neighborhoods and i think that is what is true. this is why employers should take advantage of those with military experience. what they bring in terms of morale. host: you brought up disabled veterans. , courtesy of that "slate." veteransaid disabled $14.8 billion in 2000. to $39.4r rose in 2011 billion. matthew is up next as we talk to iraq ward carroll -- as we talk to ward carroll. good morning. caller: is there data on the employment rates of veterans as

they go back to a public university first, private university, trade school, or they go directly into the workforce. whether military.com has reports on the fly-by-night for profit universities picking up veterans there has money -- been stories about them not finding jobs. host: ward carroll? guest: i cannot speak to the first issue. i have my own opinion about what pedigree does in terms of your ability to find a job. if you can get into harvard or private schools, that probably situates you for an advantage when it comes time to find a job. those transitioning are no

different than high schoolers that are looking to have an advantage once they start looking for a job. in terms of the for profit school issues. been sussingom has out the bad actors. of new g.i. bill puts a lot to be usedthe pool by veterans to pursue a traditional education at a a look institution and you will go to college, or perhaps to an online for-profit school. what we have seen more and more is there were some for-profit schools that were headed toward -- predatory. no service after the sale and the dropout rate was huge.

if they did manage to get their degree and went to find a job, there was no appreciation by the employee or about the degree. that was not a good thing for the vet. there were some congressional committees that went to try to figure out what went on. we sat down and said what we knew. we share matthew's concern that there are some institutions not doing a service for the veterans. you only have so many g.i. bill dollars. host: darius is up from maryland, a veteran. thank you for calling in. caller: good morning. i am and afghanistan veteran. in 2011.loyed i was still classified as a crew

chief. i believe my skills are very talented. i have a stake clearance. i am akai clique inclined -- i am mechanically inclined. i still cannot get a job. i could not find any real form of work, other than working at a mcdonald's or some small place that did not pay much. comet there was unfair to home and have all this experience, all this knowledge, and not to capitalize on. in world war ii, these veterans came home -- these guys built the country. they put these people to work because they were good men and

women. that is what these veterans are today. not traumatized and brain-dead. we are hard workers and we want to work. host: the white house put out a chart after that employment report came out last week showing post-september 11 2001 veterans unemployment rate. veterans, muchce lower there. ward carroll -- guest: thanks to your service. chiefs.pect for crew i guess i would ask, where do you live and have you tried to find employment with the airlines? is he off the line? i do not know the exact

circumstance of his situation. a crew chief has certain skills that would be very germane to the airline industry. i know the airlines have hiring initiatives to bring veterans aboard. ceo's of airlines are military aviation veterans. i think it is a matter of leaving your comfort zone in terms of where you live, in some cases. i am not saying that is something people need to get over. with his profile, i would have to believe that there is employment out there that is right. i am not trying to dismiss his frustration. i know it is a challenge. i think there is a job for him that he doesn't know about. host: joseph from new york. you are on with ward carroll of

military.com. caller: host good morning and hy veterans day. thank you very much. i have a question. i retired in 1994. war,ved in vietnam, gulf and bosnia. about this job situation. every caller that called is right. when i cap out the first time, i was very confused. i tried to get a job and they hated us. i was a crew chief also. out, i couldn't find a job. i went back into the military. i worked in oklahoma for six years. the thing is, i have other

experience and linguistic skills. i speak five different languages. when i got out, retired a third time, i tried to get a job in a postal office. they would not hire me. i had an 80% disability. not care if do you're disabled or if you are a vet. you want everything handed to you." no, we did not. i just wanted a job. i had to go through a federal court. i won my course. i got everything. i am retired and i collect my pension. it is unfair for the people to look at the veteran as bad guys. that is how they look at us. nuts.ys, crazy,

i get treated now for ptsd. i got skin cancer that i received in the gulf war. they think it is agent orange. it is stress. is nation of this country letting smart, young people and they are willing to work. yes, they might have some problems. host: i will let you comment on joseph. guest: he is bringing a lot of experience in a lot of different areas. he was talking about vietnam. andved in washington, d.c., i saw the riots and half the city on fire. i would have to say the atmosphere -- he was saying he got out in 1994.

ishink the public endeavoring to get it. there are hiring initiatives that could potentially solve a problem like those that joseph faced when he got out in 1994. he talks about his linguistic skills. is joseph willing to live in the greater d.c. metro area instead of where he is living now? this is part of what you are seeing. it is what you would call bommer omer guilt. i think things are better. from ward carroll military.com.

the world war ii memorial on the mall in washington, d.c. veteranslking about issues all morning. just before the start of the weekend, eric shin sankey said he was slowing down a program aimed at the disability claims waiting to be processed. joining us to talk about mental health and other issues facing veterans is tom tarantino, a former army captain and current chief. announcement last weekend a good sign for veterans waiting for their benefits claims to be processed?

guest: it was an expected announcement. the backlog has been reduced by about 1/3, which is outstanding news. there is some light at the end of the tunnel. we have about 400,000 claims still in the inventory. they were going to halt the mandatory overtime. we expect it to resume after the holidays in february. we have 400,000 claims. if they want to make their goal, it is going to require overtime and other initiatives that have put into gear that have started this trend downward. host: 400,000 claims that is down from 600,000 claims in march. talk about the impact of the government shutdown. how did that affect the claims?

guest: it slowed it down. we averted a potential disaster. the processors were technically protected. the v.a. could not accept any new claims but they could continue to work. the reduction went down to a few thousand during those weeks. normally we were see numbers like 10,000, 11,000 a week. the shutdown hindered their ability to do it. it is not just about the v.a. they get information from all sorts of agencies that were affected. we would have seen them running out of any of the mandatory funds that had been appropriated. they would have had to stop paying benefits and furlough more workers. we could have seen it grind to a halt, which would've been

potentially disastrous. host: you talk about wait times for veterans. here is a front page story talking about a different issue but involving wait times. "many veterans face frustrating delays for mental health care." the agency failed to schedule a third of appointments within 14 days." host: you did a survey that discussed mental health issues with those veterans you survey. what did you find? guest: mental health issues are impacted beyond those suffering from mental health injuries. 30% of our members said they knew someone who tried to commit

suicide. this is an alarming number. the visible wounds go beyond those who were injured. you are looking at 20-something percent, and you added major depression and you're looking at 1/3.t overall' health care does a good job of providing health care. they are my health care provider. they have struggled in keeping up with mental health care. they were extremely understaffed. they have filled the 1500 remaining positions they were supposed to, but it depends on whether it is a counselor, psychiatrist. there isn't the full breath of

care providers that you need to get coverage that is desired out there. veterans who are going to the v.a. are having trouble getting timely care. they are starting to look at building partnerships with nonprofits and health care providers locally. but this is a new program and we haven't seen the impact of this. with tomare talking tarantino of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, talking about disability benefits, mental health issues that impact veterans coming back from the battlefield. if you want to talk about this subject, our phone lines are open.

host: we will get right to the calls. farmington, minnesota, on our line for democrats. good morning. caller: hello. yeah, i was a vietnam veteran. my younger brother was, too. he died four years ago, cancer. -- there was a lot of problems with his paperwork when he got out of the marine corps. and he wasn't a very aggressive person. he had a lot of problems with life, marriages, this and that and the other thing. just a tough life in general, making a living.

too. enough stuff,, as it turns out, really aggressive-type person. anyway, i finished college and so forth on the g.i. bill and everything. 4spent, in addition to my years in the navy, the last 20 years the minnesota national guard. i am a management consultant and i'm reaching the age where i'm thinking of retiring. but over the years i've hired a lot of employees for companies for management positions, supervisor positions, and so on and so forth. and i always knew that military , those that worked in some kind of purchasing or, you

know, receiving, you know, those kind of jobs, they were very good logistics, that kind of thing. host: thanks for the call from minnesota. darwin brings up the g.i. bill and the hiring help you received over the way. -- he received over the way. about theobama talked g.i. bill and returning veterans. i want to play a little bit now. [video clip] doing everything we can to connect more businesses with highly skilled veterans. more help with job searches, more tools to connect veterans with job openings, chances to run licenses and credentials with civilian jobs, new tax credits for countries that hire wounded warriors, cash credits which congress should make permanent. america's businesses have worked with michelle and joe biden's joining forces campaign to help euros fine jobs in the private sector.

they have hired or trained 290,000 a veterans and spouses and of committed to hiring 400,000 more. we are committed to giving today's veterans and their families the same shot at a great education my grandfather got when he came home from world war ii. we are helping them earn their degrees under the post-9/11 g.i. bill. we are setting new standards to protect against his honest reporting and predatory lending practices that target veterans -- and dishonest reporting and lendingry practices that target veterans. thanks to these efforts and the efforts of the private sector, we have made progress getting our events back to work, but we have got a lot more work to do. as more than one million of our troops returned to civilian life, we will have to work even harder, because of the skill, dedication, encourage of our troops is unmatched. when they come home, we all benefit from their efforts to build a stronger america and a

brighter future for our kids. host: we are talking with tom tarantino of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. mr. tarantino, your group conducted a survey of over 400,000 iraq and afghanistan veterans earlier this year and you asked a few questions about the g.i. bill that the president and the last caller brought up. what did you find in terms of attitudes about the g.i. bill? guest: the g.i. bill is an incredible he popular program, and for good reason. i think in the last year or so, the problems they had with processing and wait times have started to go down. we will start you see -- we'll start seeing this next year, this winter semester, start seeing and work a lot more smoothly as the computer wrinkles are ironed out. but the point is that the g.i. bill has been a great success. one million veterans apply for benefits under the g.i. bill and he will transfer my generation -- it will transform a generation and it will help this generation readjust. the original g.i. bill was not

called the g.i. bill. it was called the reinvestment and readjust and act. the idea is that it gives veterans structure to do something when they transfer it to civilian life and provides the needed buffer so that you are not just walking out of a battlefield and into an office. it also allows veterans to make up the gaps in some of their skills. the military spends billions of dollars teaching you an amazing skill set, but it doesn't teach you everything you need for the civilian world. the g.i. bill is a great benefit to get those few things that you don't need that you didn't get to learn and the military that you might need in your civilian career. twitter.uestion from you talked earlier in this segment about bbva and the processing of this ability claims. guest: the answer to that is yes. they have done both. the a has a completely new digital process. they're not even excepting

paper. you file everything digitally now. the processing system, whereas before you would have wants us are working through a large envelope and then it would go to the next person and they would put it in a box and ship it to another building -- now it is all digital and you can have multiple processors looking at the same file at once. they've increased by several thousand of the amount of claims processors. forcesn't just a brute and ignorance method. this is a comprehensive adjustment in how they process claims entirely. we are hoping that as they work the bugs out of the new system, we will start seeing -- start regularly seeing claims get processed faster and hopefully in a few years -- i'm cautiously optimistic -- the backlogs could be a thing of the past. but we have to make sure that the v.a. has the resources that they need so that they can keep modernizing. this is in a six-month initiative and they are done. this is going to be a very long-

term thing. host: alfred is up next from north carolina, a veteran on our .ine for democrats thanks for calling us money. tv down and gour ahead with your question or comment. all right, we will try to get back to alfred. is in providence, rhode island, also a veteran and an independent. good morning. caller: good morning. i am 100% disabled for ptsd. i was sexually assaulted. was, after a lot of work, given the ptsd therapist. i saw her 7 times. on the seventh visit, she told me she would only see me once every three weeks. instead of once every 2 weeks.

i said no. she told me she wouldn't see me anymore. i went to the director of psychiatry in the hospital. he took her side. and now i have no mental health at all. the problem -- the v.a. has a lot of problems. and we are not getting proper care. lynn, thanks for the call in this money could tom tarantino from iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, our women veterans getting the care that they need? guest: not entirely, no. for yournk you service. this is in a couple of huge problem in our community. sexual assault has been rampant

in the department of defense and the military. it has not been rampant in the last 2 years, it has been rampant in the last 40. everyone needs to start being honest about this, especially in the department of defense. their response has largely been treating sexual assault like it is something that occurred in the last two years and they need to get leadership around it and they can fix it. not true. it is a pervasive cultural problem, and there are several things we're trying to fix. for example, modernizing the electric justice system. this is senator joe brand -- senator gillibrand's bill. the military has been resistant to this because they have this mental inertia when it comes to change. our is something that allies across the world have done and it has been successful and it would put that her fidelity in the justice system theyat victims feel that will get a fair shake, their day in court, and they will report the crime. mentals of the follow-on

health care, we are seeing extreme problems with men and women suffering from military sexual trauma not being able to get the care they need out of the v.a. this is largely because it is really hard to prove. until the last few years ago, records of sexual assault were routinely destroyed very quickly. iw they have to be kept for, think, 50 years for this is another bill that we're looking oore actd the ruth m that says that if you are in the military and you have diagnosis from sexual assault, we will assume it comes from your military service. we do this with agent orange manic -- poster posttraumatic, stress. lynn is right. this is a symptom of the v.a. health care not being where we needed to be. we are seeing other problems, such as opiate prescriptions at ava has risen to several hundred percent. this is where the demand for care is so high that hospitals can't keep up trade if you have

a veteran who is coming in in pain, you want to do something. this isn't a nefarious thing. they want to help the veteran not be in pain. but there's not enough mental health care providers to treat the need. this is causing huge problems not just for mental health but all over the pa system. host: stats on military sexual assault. this is a headline from the "new york daily news." this is a story from last week. 3553 assault reports in the first three quarters of the last fiscal year, up from 2400 34 in the previous year, according to the defense department. from willow springs, north carolina, on our line for republicans. you are on with tom tarantino of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. caller: good morning. i am from north carolina. i live 40 minutes from fort bragg and the air force base,

and also, we have cap lejeune in jacksonville for the marines. i see every day on the news quite often these soldiers coming home, they have served their country, and they saw the family, they either kill the family or kill themselves because of the gst. -- because of ptsd. and the governor patrick for rehearing has defunded all mental health care -- pat mcrory has defunded all mental health care. i don't know where these people are supposed to turn to. it is pathetic to me that american people would let their people who served in war do this to them. friend who is 22 years old who watched his body blow his brains out in war in afghanistan. and that is very sad. 22 years old, he could not take

the war and had to commit suicide. they need help and the unemployment rate here is horrible. like a do get a job, is dollars or nine dollars and hour. who can support the family on that? host: tom tarantino? guest: your point about suicide is extremely timely. it is an epidemic right now. not only is it a huge problem within the military, but in the veterans community it is about one suicide every hour or 22 a day. the problem is in the past we look at suicide, especially if you served in the military anytime before the last 2 years, it was always a powerpoint presentation, and suicide prevention was essentially telling guys just don't kill yourself. it looks at suicide as if the suicide itself is the problem. suicide is the end result of a string of problems and a string of failures. if you want to, suicide, especially in the veterans

community, you have to make sure that health care is available, that mental health care is up to par, that there are employment opportunities, that all the things that end up failing to the point where the veterans get to that moment of despair don't fail. in the military, this is about training not generals and commanders, but those sergeants and those lieutenants and those how to looked guys for these signs and understand that if someone is struggling, someone is having a hard time, get to them before they hit that point of despair could this is a massive cultural change -- not just in the military but also within the veterans community and civil society because the civilian community doesn't do a very good job of this either. host: on twitter guest: a lot. unfortunately, the closest raw numbers we have are from 2004.

but we know that this is a huge problem. the good news is that the justice system has responded incredibly well. there are over 160 veterans courts, which are specialty courts -- if you have offenses that are not necessarily violent but are definitely related to an untreated mental health or, injury, the combat court, rather than being adversarial or punitive, is focused on treatment. the veteran has pure mentors -- peer mentors there and the focus is on treatment. the recidivism rate for these crimes is virtually down to nothing, statistically zero. doingst about 1/8 less this then putting them in the jail or prison system or prison system where the mental health injuries would become worse. what is happening is that veterans are coming out transitioning much more successfully, and they are

getting the treatment and care they need. this was completely driven by local courts. it started in buffalo with the judge who created the first veterans court, and it has swept across the country in a way because communities realize that not only is this a more effective way of dealing with a problem but it is more efficient and it is helping these veterans getting the care and services they need. from northis up next providence, rhode island, on our line for independents. caller: good morning, how are you? i'm a korean vet i spent 2 years in, and training and then i was sent overseas. we had trouble with the base because the base was full of mold. i went to the hospital and they send me paperwork, "you didn't go on sick call, then he went to sick call, then he went to the mike,al, you had asked pneumonia -- you had asked mike, neumonia."

johnson went to the base and 200 beds, thenut 400 beds, then 800 beds. in, i hadhad a claim a hearing, the first of may. judge kennedy told me this should be handled in 30 days, 5.5 months ago. all they did was send me more paperwork, say i didn't go on the service, i had to prove it could i had to have my friend's wife write a letter stating that i'd served with him on a base. rhode island, as far as the veterans hospital -- let me tell you something, they put someone in charge over there which answers the phone who was supposed to be a nurse. he has no confidence in nothing. he tries to roll you over, no matter what you did. he changed my medicine and then set the doctor changed it. he did not change the medicine. he changed the medicine!

host: concerns over getting buried in paperwork, this is something that in your server you are seeing concerns by the other veterans on this issue? guest: yes, this is a big problem. we talk about the disability claims backlog of 400,000 waiting over 125 days. we are not talking about the appeals. if you appeal your case, you're talking 2 to 4 years, and that .s if you are lucky the backlog is enormous and it has not been addressed yet and hopefully it is something that will get addressed soon. is thatiggest problem he went to a doctor, he had a condition, it was definitely environmental, totally related to his service. it should have been as easy as going into the medical records and seeing it. the problem is that the department of defense has not been very good about keeping medical records. the v.a., a completely separate branch of government, doesn't talk to the department of defense very well. what we have to do to fix that

in the future is make sure that those records are completely seamless, so that your personnel and medical records from the department of defense can be viewed and used by the department of veterans affairs. the place that makes the veteran should talk to the place that treats the veteran coul. right now that is not really true. the v.a. is getting better at it and says that by next year their medical records system will be completely interoperable. i've been hearing this for the last five years, and we have spent half $1 billion trying to make this happen and they still haven't gotten it done. i would like to give them the benefit of the doubt, but this is totally inexcusable that the v.a. and dod can't talk to each other. the way they talk to each other right now just isn't working very well. this is something that has to get fixed, and it is about leadership, sitting down and within these fiefdoms the dod and v.a. to work together. host: talking about the v.a., on

twitter host: is this an issue you effort of? -- an issue you have heard of? guest: i've never heard of a specific one is for denying claims. this has actually been a problem, where in years, where the backlog has been atrocious and the managers in the veterans administration have been getting bonuses. they canceled the bonuses while the backlog is still around which is appropriate, but the issue of bonuses is controversial, and bonuses are supposed to award performance, network. you get paid for your work -- to ward performance, not work could you get paid for your work. you get rewarded for performance. on our lineom maine

for republicans, he is a veteran. thanks for calling in this morning. caller: you're welcome. i love the c-span. i have a question of how come veterans don't get reimbursed for the public stay at a hospital or the emergency room at a public hospital? a kind of gets held over there had sometimes. i was wondering why the v.a. won't pay for public hospitals like on the weekend, or you can get an appointment at the v.a. when it is an emergency and you have to go to the emergency room. that is my comment -- ah, my question. thank you. host: mr. tarantino. guest: this is actually a great question. technically, they are supposed to. if you go to the emergency room and you are registered with the v.a., a health care patient with them, you are in one of the isht categories, the v.a.

supposed to reimburse you for emergency room care. what they see is that not everyone is supposed to get to a v.a. hospital. this is something that the v.a. is supposed to do, contracting with health care networks across the country so that if you have to get care outside the v.a. system or the doctors does not have the availability in the hospital or the agreement, you don't just come to some random doctor and help the v.a. -- hope the v.a. pays you back. you go to a network that has an agreement with the v.a. so this doesn't have a problem. the doctors, not only can they communicate and share records, which is also a huge benefit, but the doctors get paid and the doctors you are going to,, the v.a. knows who they are. it sounds like pretty basic stuff, but this is all very new in the v.a. and hopefully in the 3ext year what they call pc

network will activate and veterans will be able to get care much easier than they are today. host: we are talking to tom tarantino, the chief policy officer of the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. we have been talking about his survey that they conducted earlier this year. you can see that at iava.org and follow his group on twitter, @iava. a question from james on twitter to you. guest: there's a couple things. the inspector general in the v.a., which has been pretty aggressive, and then there is sort of outside rating agencies -- it is less about -- it is more about how effective the v.a. is as a medical system. the v.a. always gets extremely high ratings in terms of customer service and customer care. you bring up an interesting point. if you have a private hospital or state hospital, there are

agencies within the state that inspect hospitals. they don't necessarily inspect is v.a. hospitals, which something that the inspector general and the federal government has to do. by and large the majority of v.a. health care is outstanding. we have seen serious problems at v.a. hospitals, such as in and the one in illinois a few years ago had huge problems. you have a health-care system in the v.a. that is broken up into 21 little kingdoms and most of them are fairly independent and we need to write those fiefdoms -- we need to break those fiefdoms down so that there is enforcement of standards and quality across the board and provide a more robust inspection network so that these few outlier hospitals that are doing funky stuff that held accountable and the veterans there don't suffer because of it. chicago, illinois, on our

line for democrats. good morning. caller: good morning. mr. tarantino, one of the things i would like to bring to your attention is that the in him that's -- vietnam vets are forgotten vets. we were forgotten when we came ink, and i spent 2 tours vietnam, and we are still forgotten, still pushed back. i'm glad they're giving help to those trips that are coming back from iraq and afghanistan. but those of us who were in vietnam, we were not treated properly when we came back and we still are not. we are still pushed to the back of the line. i had problems and i didn't know anything about -- i had problems in vietnam that i didn't know anything about. i didn't know anything about ptsd or anything else that came with that. i found a claim after so many things -- years because of things i didn't know. it took 2 years to be in the system. i found it here in illinois.

2 years, my claim just floated around. then they sent it to another state. within one month of the time that other state received my claim, they disapproved it. so i appealed. and it has gone on over 2 years. it was in the system here. one month they send it to another state. back toed it, a came illinois, and it is going to be all most another year and i'm waiting to see some of to appeal. -- see someone to appeal could i'm involved with the medical center here is a problems that were made more difficult while i was in vietnam, in reference to my feet and my legs and everything. they are very quick to take an disapproved claims of the veterans who went for many years i didn't realize the realize -- and didn't

the problems that they were having mentally and physically. they just quickly disapproved it. host: mr. tarantino? guest: yeah, this is a big problem, and i'm glad you bring this up, because the majority of backlog claims are actually vietnam veterans. alot of this is because of lot of the past that practices time to v.a., from digitize these records -- you have one-foot-long before those of medical records that the v.a. has to sift through. there've been processing problems. i get to do this job because of them. my organization exists because of vietnam generations grabbed my boss early on and said, hey, this is what you have to do. they really led the way and showed us how to be advocates. posttraumatic stress exists as a mental condition in the diagnostic book because of a vietnam veterans.

hating the way, -- paving the w ones thatere the allowed this generation to be as successful as we have been. the debt of gratitude is immense. one thing i want to say about the vietnam generation and v.a. health care and disability is we have to start refocusing on this . vivienne on generation just turned on average age 66 -- and the vietnam generation just turn on average age 66. in the world war ii generation hit retirement age, we saw an uptick in usage of v.a. health care and mental health conditions and disability. as they are retiring, guys are remembered, especially as there is a war going on as their was back then. we have to start refocusing on the care for vietnam veterans because they are our brothers and sisters in arms and we have to make sure that we care for them as well as we are coming for the vet -- caring for the vet and get some from afghanistan tomorrow. west james from

virginia, democrat. caller: how are you doing? host: good. you are on with tom tarantino. caller: i'm a returning iraq vet, came back in 2001. i've been diagnosed with severe chronic ptsd. i don't know exact what it is, except that it makes me have a heightened sense of awareness that i guess that comes from being through war. share one thing that is affecting a lot of these young boys to come home. i was staying in martinsburg, west virginia the moment. when i went to war, then- president george w. bush that we would have -- that we wouldn't have red tape when we came home and that the great citizens of america would do whatever they could to help us and that red tape wasn't justifiable. my extremes was this --

experience was this -- i took it to the troopers, and they locked me up and told me that no care about the paper, all they want to do is put me in jail. i'm saying this to say that i feel like i'm still at war. and it is wrong. we've got a lot of soldiers back here. i don't understand this killing yourself, but then again, i don't know what the situation is. a lot of times it is what happens when they come home. host: tom tarantino, in our last 30 seconds here. guest: this points out that we still haven't gotten this figured out. the world today for veterans is better than it was six or seven years ago. health care is better, the disability process is getting better, we have a system of veterans courts, the g.i. bill is running at full steam could but we are not quite there yet. problems finding jobs, veterans still need the care and services to transition

from warrior back to civilian. we will never be truly successful until as a country we wrap our arms around that and it will be difficult considering that the veterans population is dynamically shrinking. on veterans day of all days, we can't forget that there are men and women who fight for us and we have a moral and practical obligation to make sure they come home from war and transition back home safely and soundly. host: tom tarantino is with the iraq and afghanistan veterans of america, iav

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>> president obama marked veterans day a wreath at the tomb of the unknown in arlington national cemetery. mr. obama spoke about ending the war in afghanistan. paid honor to richard overton. this is just under an hour.

[bells] ♪ [national anthem]

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♪ [taps] ♪

america the beautiful

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♪ >> ladies and gentlemen,please welcome major general jeffrey buchanan, commanding general, united states army. [applause]

mr. patrick hallinan, national cemeteries director. [applause] mr. harold fritz, national president for the congressional medal honor society for the united states of america. [applause] and the honorable eric k. shinseki, secretary of veterans affairs. [applause] ladies and gentlemen, the president of the united states. [applause]

♪ [ hail to the chief ] ♪ ladies and gentlemen, please remain standing, please place your hand over your heart, or render the salute. ♪

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please remain standing for the prayer for all veterans. delivered by the department of chaplainaffairs service. >> let us pray. oh god, i am an american veteran, and ever with your grace and your strength to guide me, i have sacrificed for you and country. and you have made my heritage long, and proud. for i shivered that cold winter in valley forge, and spilled my

blood, i am an american veteran. i came to france in the war to end all wars, i am an american veteran. i was there on that day of infamy, stormed the beaches of normandy, and i scaled the cliffs. i met battle on island after island, and i raised the flag. i am an american veteran. i was there with macarthur in korea, and in the jungles of vietnam. i was there in desert storm, iraq, and today, in the mountains of afghanistan, and i remain ready to pledge my all,

for i am my brothers' and sisters' keeper. i am an american veteran, and humbly i beseech thee to hearken to my prayer, and make haste to establish justice, freedom, and peace among men and women and nations. for this we humbly pray, amen. >> now i would like to invite mr. harold fritz to lead us in our pledge of allegiance. >> i pledge allegiance to the flag of the united states of america, and to the republic for which it stands, one nation under god, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. >> please be seated.

it is now my distinct privilege to introduce the members of the veterans day national committee. the committee was formed by presidential order in 1954, to hold an annual observance throughout the nation. please stand when i call your name. harold fritz, president, national congressional medal honor society. norbert ryan junior. korean war veteran associations. the national commander of the g.i. forms. national commander of the jewish

war veterans of the usa. national commander of the exprisoners of war. national president of the vietnam veterans of america. commander in chief of the foreign wars of the united states. national president, blinded veterans association. national commander, army and navy union of the usa.

national commander, non- commissioned officers association. national vice commander of the american legion. senior vice commander, military order of the purple heart. national president of the reserve association. national commandant, marine corps league. national president, paralyzed veterans of america. national commander, legion of valor, of the usa. commander in chief, military order of the world wars. cochairman of the board, national association of fallen

services. the retired and enlisted association. i would like to ask the president and national commanders to stand and be recognized. please join me in recognizing our veterans and national leadership with your applause. [applause] it is now my pleasure to introduce our veterans organization host, the congressional medal of honor society. it was established in 1946, and was limited to the recipients of the medal of valor, the nation's highest award for gallantry in combat. today there are 78 living recipients of the medal of

honor. the society is represented today by their national president, harold fritz. he was awarded the medal of honor for displaying extraordinary courage and selflessness while serving as a platoon leader in the united states army in the republic of vietnam in 1969. ladies and gentlemen, please welcome mr. harold fritz. [applause] >> president obama, vice president biden, secretary hagel, secretary shinseki, fellow veterans, and guests. as president of the congressional medal of honor society, representing 78 of our

nations'recipients, it is my privilege to represent all of those who have sacrificed in the name of freedom. together, we have made a difference, it is because of the continued efforts of our veterans, combined with the support of our people, that the foundation of our countries' resolve continues to be rocksolid, and allow the nations around the world to enjoy freedom. they have displayed unquestionable bravery while serving this nation. within the breast of each of

these patriots swells a level of peace and compassion for their fellow man. we cannot maintain peace without a viable deterrent to war. all americans must stand united for our men and women in uniform. let us stand proudly, and never forget the sacrifice of those who have served, those standing amongst us, and those who have fallen in the line of duty. let us constantly be reminded of the importance of this very precious commodity we call freedom, and the very high price we must pay to maintain it. the men and women it remembers. thank you, and best wishes to each and every one of you. to the veterans among us, thank you for your service and sacrifice, to the families of the veterans, thank you for your everlasting support, may the sacrifices of your departed loved ones never be forgotten.

we salute you for your ultimate sacrifice and gift of freedom to us. god bless america. [applause] >> thank you mr. fritz. please welcome the honorable mr. eric k. shinseki. [applause] >> mr. president, welcome. thank you and the first lady, and the vice president for your leadership and unwavering support for the veterans and

their families. veterans day is about celebrating and honoring our veterans who have given so much of the rest of us. on those occasions when people ask me about values, i often point them to va's budgets, and suggest that veterans day is not just a one-day-a-year event. it should be every day, every year. they get it. that is what is reflected in those annual budget requests for the va. a commitment of every day, of every year for our veterans. medal of honor recipient harold fritz, we thank you.

welcome to our other veterans service and military service organizations, who are important to our mission. welcome especially to all of our veterans, their families, and our gold star families, our survivors, who are gathered here today. it is wonderful to see all of you. democratic leader nancy pelosi, other distinct members of the congress, secretary chuck hagel, vice chairman, other members of our defense leadership, colleagues, distinguished guests, ladies and gentlemen. 237 years ago, the leaders of

this great nation penned the magnificent words that would become in time both vision and conscious for a fledgling democracy. you have all heard them. we hold these truths self- evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their creator with certain unalienable rights, that among these are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. in the centuries since these often quoted words became the bedrock of our society, each generation has done its part to pass a strong and free america to the next generation. last month president obama awarded the medal of honor for gallantry above and beyond the

call of duty. during six hours of intense combat, the captain did everything expected of leaders, and then more. keeping his ambushed unit fighting effectively, directing all available fire as he evacuated the wounded, and repeatedly risking his personal safety to retrieve wounded soldiers, fallen comrades. determination, decisiveness, personal toughness, calm under fire, a willingness to risk it all for others. he would tell you there are many

more heroes from that day. the president understands what the recipients of the medal of honor mean to america. he values the service and sacrifice of all of the veterans to our nation. that is why he has provided such strong personal leadership and unwavering support for this department, and for veterans. with the help of congress, the va's budgets have increased. we have seen the increase of resources by 50%, and this is what we bring to the mission. we have enrolled 2 million more veterans for va healthcare. veterans could not ask for a stronger advocate than our president. ladies and gentlemen, it is my great personal and professional

honor to present to you our commander-in-chief, the president of the united states of america, barack obama. [applause] >> thank you. thank you. please be seated. good morning, everyone. thank you secretary shinseki, for your lifetime of service to our nation. to vice president biden, and secretary hagel, major general

buchanan, most of all to our outstanding veterans service organizations, our men and women in uniform, and to the proud veterans and family members joining us in this sacred place, michelle and i are incredibly honored to be with you today again. to the gold star families, and the brothers and sisters in arms who walked the paths of these hallowed grounds and cemeteries around the world, we join you as you remember your loved ones who wore america's uniform. here in arlington, we have ensured that you can bring the medals of your loved ones to the final resting place. we honor the troops who have rendered the highest service one can render this nation.

those who fought for our freedom, and stood for our security. with solemn remembrance in veterans halls, and parades throughout america, we join as one people to honor a debt we can never fully repay. across every generation, there are those that stand apart, they step up, they raise their hands, they take that oath, they put on the uniform and put their lives on the line. they do this so that the rest of us might live in a country and a world that is safer, freer, and more just. this is the gift they have given us, this is the debt that we owe them. they fought on the green in lexington so that we could make

independence. they fought in gettysburg so that we could make whole a nation torn asunder. we have emerged the most prosperous nation in the history of the world. this year we mark the 60th anniversary of the fighting of the korean war, and we honor them who served. from the jungles of vietnam, to desert storm, they have answered america's call. since america was attacked on that clear september morning, millions more have assumed that mantle, defining one of the greatest generations this country has ever produced. this generation, the 9/11

generation, has met every mission we have asked of them, and today we can say because of their heroic service, our homeland is safer. the soldier i met a few months ago, deployed to iraq twice, and survived not one but two -- excuse me, three separate ied explosions. when she was well enough, she deployed again, where she was often the only woman in our forward operating bases. she proudly wears the combat action badge, and today she is committed to helping other

wounded warriors recover from the trials of war. helping the troops, she said, is what i am all about. my fellow americans, that is what we should be all about. our work is more urgent than ever, because this chapter of war is coming to an end. soon one of the first marines to arrive in afghanistan 12 years ago will lead his marines as they become one of the last major groups of marines deployed in this war. over the coming months more of our troops will come home. this winter our troop levels in afghanistan will be down to 34,000, and the transition to afghan-led security will be almost complete. the longest war in history will end. [applause]

as is true after every conflict, there is a risk that the devoted service of our veterans would not stay in the forefront of our minds, that we would turn to other things. part of the reason we are here today is to pledge that we will never forget the profound sacrifices made in our name. today, we are reminded of our sacred obligations. even though this time of war is coming to a close, our time of service to our newest veterans has only just begun. think about it, our troops wear the uniform for only a short time, but they wear the title of veterans for the rest of their lives.

as a nation, we make sure we have the best led, best trained, best equipped military in the world. we need to make sure we have as much passion for the best care, the best respected veterans in the world. [applause] so when we talk about fulfilling our promises to our veterans, we do not just mean for a few years. we mean now, tomorrow, and forever. not just for generations past, but for this generation of veterans and all who will follow. that is why as commander-in- chief, i will keep making sure we are providing unprecedented support for veterans. [applause]

even as we make difficult fiscal choices as a nation, we will keep making vital investment in our veterans. we will keep improving veterans health care, so they can stay strong. we want to make sure that the veterans not covered by the va can acquire affordable health insurance. we will keep at the backlog, so that you can get what you have earned when you need it. [applause] we are going to keep helping our newest veterans and their families pursue their education, under the post-9/11 g.i. bill. we just welcomed our one millionth student veteran, and we are waiting for all of those who will come next. we'll keep demanding that the rights and dignity of every veteran is upheld, including pushing forward disability treaties, so that disabled veterans enjoy the same

opportunities as everyone else. [applause] and, with the help of michelle and joe biden joining forces, we will keep fighting to get every veteran the chance to pursue the american dream, a fair shot at the jobs and opportunity you need to help us regrow here at home. start companies, serve your communities, and serve your fellow veterans. that is our promise, to be there, to support you when you come home. as a nation we will strive to be worthy of the sacrifices you

have made. that is what we owe all of our veterans. that is what we owe veterans like richard, who served in the army in world war ii. he was there -- [applause] i want you to know something about him, he was there at pearl harbor when the battleships were still smoldering, he was there at okinawa, he was there at iwo jima.

he headed home to a nation utterly divided by race, and his service on the battlefield was not matched by the respect that he deserved at home, but he held his head high. he carried on with honor and dignity, he built a house with his own two hands, he went back to work in the furniture business, and in time he served as a courier in the texas state capitol where he worked for four governors and made more friends than most of us do in a lifetime. today he still lives in the house he built so many years ago, and every sunday he drives one of the nice ladies in his neighborhood to church. [applause]

this is the life of one american veteran, living proud and strong in the land that he helped keep free. earlier this year, the great folks at honor flight austin brought him to washington and he paid his respects at the world war ii memorial. then he paid his respects at the martin luther king jr. memorial, and as he sat under that statute, he wept and the others around him wept too. they bore witness to the day in this nation he thought would never come. this american veteran is 107 years old. and we are honored that he is here with us today. let's ask richard to stand again, because he can stand. [applause]

this is how we will be judged. not just by how will we care for our troops in battle, but how we treat them when they come home, and by the america we build together. what we do with the security and peace they helped to grant us. they played their part in the american story. today our message to all of those who have ever worn the uniform of this nation is this, we will stand by your side whether you're seven days out, or you're 70 years out.

here in america we take care of our own. the sacrifice has been made in our name, for this nation that we love, and we commit ourselves to standing by these veterans and their families for as long as we are blessed to walk this earth. god bless you all, god bless our veterans, and god bless this united states of america. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen, please stand and join the united states air force band in singing god bless america.

god bless america, land that i love. stand beside her, and guide her, through the night, with the light from above. from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans white with foam. god bless america, my home sweet home.

god bless america, my home sweet home. god bless america, land that i love. stand beside her, and guide her, through the night with the light from above. from the mountains, to the prairies, to the oceans, white with foam. god bless america, my home sweet home. god bless america, my home sweet

home. [applause] >> ladies and gentlemen please remain standing as we retire the colors. retire the colors. ♪

>> this concludes the national veterans observance. please be seated for the departure of the president of the united states. thank you for honoring all of those who served. [applause] ♪

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>> coming up -- a discussion on iran's nuclear program. the federal contractor program is also going to be discussed. warren gives a speech examining the regulation of wall street. startingee her remarks at 1:00 p.m. eastern on c-span 2. cordray appears before the senate banking committee today to deliver his semiannual report. you can see his testimony at 2:30 p.m. eastern on c-span3. book tv looks back at the life and death of our 35th

president on the 50th anniversary of his assassination. getting saturday oh 1:30 p.m. beginning saturday at 1:30 p.m. eastern. it is all part of book tv this weekend on c-span2. poster thoughts in our book club chat room. -- post your thoughts in our book club chat room. >> here's a look at what walter bettinger had to say about retirement planning. comments onave any ms. yellen, but our clients are concerned about the policies of

the federal reserve. they would like to see the federal reserve begin a process of heading back toward a market driven approach to interest rates. there will be pain associated with that. this drugen taking for five years. you cannot slow down without some pain. the fear on the part of our investor clients is that you cannot stay on the drug forever. -- sooner we begin her to the sooner we begin to take steps to take us back to a sustainable environment, they would feel a whole lot better. many clients who anticipate crashes in the market is because of concern about the policies in the federal reserve. >> you are not saying ben bernanke is a drug pusher will -- drug pusher? >> not in the least. irane current situation in

-- the world affairs cast counsel -- council hosted an event including jerrold green. >> i'm delighted that he has taken -- >> can you hear me? i'm not sure i need a mic. if you can hear me, let me know.

between iran and its regional neighbor, friends, and foes. we are on the eve of potential negotiations on iran's nuclear activities. there's a new president in office in tehran. we are privileged to host one of our country's knowledgable, long-term experts today, dr.

jerrold green. [applause] >> i will not take the time to go through his bio. it is very extensive. let me just mention the highlights were a few -- or a few highlights. we first met when we were both consulting in santa monica about three years ago. he later became director of international programs and development at rand. and he oversaw the activities of the center for asia pacific policy. at the same time, he directed the rand center for middle east public policy. his expertise is very wide-

ranging. we first became aware of each other and got to know each other when he was teaching at michigan, the university of michigan. later he moved to the west coast. he had a stint in the real world with a private equity firm. for the last several years and in recognition of his very broad experience and knowledge, he became the president of the pacific council on international affairs in los angeles. but his main expertise is centered on iran and the middle east. i'm delighted that he has taken the time to come today and talk to us about some of the critical issues of the moment. [applause]

>> can you hear me? i'm not sure i need a mic. if you can't hear me, let me know. i really want to say thank you to paul for inviting me to speak. he is my pal of some 30 years. he is also an extraordinary distinguished expert on the middle east and frankly a very patriotic american. he served for seven years working for uncle sam in northern virginia and doing important sorts of work. we have been friends for a long time. his knowledge is remarkable. an expert is someone from out- of-town -- i'm sitting at this

table. i'm talking to congress in berkeley. a member of the house foreign relations committee and the middle east subcommittee. when you get face time with someone with that level of exposure back in washington, it is something to be treasured. just came back from iran two days ago. you want to talk to someone about iran, he is the one to talk to. finally, a professor wrote a book called "why men rebel." i read it as a graduate student. we are the same age, but i was dumb and did not get into graduate school until i was old. if you want to understand things iranian revolution, you read that kind of book. you really are living in a remarkably interesting community this is just one voice. it is only a different one. i will talk about iran.

what i want to do first of all is try to understand how we got to the impasse we are at today. i coincidently was in tehran during the revolution. i was there. i didn't participate, i witnessed iranian resolution from the beginnings until the return of -- i was there and saw it firsthand. this is 35 years ago. it was a revolution against the shah of iran. he got the vast majority of the people in this country to hate him. to get iranians to agree on anything is not easy. he succeeded at this brilliantly. it is quite unfortunate and

sad. he had extraordinary resources available to him. trust me. he had a remarkable opportunity. he was ill with cancer, he was having chemotherapy. all sorts of explanations. it is unfortunate. why do iranians not like us? it is kind of an oxymoron. many would say iran is the most pro-american country in the united states. what they mean is not the government of iran. they mean the average iranian on the street. i lived in the second largest concentration of iranians in the world outside of iran. i have been there regularly since the revolution.

it is amazing, given the high level discord between our two governments. they do not have six packs. the average person actually likes the united states. they like american culture. they like basketball. all sorts of stuff. having said that, again, you will not love it. i will tell you how iranians think. i just subscribed to these use. i will tell you how we look. first of all, it looks like we support dictatorship across the middle east. we supported iraq's attack on iran.