits and medical care they deserve in a timely manner.

[35] [KY Department of Veterans Affairs, 9/2012]
[36] [Veterans Benefits Administration report, 3/10/14]
[37] [37] [Vote 193, 9/19/12; New York Times, 9/19/12; Senate Appropriations Committee Mark Up, 113th Cong. 1st Sess., HR 2216, (*proxy vote), 6/20/13; CQ Roll Call, 6/20/13]

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