tv News Al Jazeera August 7, 2014 12:00pm-12:31pm EDT
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see you for the n "inside story" in washington. i'm ray >> we are going to break away from our regular programming to bring you a live event. i want to take you live to virginia, 20 miles of washington, d.c the president set to address the shortcomings in care for u.s. veterans he is preparing to sign into law a bipartisan measure. you see the desk there off to the right of our screen. that is where he will sign that into law. now that will give the department of veterans affairs authority to hire thousands of doctors and healthcare workers. now the bill is also going to make it easier to fire the senior level veterans affairs officials who have judged to be lacking.
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libby is standing by live with us. as always, we have to take a back seat. so tell us, this was interesting because it is a bipartisan measure. >> that's right. it was crafted by the chairman of the house and sinate veterans affairs committees. they were able to work together and get past the fighting over just how much this would cost. and in addition to providing for more doctors, nurses and new leases on facilities, it will also do something republicans were pushing for. which is let veterans go outside the v.a. system if they live 40 miles away from a center or if have had to wait more than two weeks to get an appointment. >> del, you will remember that is what started this scandal about four months ago when it was revealed that veterans facilities, including one in phoenix arizona were waiting for months to get appointments. into this is one of those situations in washington where both sides of the aisle were equally outraged as both have a lot of military members in their voting representative
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belong blocks, so they wanted to get something done. >> introduce. >> this was so high profile in phoenix as well as other centers. there were claims that veterans were dying waiting for care. when it got to that level they said something had to be done. for years, people have been pushing the v.a. and has been working itself to try to deal with the backlog of cases. but the just shown a light very acutely on a problem that many members of congress said had to be dealt with right away. not only did they pass the legislation. we saw the regularrics nation in may, the new v.a. secretary confirmed by the senate last week is on hand here del.
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>> i was going to bring up the it is with a dual heart. he was a military man that served his nation with distinction and pride. the president pointing that out. but the problem was he just was not getting the job done. the president and congress pointing that out. so it has got to be bittersweet as they welcome the president. >> and former secretary-general retired made a big effort to try to deal with the backlogs, but it didn't go far enough. and another part of the scandal was the claims that people in the v.a. were covering up the wait times. it wasn't just that it was were waiting long for care but the books were being cooked so it is hard to tell how many months they were waiting. and when it couldn't get accomplished quickly enough to make some basic changes in the structure the president did accept the resignation. we saw him go outside the
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military system but largely coming from the corporate center. >> we will take you to the scene right now live. this is the president of the united states about to introduce the fact that he is going to sign into law that 16.3 billion measure to repair the v.a. everybody have a seat. i think i'm going to take sergeant mcgruder on the road. i'm going to have him introduce me wherever i go. [ laughter ] he got me excited. and i get introduced all the time so thank you james for your incredible service to our
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country. give james a big round of applause. [ cheers and applause ] i also want to say a big thanks to america's new secretary of veterans affair bob mcdonald who is here. stand up, bob. and some of you may know bob headed up one of the biggest most u successful companies in the world. but he also is a west point grad, also a ranger who served valiantly on behalf of this country. this is a labor of love for him. he has hit the ground running. he is heading out to v.a. hospitals andicallyics around the country, starting with phoenix tomorrow. so thank you bob for accepting this charge and this challenge and making sure that we are doing right by our veterans. i know you are going to do a
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great job. really proud of him. i want to thank all the members of congress who are here today. i especially want to thank those who led the fight to give the v.a. more of the resources and flexibility they need to make sure every veteran has access to the care and benefits they have earned. senator bernie sanders, senators richard bur, representative mike, representative miller, give them a big round of applause for the good work. >> we are all grateful to our outstanding veterans organizations for all the work they do on behalf of veterans and their families. so thank you very much to all the veteran service organizations. most of all, i want to thank general braun and sergeant major turnbull and all of you who serve here for nearly a century this base has helped
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keep america strong and secure. 70 years ago troops from here, the 29th infantry division the blue and gray were some of the first to storm omaha beach. in recent years, many of you have deployed to iraq and afghanistan and you have risked your lives on multiple tours to defend our nation. and as a country, we have a sacred obligation. to serve you as well as you have served us. an obligation that doesn't end with your tour of duty. every day, hundreds of thousands of dedicated public servants at the v.a. help us honor that commitment. at v.a. hospitals across america you have got doctors, nurses who are delivering world class care to america's veterans. you have got millions of veterans and their families who are profoundly grateful for the good work that is done at the v.a. and as commander in chief i'm grateful too.
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but, over the last few months we have discovered some inexcusable misconduct at some v.a. healthcare facilities. stories of veterans denied the care they needed, long wait times being covered up, cooking the books. this is wrong. this is outrageous. and working together we set out to fix it and do right by our veterans across the board no matter how long it took. now we have already taken the first steps to change the way the v.a. does business have held people accountable for misconduct, some have been relieved of their duties. investigations are ongoing. we have reached out to more than 215,000 vet rants so far to make sure that we are getting them off wait lists and into clinics, inside and outside the v.a. system. we are moving ahead with urgent reforms including stronger management, leadership and oversight and instituting a critical culture
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of accountability. rebuilding our leadership team starting at the top with secretary mcdonald. and one of the -- his first acts is that he has directed all v.a. healthcare facilities to hold town halls to hear directly from the veterans that they serve to make sure that we are hearing honest assessments about what's going on. now in a few minutes we will take another step forward when i sign into law the v.a. reform bill that was passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan majority, and that doesn't happen often, in congress. [ laughter ] >> it's a good deal. [ applause ] >> this bill covers a lot of ground, from expanding survivor benefits and educational opportunities to improving care for veterans struggling with traumatic brain injury and victims of sexual assault. but today i want to focus on
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the ways this bill will help us ensure that veterans have access to the care that they have earned. first of all this will give the v.a. more of the resources that it needs. it will help the v.a. hire more doctors and more nurses and staff more clinics. as a new generation of veterans returns phloem war, and transitions into civilian life, we have to make sure the v.a. system can keep pace with that new demand. keep in mind that i have increased funding for the v.a. since i came into office by extraordinary amounts. but we also have extraordinary numbers of veterans coming home. and so the demand, even though we have increased the v.a. budget, is still higher than the resources that we have got. this bill helps to address that. second, for veterans who can't get timely care through the v.a. this bill will help them get the care they need
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someplace else. and this particularly important for veterans who are in more remote areas, rural areas. if you live more than 40 miles from a v.a. facility or if v.a. doctors can't see you within a reasonable amount of time, you will have the chance to see a doctor outside the v.a. system. and finally, we are giving the v.a. secretary more authority to hold people accountable. we have got to give bob the authority so that he can move quickly to remove senior executives who fail to meet the standards of conduct and competence that the american people demand. if you engage in an unethical practice, if you cover up a serious problem, you should be fired, period. it shouldn't be that difficult. [ applause ] and if you blow the whistle on an unethical practice or bring a problem to the attention of higher ups, you should be thanked. you should be protected for
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doing the right thing. [ applause ] you shouldn't be ignored, you shouldn't be ignored and you certainly shouldn't be punished. to care for him or her who shall have born the battle, that's the heart of the v.a.'s motto. that's what the bill that i'm about to sign will help us achieve. but i want to be clear about something this will not and cannot be the end of our effort. implementing this law will take time it is going to require focus on the part of all of us. and even as we focus on the urgent reforms we need at the v.a. right now, particularly around wait lists and the healthcare system, we can't lose sight of our long term goals for our service members and veterans. the good news is we have cut the disability claims backlog by more than half. but, let's now eliminate the backlog. let's get rid of it.
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[ applause ] the good news is we have major resources in improving healthcare but now make sure veterans actually get the care they need when they need it. the good news is we have helped to get thousands of homeless veterans off the street, made an unprecedented effort to end veterans homelessness. we should have zero tolerance for that. but we have still more work to do in cities and towns across america to get more veterans into the homes they deserve. we have helped more an million veterans and their spouses and children go to college through the post 9/11 g.i. bill, but now we have got to help even more of them earn their eeducations and make sure they are getting a good bargain in the schools they enroll in. we have rallied companies to hire hundreds of thousands of veterans and that's the good news with the help of joe biden and michele women.
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they know. nobody says no to them. including me. america has to do right by all who serve under our proud flag. and congress needs to do more also. i urge the senate once again to finally confirm my nominee for assistant secretary for policy of the v.a., linda schwartz. my nominee to lead the board of veterans appeals, constance tobias, cfo, helen tierney. each of them have been waiting for months for a yes or no vote. in constance's case for more than a year. they are ready to serve and get to work. it is not that hard. it didn't used to be this hard to get somebody confirmed who is well qualified. nobody says they're not. it is just senate doesn't seem
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to move very fast. as soon as the senate gets back in september, they should act to put these outstanding public servants in place. our veterans don't have time for politics, they need these servants on the job right now. [ applause ] so let me wrap up by saying two months ago i had the chance to spend some time with some of america's oldest veterans in omaha beach. some of you may have seen on television the celebration the commemoration of those incredible days of the 7 0th anniversary of d-day, and this is my second visit to democracy beachhead. and it is a place where it is impossible not to be moved by the courage and the sacrifice of free men and women who volunteered to lay down their
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lives for people they have never met. ideals that they can't live without. that is why they are willing to do these things and some of the folks that you met, they were 18 at the time, some of them were lying about their age, they were 16. landing either at the beach or sometimes behind the lines. the casualty rates were unbelievable. being there brought back memories of my own grandfather who marched in patton's army and then came home and like so many veterans of his generation went to school, got married, raised families and he eventually helped to raise me. and on that visit to normandy, i brought some of today's service members with me. because i want to introduce them to the veterans of d-day and to show the veterans of d-day that their legacy is in good hands, that there's a direct line between the sacrifices then and the
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sacrifices the folks have made in remote places today. in more than a decade of work, today's men and women in uniform, all of you, you have met every mission we have asked of you. today our troops continue to serve and risk their lives in afghanistan. it continues to be a difficult and dangerous mission as we were tragically reminded again this week in the attack that injured a number of our coalition troops and took the life of a dedicated american soldier, major general harold greene. our prayers are with the green family as they are with all the gold star families and those who sacrifice so much for our nation. four months from now, our combat mission in afghanistan will be complete and our longest war will come to an honorable end. in the years to come, many from this generation will step out of uniform and their legacy will be secure. but whether or not this country properly repays their
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heroism, properly repays their patriot, their sacrifice, that is in our hands. i'm committed to seeing that we fulfill that commitment. because the men and women of this generation, the 9/11 generation of service members are the leaders we need for our time as community leaders and business leaders, i hope maybe some leaders in our politics as well. from the greatest generation to the 9/11 generation america's heroes have answered the call to serve. i have no greater honor than serving as your president and command n chief and have no greater privilege than to make sure the country keeps the prom tastes we have made to everybody who signs up to serve. and as long as i hold this office, we are going to spend each and every day working to do right by you and your families. i'm grateful to you. god bless you. god bless america. that, i'm going to sign this bill. thank you very much everybody. >> you have been listening to the president of the united states. he is talking about the fact that he is right now going to
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sign into law a $16.3 billion measure that will remaining the department of affairs add more doctors and nurses where they are needed and v.a. centers where they are warranted. the president pointing out two things of note, first being an announcement that there will be town hall meetings in all cities where they the v.a. centers are located to hear complaints. the lofter when the president told crowd it is a bipartisan measure he is signing into law and i was struck by the fact that in this audience there are representatives for the republican party, democratic party and independent senator. >> bipartisan legislation is a bit of an endangered species here in washington, d.c., del. we did see members from both sides of the aisle who helped make the legislation possible. the heads of committees on both the senate side and house side. the president mentioned by name a couple of republicans. he is the top republican in
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the senate affairs committee. and jeff miller from north carolina. jeff miller is representative from florida. he is the top republican in the house committee. they were instrumental in getting this passed. you also see democrats on hand as well as bernie sanders who is the independent from vermont. and he also authored this bill so the president giving them some shout outs, but giving the biggest shout outs to the veterans and active service members. he said that they have met every challenge, every call to duty that the u.s. has asked of them. >> i was struck by the fact that the president pointed out why it is important for presidents like himself to take this matter seriously. all the presidents past and present take seriously their responsibility as commander in chief but it is almost impossible to find a voting district anywhere in the country that doesn't have a representative of the armed forces either living there or
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military base that it services. >> absolutely. the culture has shift in the post 9/11 era where americans are very supportive of the troops. polls show that. there has been a lo of concern about how veterans are being treated. v.a. is a huge healthcare system. it is enormous. it is sprawling and a big bureaucracy. so despite talk at committee hearings over years about how to deal with the backlog of cases, president obama pointed out they have cut that in half. there is still a long way to go. and so, it is long been known that veterans were having to wait a while for care. but the v.a. had pledged to shrink that down. what fur fasted, there were allegations they were waiting for many months. some longer than a year. some it was alleged were waiting so long they were dying while they were in this waiting queue. and the biggest thing is that it was being covered up. some members of the v.a. staff were covering up how long men
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and women were waiting. to that end, this legislation says and president obama talked about this and got some applause. if the v.a. secretary, the new v.a. secretary bob mcdonald deems a senior executive either doing wrong or just doing a bad job, they can get fired. the appeals process is pretty quick and in just a couple of weeks their pay is suspended and decision is made on whether or not they are terminated or kept. so that is a big change and something that gets out of the bureaucratic system. >> libby, thank you very much. as libby pointed out the problems of the v.a. dating back many, many years. in fact, some say decades. vietnam veterans complaining that their treatment for agent orange took decades to address by the v.a. there is a sense in washington that the measure signed into law a short period ago may finally fix the situation. we want to get you caught up on some other news happening
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today. secretary of state john kerry back in afghanistan at this hour once again trying to resolve the country's disputed presidential election. the secretary of state arriving in kabul a short time ago. he plans to speak with candidates tonight and will meet with the current president karzai before he departs the country tomorrow. kerry is pushing for a ballot recount before a new government is seated in september. and the body of two star general harold greene killed in afghanistan now in american soil. the remains arrived at dover air force base and we are learning about the attack that killed greene and wounded 15 others. army officials at this hour saying the gunman hid inside a bathroom with an assault rifle and then opened fire as those officers passioned by. also, army sergeant bergal meeting with the army general. he met wednesday with major
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>> welcome back to al jazeera america. i'll del walters. these are your headlines. israeli and palestinian officials are trying to agree on a deal to extend the temporary cease-fire celt to expire friday morning. hamas is demanding the lift of a blockade on gaza. israel saying that will be nearly impossible. a short while ago you saw
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president obama signing a bill to give department of affairs improved resources for medical care and promised town hall meet, funding and resources saying there is much more that needs to be done to fix the system. eric snowden now has permission to stay in russia longer. his lawyer announces that his residency has been extended for three years. nations in west africa taking drastic steps trying to contain the ebola outbreak. today liberia began deploying soldiers to keep people out of areas deemed unsafe. nigeria is racing to get isolation tents for the victims there and 932 people have already died in west africa. more within 1700 have been infected including two u.s. citizens who are now being fleeted atlanta. hawaii is face bracing for a double dose of severe weather. hurricane isille and hurricane
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julio are set to hit. >> long lines. >> i don't know what we are going to do. and increasingly bear shelves face shoppers in hawaii as they prepare to face back to back hurricanes 36 hours apart. >> i don't think either of these storms is going to deliver a knockout. but the one-two punch could be serious. >> overnight while forecasters upgraded the storm julio to a hurricane, the first storm isille was already there. it is set to make land fall thursday evening as a category 1 with projected winds up to 90 miles per hour. >> it should retain its strength to be a hurricane by the time it approaches the big island. >> the last hurricane was in nikki in 1992. category 4 killed 6 and ravaged over 1,000 homes. 1959's dot was the only other hurricane to hit the island in 55 years. both storms took a path over the western most island of
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kauai. these storms have a chance to be the first hurricanes to hit the easternmost big island, and that has people streaming to airports looking to escape. >> we thought would it be safer to go home so that we wouldn't get stuck. into the far eastern city of hilo is preparing by filling sandbags and digging out drainage culverts. meanwhile, the american red cross is preparing shelters and promising little else. no amenities there. there might not be running water, there might not be food. there won't be food. >> with preparation time running out, many of those preparing to ride out the storm have faith that all will be well. >> hawaii is a very blessed land. so i believe hawaii is going to pull through. >> hurricane iselle is set to make land fall at around 8:00 p.m. local time john henry smith, al jazeera. >> i'm del walters in new york. the stream is coming up next. i'll be back in 30 minutes
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with more news including the latest on the situation of the negotiations underway right now in cairo to extend truce in the middle east. see you then. >> are in "the stream" and the u. summit takes place this week and hear about the issues facing the second largest continent and ebola claimed lives across africa including doctors and how are they coping and can it be contained. the next generation of leaders shares their take on the nurture of the region. ♪
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