Takai Meets with U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald to Discuss How to Best Serve Hawaii's Veterans

Press Release

Today, Congressman Mark Takai (HI-01) released the following statement after the conclusion of a meeting with Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, U.S. Senator Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii), and U.S. Senator Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii):

"Keeping the promises made to our veterans needs to be a national priority. I am proud that Hawaii has recently committed to ending homelessness amongst veterans, and I would like to thank Secretary McDonald for making the trip out to Hawaii to see how the VA can best provide assistance to our state. Increasing the employment opportunities and housing assistance for veterans will go a long way towards helping us move veterans off the street for good. I look forward to working closely with Secretary McDonald and the Department of Veterans Affairs to address issues affecting our Hawaii veterans," Takai said.

Secretary McDonald is in Hawaii to meet with local government and business leaders to discuss veteran employment and homelessness. He will also be visiting VA facilities to meet with local VA employees and will be taking part in the Transition Summits being held at Schofield Barracks and Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam.

Hawaii has joined a nationwide campaign committed to ending homelessness amongst veterans by the end of 2015. The campaign is a joint effort by the Department of Veterans Affairs, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the U.S. Interagency on Homelessness, and local community partners.

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