republican field. the event will also give him another opportunity to address the controversy over his comments about senator john mccain's military service. also this hour ohio governor john kasich will officially enter the 2016 presidential race becoming of course you're counting, the 16th major candidate on the republican side. and in pittsburgh president obama will address the annual veterans of foreign wars convention where, among other things he is expected to try to solve a nuclear deal with iran to those service members. but we begin our live coverage this morning in bluston, south carolina where donald trump holds his first event since his comments about john mccain's war service over the weekend. this comes on the heels of an editorial in iowa's top newspaper urging trump to drop out of the race calling him a, quote, distraction with traction. trump quickly responded to that editorial by issuing a statement

blasting the paper saying in part, the des moines register has lost much circulation advertising in power over the last number of years. they will do anything for a headline and this poorly written non-endorsement got them some desperately needed ink. trump also cites a new "washington post" abc news poll which now shows him with a double digit lead in the gop race with 24% of the vote. that's 11 points ahead of newly announced candidate scott walker and 12 points ahead of jeb bush. but the "washington post" notes that a majority of the survey was taken before the remarks of john mccain and that support for trump dropped sharply the day following those comments. nbc's katie in south carolina. in typical trump fashion, he's gone after the paper saying circulation is down, that their they're irrelevant. but in reality, these comments

may not go away and they may affect the next poll that comes out. >> as you said that poll that came out was done before and after these comments. there was a drone after the comments were received. we'll see in the next few days just how much they have affected him. so far, though at this rally in south carolina he is not being affected. they're coming out to hear him talk. they like what he's saying this anti-politician, anti hif anti-establishment candidate. he's blaming the media for distorting his words. he's blaming the des moines register for -- >> katie, i think we're having some trouble with your microphone. i apologize for interrupting you. we can hear the piano and the ambience but we can't hear katie's report. the piano gets louder and louder. let's get them to work on your microphone. meanwhile, let me bring in for some analysis ed rendell and

matt shraff. he is director for president george w. bush. thank you, gentlemen, for joining me. i greatly appreciate it. again, apologies to our audience with katie's mic. let's go to you, the donald trump name-calling we've all become familiar with but this new "washington post" poll shows he has a double digit lead there. what's your take on what's happening here? >> he's running against all the people that have done this before and all the insiders and all the people in kind of the republican political class. and, look, taking on a big liberal newspaper isn't going to hurt him, either. all these people that are trying to diminish him are actually building him up. there is a constituency out there in the country that likes this idea of the outsider taking on washington. >> so as i mentioned, you were the political director for president george w. bush. you see heez a's ahead of jeb bush

by 12 points there. is that about the bush brand? what do you believe is happening there? >> there's no question that one of the things jeb has to do during this nominating process is make the case that he is the right guy to lead the republican party against the most likely democratic nominee, hillary clinton. he has to make the case on his record and his own merits. obviously using his last name could be a negative and i think he fully acknowledges that. this is america. this is a democracy. we like having new leaders. but the poll itself i worry less about, because these polls are going to change a lot. this race is very free-flowing. we really don't have a frontrunner. it's a long period of time before we know who our nominees are going to be. >> that's all true but right now, governor rendell, you see the headlines as matt does as well and it seems like donald trump is taking the oxygen in the room or out of the room and others describe it as setting the tone for the gop and the debates which will start here

very soon. >> it's interesting, donald trump has done a great job making this all about donald trump. there is no oxygen left for anybody, and that's good from his standpoint it's good from our standpoint democrats, because we would lough to see donald be the nominee, but for him, the struggle is going to be to get from where he is now. he certainly hit a responsive chord with the angry republican primary voter. and that's about 20 25% of the electorate. but for him to get more than that and become a real factor in this race august 6 is going to be a very important day, tamron. he's gt toot to look presidential. he can't just throw bombs in that debate. he's got to say certain things that people look at him and say, gosh he's not just a guy that makes me feel good because he's captured my anger, he's a guy that could be president. >> that sounds great, but he has taken, governor, the opposite approach and it's worked for him.

so if you're trump and his team and you hear him come on air and say it's not likely he'll get the nomination he may say, look i've got the road map that none of you saw coming. who would have predicted that donald trump at this point so early in the game would be leading jeb bush and scott walker, double digits. who would have called that? >> later in the game four years ago, herman cain was leading in the poll. so don't get excited over these polls. >> here's what's different. herman cain at some point had to look for donors. donald trump, at least right now, doesn't have to bow down to a particular donor group, those who are said to be mad, for example, in certain wings of the party about comments he made about john mccain. right now he's financing his own campaign and that gives him a level of power that the other candidates do not have including herman cain at the time. >> but if you look at what's

happened with campaign finance reform, the leading candidates have massive amounts of money to spend on their own campaign committees, and they also have these superpacs, so they have a lot of resources as well. this is not for reason of finance that donald trump is striking a chord, he's striking a chord for reasons he's running against washington. and secondly governor rendell, i think you would agree he's reaping out to the types that bill clinton reached out to in 1992. these are middle class voters that are worried about their economic future. they haven't seen their incomes rise over the course of the last decade or longer. there is real information that he is striking a chord. >> he hasn't talked about how he plans to put money in the pockets of those people. he's talked about how he has money. the only idea he's come out with if you want to call it an idea, is one of fear of mexicans coming to this kruntcountry. >> that's troooo trite. >> tell me how he's said he's

going to put money in the people that president clinton responded to. what's his plan? >> politicians don't really understand how to get kmetthe economy right, and voters like someone like a donald trump, somebody not necessarily coming from the electorate world, someone who has money -- >> if her plan is appealing, why isn't she showing up on the -- >> let me make my point. maybe you and i just fundamentally disagree. the outsiders in these races are doing well. by the way, we're not talking about the democrats. bernie sanders is doing well yes, he's an elected official but he's running against a democratic machine. he's doing great, he's raising a lot of money and doing great in these polls. these outside candidates are really true to the time in politics today. >> so governor when you talk about -- and i think carly

fiorina may oppose being linked in with donald trump -- and think she would -- do you believe what that is saying regarding that trump, carly fiorina are appealing to this economic anger, if we can describe it as that that some middle class people are having even though we're doing better in this country than we were in 2008. >> there are. there's no question about that. but the key for them and donald trump has got to continue to bottle that anger up in the debate, but he's got to start, and you've made this point. he's got to start putting a little meat on the bones. he can't just say, i'm a businessman and i made a lot of money and i have a great job. he's got to start telling us how he's going to do it. remember, this is still august. the general election is 14 months away. the primaries don't start for another five months. herman cain had the same problem. you're right, he didn't have the money donald had, but donald is going to have to start convincing people by saying certain things. he can still have the anger, and he can still have that response

but he's got to start putting some meat on the bones. >> it's not a disagreement because for me it's not a matter of having a horse in the race one way or the other, this is about presenting the facts of what his campaign has delivered. this is not left or right leaning. it's saying, if you are appealing to middle class people folks like we know people in our families every day, what are you selling them besides your own wealth is my point. >> if that's your point, i agree with it completely, and i agree with the governor's point which is that's why campaigns take a long time in america. you have these skirmishes that take a long time on stage. for donald trump to make a transition, he's going to have to put meat on the bone. i think he's up to that challenge. i don't have a horse in this race, too, but i do believe one thing which is the trump candidacy and these outsiders

are good for our party. >> is it good for jeb bush and is he fighting back the way you would advise him? >> yeah. i know governor bush well and have very high regard for him, and i think there is a case to be made that would help him. the republicans tend to like the next guy standing and having a leading candidate that they're safe and comfortable with. jeb bush is that candidate for a lot of republicans, and if this nominating process looks too bad, they might go with jeb bush. >> as governor rendell pointed out, it's kind of a groundhog day where you will have a herman cain and initially the party rallies around surprise surprise, mitt romney like they did. katie is standing by this trump rally. you've talked to a lot of people there. what are they saying is the appeal? are they worried about their pocketbook, are they worried about immigration? what are they saying?

>> they're worried about all these things. what they like about donald trump is he's the anti-establishment candidate for now. they have a general mistrust for politicians, they have a general mistrust for the media, and what trump is doing is he's going out and saying your politicians are lying to you, the media is lying to you, here's what i'm going to do. he's talking in big, grand terms about how wealthy he is how successful he is. he's promoting himself at every opportunity but he hasn't laid out any speck policyific policy plans. he said he wants to build a wall between the united states and mexico. he hasn't said how he would finance that wall, only that the mexicans would do it. he talked about bringing jobs back to japan and china and mexico places where he's farmed out some of his jobs but he's not saying how he'll bring those jobs back. he's basically talking to a group of people that are angry, but the next step will be to lay out a policy plan talk about

what he would do if he was in office, not talk about all the amazing things he says he's done so far. >> obviously, i think that's what his credit i were saying and what we were discussing with matt as well is that as he's covering his campaign, when will we start to see, as governor rendell put it the meat on the bones here? >> i think we'll have to see it -- this is the next transition of the race. this is the very first debate. this is the first time that republicans will see these candidates on a stage together. and they're going to have to start putting some specifics about the policies they'll stand for. i think it's a mistake for these candidates to run out too early with all their agenda on every issue. this is the first step in unveiling where they're going to go from here. donald trump has time but there is no question that this is the next step. what are the specific policies what is your plan for getting america back? >> and quickly, governor, i'm super out of time but is it fair to compare bernie sanders and his enthusiasm that he's drawn in to what we're seeing with the trump rallies?

>> it's a little bit different. it disaffected americans for different reasons, so i think there is a comparison this. >> governor thank you very much. matt, thank you for being here. i know you'll have more coverage on that rally. david sweat is revealing new details on his efforts to escape from a new york prison that he even compares to "the shawshank redemption." the months and hours this man spent undetected exploring the tunnels before breaking out. a new report on what he's saying now. plus millions of americans from texas to new england will be suffering another day of scorching heat. thousands of people have lost power and two children were rescued from hot cars. that is one of the stories we are updating around the news nation and this. >> i'm just lucky i have my family around me and great friends, too. >> pro surfer mick fanning who

fought off that shark attack says it could take weeks to heal the emotional trauma from his near-death experience. more new comments from him today. joining our conversation on line, you can find the team on twitter@fnewsnation, and you can find me under twitter in instagram under my name. and ones you never thought you'd make. we help connect where you are. to places you never thought you'd go. this, is why we travel. and why we continue to create new technology to connect you to the people and places that matter. [ school bell rings ] ♪ ♪ [ female announcer ] everything kids touch at school sticks with them. make sure the germs they bring home don't stick around. use clorox disinfecting products. you handle

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welcome back. developing this morning we are learning new details about the brazen prison escape that captured the nation's attention last month. nearly three weeks after the manhunt for killers david sweat and richard matt ended, new information released by the "new york times" is shedding light on how they managed to pull it off. much of the details have come from sweat, the lone survivor who is giving investigators a thorough account even making the same comparison most of us

have made to the movie "the shawshank redemption." >> reporter: according to the "new york times," david sweat told investigators from his hospital bed how he planned his escape in extraordinarily specific terms portraying himself as the driving force. according to the report sweat started devising a plan this past winter after he was transferred to a cell next to matt. almost immediately he began cutting a hole in the back of his cell using a hacksaw blade. each night sweat would wait until after the 11:30 head count to crawl through the hole shimmy down a series of pipes, go down several stories and roam the tunnels, looking for a way out. he would then return to his cell each morning before the 5:30 a.m. count. >> he was looking for a way that he could find a weak point, find a place where he would be able to get out. >> reporter: sweat reportedly had a macgyver-like sense.

when heat from the steam pipes became unbearable when cutting through a wall he used a fan from the tunnel's lights. >> he was creative, at least according to his account, in the way that he dealt with the obstacles that he faced. >> reporter: like so many others, sweat and his partner reportedly compared their efforts to the escape in "the shawshank redemption," joking that while it had taken andy dufrane, the character in the movie, 20 years to escape it would only take them 10. >> whether it's luck whether it's skill, whether it's determination, they were able to do something that many people weren't able to do before them. >> so david sweat was moved to a special housing unit last week where he will be confined for 24 hours a day in the new york department of corrections and community supervision. he has filed former disciplinary charges against him. that, of course is on top of

the life sentence he's already serving. also developing now, president obama is about to address veterans at the national vfw national convention. the president is expected to lobby for support of that nuclear agreement with iran as republicans in congress still threaten to derail the deal. up next medal of honor correspondent jack jacobs plus we're following in ohio where presidential candidate john kasich is about to announce his candidacy, and we're live in south carolina with donald trump. we'll be right back.

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last year's scandal for delayed health care for our nation's veterans. president obama's report comes amid reports that veterans' wait times for doctor appointments have increased in the past year and with the va struggling to cover its backlog of benefits claims. the white house says the president will also unveil a new rule to help military members who are victims of predatory loans. and he's also expected to lobby for support of the nuclear deal with iran. joining me now in our studio nbc news analyst, retired army colonel jack jacobs. we're also expecting the president, perhaps, to make a comment regarding john mccain and being an american hero as the president has referred to. let me get your take what's happened here with john mccain. >> we also use the term hero all the time and there's a great deal of truth in that but john mccain worked very very hard to resist the most difficult

circumstances. he was in solitary confinement, he was tortured and so on. one shouldn't cut down his military performance at all. >> we know they have a particular weight in countries with a higher concentration. but we haven't seen a very passionate pushback on donald trump from some of the major groups. is it because they don't take him seriously? >> it might be that. i'm not a fan of single factor analysis. we also have to worry that in the primary campaign, it's not the mainstream you hear from. it's the people on the left and the right, those are the people that participate in this exercise. it's one reason bernie sanders is so far to the left so far to the right. >> let's talk about the event today, the president expecting to lobby for support of this nuclear deal.

as we know, many republicans right now pushing very hard and lobbyists who want to see this deal go down in flames. why is this deal so important for the president to pitch to? >> they're very strong and represent a very large number of a very large number of people. the veterans in this country are, there are 20 million, 30 mill of them and they vote. it's really important to gain their support in anything they're trying to do. and because these people vote they're going to have a direct line on people in the congress who are going to be weighing in on it and it's really important to gain their support for this and i think it's an uphill battle to be honest with you. >> speaking of uphill battle turning the va around seems to be like shifting the titanic, if you will. here you have pledges from not only members of congress but from the white house to fix this system but we're still seeing long delays for vets to get their health care and medical care. one of the criticisms donald trump had of john mccain is he felt he did not do enough and

has not done enough for our nation's veterans. how would describe the state of the va medical care right now? >> i think that was the best analogy i've heard in a long time, it is like steaming the titanic around a direction 180 degrees from where it's been. it is a large bureaucracy. bureaucracies do routine things in a routine way. you want to get them to do something new, something different that they haven't done. it takes a lot of effort. overall the va is doing a better job. but it's a very fragmented system. if you go into a local va it's a long way from wherever you are in kansas or north dakota or any other place, all the way to washington. there are big improvements that new secretaries of human affairs has made in washington and now what he's got to do and is trying to do is get the local areas where the population meets the va to get that fixed, too. >> as i mentioned, the president also wants to focus in on these predatory loans, military members apparently becoming

victims of these loans. actually, you know what let me pause here. we're seeing the president being introduced right now. we also have this other breaking news story out of ohio. let's just quickly listen in to governor john kasich and then we'll go back to the president. >> finally looks me square in the eye and he said can you shut up? i'm a little busy right now. and they came out, and i could hold them in the palm of my hand. it was so sweet. and so i, along with karen, have dedicated our lives to giving them a better life than we were able to ever get from our parents. and you know what? they're doing fantastic, emma and reese kasich. [ applause ] >> and my wife. pray for her, she's married to

me. okay? from the very tips of my toes to the top of my head i just love my wife so much. such a great partner. [ cheers and applause ] >> she's such a great lady. so i want to tell you that it's this whole business of the american dream, isn't it that we can all work to make sure that next generation is going to be in a position of greater strength than what we received. and i get my inspiration from the people who came before me. and i want to tell you about a few of the ones that inspire me. i'd like to start with my uncle steve. uncle steve was a tough guy, you know, the son of a coal miner, rough and gruff and tell it like it is.

he found himself in iwojima. and he looked around during that battle and he saw a lot of people dying. uncle steve was not a church-going man, but in the middle of all the violence and the blood and the death, he said to god, if you will take me off this island i will go to church every day for the rest of my life. and he did. and he did. and uncle steve -- [ applause ] >> when uncle steve came home from the war, the brothers all slept in the same room. they didn't have a lot. and uncle george told me that he would have nightmares and he would speak in japanese. and he told his brothers never wake me. never wake me from that

nightmare because i don't know what will happen. let me sleep and wake up on my own. and uncle george -- he's here today. he's right over here. he's 89 years old. [ applause ] >> i so love my uncle george. he's the patriarch of our family. well uncle george was in the infantry, and he was scheduled to take a boat from england to belgium. but the division he was in couldn't fit in the boat. so they asked uncle george to wait until the next day. well that boat left england on its way to belgium, and a submarine launched a torpedo and

sunk that boat and everyone on it perished. the next day uncle george took another boat and he landed in france. and he fought with great honor, and he returned home and became a guidance counselor and guided young people for the next 38 years of his life. what a man! [ applause ] >> my father-in-law, we call him popsy, grandfather, joined the marines at the age of 17. he wanted to serve his country. but i guess most important my mom and dad. you know mom was -- well she was a visionary. didn't get the education. you know her mother could barely speak english, but boy, was she smart. and if you think i have

opinions, you never met my mom. and my father. he was the mailman. they called him john the mailman, and when we laid my mother and father to rest there were countless numbers of people who came and said john the mailman, he watched out for all of us. and they gave up so much. they wish they had spent more on themselves, but no matter what you told them they weren't going to do it because it was all about the next generation. and they are the ones who have inspired me. all of you who are here today, you're the same way, aren't you? you got those people who did so much for you who are your heroes heroes. they don't have to be famous they're just people you love and that you admire. that american dream is pivotal to the future of our country. but i have to tell you there are

a lot of people in america today who are not sure that that american dream is possible that that american dream is alive. and i can understand their concerns. you know, when i was a kid, you went out and you got a job and you worked at that job your entire lifetime. you got your health care you got your retirement and everything was good. today you could be a 51-year-old man, and one day after serving and doing everything the right way, somebody walks into your office and says i'm sorry, but we don't need you anymore. can you imagine that conversation? could you imagine that dad when he's driving home or that mom when she's driving home they lose confidence. they wonder what their future is. can they get another job? can they support their family? will anybody be there to help them? or how about moms and dads

today? they send their kids to college. many of these young people bringing up massive amounts of debt trying to get an education ask they're living in the attic. and mom and dad are wondering, will they get a job? will they pay their bills? what kind of future are they going to have? or at the same time we can also think about what all of us fear greatly, and that is the problems of bad health. can i afford those expensive drugs that i need to survive? what is it going to cost me to get treatment just not for myself but for one of the loved ones in my family? will i be bankrupted and lose everything i have everything i've worked for? it's a real fear. or the fear of the tsunami of drugs.

it's everywhere isn't it? kids that are here and there are many of them don't do drugs, don't put that big thousand-pound pack on your back and keep you from your god-given purpose, but all moms and dads worry that those drugs are going to wash away our own neighborhoods and maybe wash away our children. how about those that struggle to make ends meet? there are some people that just say, well just work harder or pull yourself up by your bootstraps, i believe in all that. some people just don't have the fortune that many of us have. and they struggle. they struggle for a whole lifetime and they worry that can they rise. can they pull the rest of their family members up the ladder. the promise of america and they worry about it. or how about if you're a member

of the minority community, an african-american. you wonder. the system i think, sometimes doesn't just work for me but sometimes i feel like that system works against me. you think about the troubles that many of our african-americans still face today in a world where we have worked to provide equal rights and opportunities. sometimes they're not so sure and i don't blame them. or how about all of us? we pick up the paper. it's chattanooga. it's ft. hood. it's isis. are we safe? are we going to be safe to go to the mall? are we safe to leave our homes? these are the worries that many

americans have. but i have to tell you, as serious as these are, and they are very serious, we've had a lot worse. much worse in this country. think about it. a civil war. you remember reading about it? it's not just neighbors fighting against neighbors, but it was even family members, kin, fighting against one another and killing one another on a battlefield right in america. how about the racial opulence that we've experienced in this country, the early days of television when they put the dogs in the gas and the batons of people of another color where the world wars where many in our families never came home leaving widows and children without a dad.

the depression. ask your grandfather, ask your mom and dad about that depression. my father used to say that he would go down to the store and get some food for the family and the guy would say, we'll put it on your bill. there was no bill. that's what it took for america to get through the depression. and you all remember that crystal clear morning and the horror we felt on 9/11. but guess what? we've always gotten through it because the testing is what makes you stronger. it's the challenges that make you better. i have lived through them and i have become stronger for them and america has become stronger for them and here's how we've done it by staying together. not by dividing each other, but

by staying together with our eyes on the horizon, with our eyes on the horizon about the future! [ cheers and applause ] >> we have a little town in ohio called wilmington. they followed that formula, and let me tell you about these folks. they played by the rules. worked every day, highly productive teamwork and one day day an employer said we're leaving. we're out of here. and thousands of people thousands of hard-working god-fearing people like your neighbors went from getting a paycheck on a friday afternoon to visiting a food pantry so

they could feed their kids. i was down there in 2010 after this earthquake economic earthquake hit wilmington. we had a campaign bus. my wife was with me. we walked through that food pantry, we looked at the people and preachers and civil servants and leaders and caregivers. they were at the food pantry but they hadn't lost any hope because they hit their highs on the horizon. we got back on that bus. i will never forget it as long as i live. we got back on that bus and i said folks, do you understand -- some of them had been with me for a long time so they got it. but some of the others were rookies. i said do you understand what we are doing here? this isn't a political campaign. and by the way, either will this

be. this is not a political campaign. did you see those people? did you see the tears in their eyes? did you see them hugging their children? did you see them not hopeless? we're going is to join in and we're going to help them because it's our job and our mission as human beings as children of god, to work with them to lift them. and guess what? and guess what? [ cheers and applause ] >> in wilmington today, the sun is coming up. i told them that the sun would come up again. it hasn't reached its zenith but the sun is rising. and the sun is going to rise to the zenith in america again, i promise you, it will happen!

[ cheers and applause ] >> you know who does this. see, it's you and me. see, it's teachers and preachers and moms and dads doctors, construction workers. like that sweet man in brown county who saw his family washed away over the weekend. keep him in your prayers. police and firemen and people like my dad, the mailman, john the mailman, because we're the glue, we are the glue that holds our country together. how about as for me? as for me i'm just trying to do my best okay? i came here to ohio state and

found myself on the 19th floor of one of those towers. you could hit it with a stone from here. i had 15 roommates. the place was 23 floors high. the tower next door the same size. ohio state can be a pretty intimidating place, okay? it's big. it is a big place. and i left my dorm room went down to the first floor and i walked just right down the path to ohio stadium. and it was a time when you could actually walk in that stadium. they didn't have that one end closed in. and i walked into that stadium -- i swear this happened -- and i walked right to the 50-yard line. there was no one in the stadium that day. and i looked around all of those seats, those big structures that were there, and i thought to

myself, either this place is going to take me down or i'm going to take it down one way or the other. either it was going to be me -- either it was going to be me or it was going to be a place, kids, because you'll face it someday, to help me move forward. you know what's amazing? i'm back here today. you could throw a stone and hit that stadium, or you could hit that dormitory so many years later, and guess what? i am here to ask you for your prayers, for your support, for your efforts because i have decided to run for president of the united states!

[ cheers and applause ] >> there you have it painting a moderate pakticture, john kasich the governor of ohio officially launching his campaign becoming the 16th republican in the race. kasich holds a 16% approval rating in his state. considered a swing state.ollow his campaign but let's go to the president talking about veteran of wars. >> iran is prohibited from pursuing a nuclear weapon permanently. without a deal those paths remain open and iran could move closer to a nuclear bomb. with this deal we gain unprecedented access to iran's nuclear facilities and monitor them 24/7. without a deal we don't get that. with this deal if iran cheetsats, sanctioned snap back on. without a deal the sanctions unravel. with this deal we have a chance

to resolve the challenge of iran trying to get a nuclear weapon peacefully. without it we risk another conflict in the middle east. now, if iran tries to get a bomb despite this agreement, 10 years from now or 20 years from now, the american president will be in a stronger position to take whatever additional steps are necessary, including any option of military action to prevent that from happening. and those are the facts. that's the choice. and for the sake of our national security and the sake of future generations, we need to make the right choice on this critical issue. i also want to make a broader point. in the debate over this deal we're hearing the echoes of some of the same policies and mindset that failed us in the past. the pundits are so quick to reject the possibility of a diplomatic solution to iran's nuclear program are the same folks who are so quick to go to war in iraq and say it would

take a few months. we know the consequences that choice, what it cost us in blood blood. i believe there is a smaller, more responsible way to protect our national security. that is what we are doing. instead of dismissing the rest of the world and going along. we expect the national community to meet a common thread. they reject the idea of talking to our adversaries which sometimes sounds good in sound bites but accomplishes nothing. we're seeing diplomacy can give hope instead of rushing into another conflict. i believe sending our sons and daughters into harm's way always has to be a last resort, and before we put their lives on the line, we should exhaust every alternative

alternative. that is what we owe our troops. that is strength and that is american leadership. of course, even with this deal we'll continue o to have dimpss with differences with the iranian government in support of terrorism, proxies that destabilize the middle east so we can't let them off the hook. our sanctions for iran's support for terrorism and ballistic missile program, those sanctions will remain in place. and we will stand with allies and partners including israel to o oppose iran's dangerous behavior. we're not going to relent until we bring home our americans who are unjustly obtained in iraq. journalists jason should be released. ameer should be released. iran needs to help us find these

americans who need to be back home with their families. there's one more aspect i want to discuss because even more than sending americans to war real strength is measured by how we take care of our veterans when you come home. we made real progress. we've won historic increases in veterans fund inging. we made va benefits available to more than 2 million veteran who is didn't have them before including more vietnam vets exposed to agent orange. that was a commitment i made when i ran for office. we're keeping that commitment. we're devoting unprecedented resources for mental health care. we have held veterans and families pursue their education under the post 9/11 gi bill.

we have reduced the number of homeless veterans by about a third. we're helping more veterans and military spouses find good civilian jobs. and the veterans unemployment rate continues to go down. it's lower than the national average and that's all good news. problems arise, we work to fix them. here in pittsburgh an outrage of disease at the va a few years ago killed six veterans. that was a strategytragedy. whenever there are missteps there is no excuse. our hearts go out to the families of those who lost loved ones and know that there is new leadership now at the pittsburgh va. safety measures now in place for some of the strongest in the nation. patient safety is a top priority at va hospitals because we have to prevent anything like that from ever happening again.

last year the full magnitude of broader promise also came to light. long wait times, veterans denied care, some people inexcusably cooking the books. it was unacceptable and i made it clear i want those problems fixed. i went down to the phoenix va to see it for myself. bob gave you an update earlier. the va reached out to vets across the country to get them off those wait lists and in for care. bob is bringing energetic new leadership. he's working to hold people accountable and make sure the whistleblowers are protected instead of punished. with the new resources, the va

hired thousands of new physicians nurses staff, they are opening more clinics. so that all the veterans who spoke up, i want you to know we heard you. we changed the rule. now if it takes you more than 40 miles to drive to a va facility we'll help you go to a doctor outside the va. [ applause ] today the va is handling millions more appointments inside and ousds the va and delivering more care. on average veterans are waiting just a few days for an appointment and that's all good news. vet rans continue to tell us that once they get through the door, the care is often very good. a lot of folks across the va many of them veterans themselves work hard every single day and we thank them. but we have to acknowledge our work is not done. we still have a big challenge.

even with all these new resources, the va is still struggling to keep up with the surge of veterans who are seeking care. the fact is our veterans are get. ing older. when the end of the most recent wars, more veterans are coming home. veterans are seeking more care. veterans are get ingting the new life-saving treatment for hepatitis c. you put it all together and in some places wait times are higher than they were last year. so i want you to know i'm still not satisfied. bob is still not satisfied. we're focused on this at the highest levels. we are not going to let up and we're going to keep pushing forward on the five priorities of our veterans agenda. number one, we're going to keep fighting for the resources you need to help deal with the surge. we have sent an urgent request to congress give the va more flexibility so it can move funds to where they are needed most right now.

i'm camming on congress to approve this request quickly, this month. our vets need it and our hospitals need it. let me just add we have protected va funding from sequestration in the past and i propose another increase in funding for next year. i would point out that the republican budget falls short. it's another reminder that the best way to protect va funding going forward, we need you to keep raising your voice on this, is to get rid of sequestration for good. that's how we are going to make sure that our veterans have the resources they need. number two, we're going to keep fighting to make sure you get the health care you have been promised. we'll keep improving care for our growing number of proud women veterans. we have to make good on the promise of the clay hunt act,

improving care with post trau post-traumatic stress. increasing outreach and pure support and recruiting more psychiatrists and mental health counselorers counselorers. we have to make sure veterans already struggling don't fall through the cracks. we have also have to end the stigma and shame around mental health once and for all. and every american can help. every american can help by learning the five signs of hurting so we can all reach out. our troops and veterans were there for us. we need to be there for them 100%. we have we all have a role to play. we're going to keep cut ingting the disability claims backlog. i can report that since its peak peaked two years ago, we have cult the backlog by 80%. we're going to keep bringing it down. instead of all that paper, the

va is handling all your disability claims electronically. the accuracy of claims is up as well. but i know that it's still taking too long to get a final answer on your appeals. so one of our next miss has been fundament reformover the appeals process so you can get answers faster, final answers faster. we recruited the best talent for silicon valley. we put them on the case. number four we'll keep fighting to uphold the dignity of every veteran and that includes ending veterans homelessness. as part of their joining forces initiative michelle and jill biden are helping to lead the charge. they have teamed up with hundreds of elected officials, governors, mayors local

leaders. new orleans and houston have become the first cities to effectively end veterans homelessness. they deserve their congratulations for that. we're seeing major progress in salt lake city and louisville, so this has become a a national movement. we standby our pledge. we are going to keep at it until every veteran has a place to call home in america. and finally we're going to keep fighting to give your troops to enjoy the american dream you helped effect. there's already a law to protect our troops and military families against unscrupulous predatory lenders, but some of the worst abusers are exploiting loopholes to trap our troops in a vicious cycle of crushing debt.

today we're taking a new step. the defense department is closing the loopholes to protect our men and women. it's the right thing to do. since the day marks five years since i sighed wall street reform into law, i will not accept efforts to roll back this law or its strong protections for our economy and the american people, including our military families. we're going to keep helping our newest veterans transition to civilian life. all 50 states have now taken steps to recognize the skills of our veterans when issuing credentials and licenses. so we have to make sure these laws are working so hard veterans actually get those credentials. we'll keep helping our veterans choose the school that's right for them under the post 9/11 gi