dennis mcdonough and his wife. the secretary of the army.nville. the national commander of the jewish war veterans. thank you. for being a veteran service organizations host and your participation in this important national observance. all dignitaries and families and everyone watching from across our great nation, thank you for being with us today. the cemetery is beautiful this time of year. it is fitting that we once again recognize our veterans on these hallowed grounds. today is a celebration of honor, duty, patriotism. arlington national cemetery is a solemn place surrounded by over 400,000 soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, coast guard meant, and their families who have proudly served our nation. while memorial day is dedicated to remembering those who we have lost, today is the celebration of all of those who worn the uniform including and especially those who are still with us. i encourage each and everyone of you to pause for a moment today and thank a veteran or military family member for their service and sacrifice. today may be

. >> dennis mcdonough spoke at the press club ahead of the veterans day. >> good afternoon. welcome to the national press club, the place where news happens. i am the 114th president of the national press club, and assignment manager for u.s. video at the associated press. thank you for joining us, both those here in the ballroom and those viewing online for our headlining event with the secretary of veteran affairs, dennis mcdonough. as we commemorate veterans day, along with the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the tomb of the unknown soldier at arlington national cemetery, for those planning a visit to washington, the public can actually visit and pay respects at the tomb and a flower ceremony being held today and tomorrow. for those of you watching our headliner today, we are happy to accept your questions, and i will ask as many as time permits. to submit a question, please email headliners@press.org and put veterans in the subject line. for those in the room, we have circulated cards. forever online audience, please be aware that in the audience today are memb

join me in welcoming secretary of veterans affairs dennis mcdonough.ause] >> thank you for that generous introduction and for your service to our country and for leading today's fantastic organization, jewish war veterans of the united states america. mr. president, welcome. my deepest thanks to you and the first lady for being here. we are forever grateful for your leadership, your unwavering support of our nation's veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors. let me also knowledge the distinguished leaders from the cabinet, congress, v.a., veteran service organizations, veteran family, and caregiver advocate organizations and our veterans day committee. it is great to be here with you. most of all, thanks to the veterans, their families, caregivers, and survivors with us morning. this day is your day. it is an honor to spend it with you. each year, america pauses on november 11 two remember and recognize those men and women who fought our nations wars and offended us during times of restless peace. from the beginning of our fight for independ

secretary dennis mcdonough.veterans are struggling with covid-19, lasting physical and invisible combat wounds, adapting to civilian life, and mental health. a report made public in september indicated veterans comprise 14% of all adult suicides in 2019. access to care is among top issues for the v.a.. veterans appear to have had faculty access -- difficulty accessing care, especially in rural areas. according to the u.s. department of veterans affairs office of rural health, of the nearly 20 million veterans in the united states, 4.7 billion live in rural america. 2.7 million, 58% of these rural veterans, are enrolled in the veterans affairs health care system, which more than half affected by a service-related condition. the task of ending homelessness among veterans is immsense. -- immense. according to the department of housing and urban development, 37,000 veterans are homeless. and if that wasn't enough, tackling the backlog of claims is a priority. the v.a. is hiring 2000 service processors to address cla

in recent weeks, all of those issues have risen to the top of the agenda for dennis mcdonough, who has led the v.a. since february 8. any veterans -- many veterans are struggling with covid-19, lasting physical and invisible combat wounds, adapting to civilian wife -- life. a report made public indicated that vets comprise 14% of all adult suicides in 2019. access to care is among the top issues for the v.a.. veterans appear to have difficulty accessing care specifically in rural areas of the country. according to the national center for veterans analysis and statistics, and the u.s. departments of veteran affairs office of rural health, of the nearly 20 million veterans in the united states, 4.7 million live in rural america. 2.7 million or 58% of these vets are enrolled in the veterans affairs health care system, with more than half affected by a service related condition. the task of ending homelessness among the nation's veterans is immense. according to the department of housing and urban development, more than 37,000 veterans are homeless. if that was not enough, tackling claims

in recent weeks, all of those issues have risen to the top of the agenda for dennis mcdonough, who has led the v.a. since february 8. any veterans -- many veterans are struggling with covid-19, lasting physical and invisible combat wounds, adapting to civilian wife -- life. a report made public indicated that vets comprise 14% of all adult suicides in 2019. access to care is among the top issues for the v.a.. veterans appear to have difficulty accessing care specifically in rural areas of the country. according to the national center for veterans analysis and statistics, and the u.s. departments of veteran affairs office of rural health, of the nearly 20 million veterans in the united states, 4.7 million live in rural america. 2.7 million or 58% of these vets are enrolled in the veterans affairs health care system, with more than half affected by a service related condition. the task of ending homelessness among the nation's veterans is immense. according to the department of housing and urban development, more than 37,000 veterans are homeless. if that was not enough, tackling claims

in recent weeks, all of those issues have risen to the top of the agenda for dennis mcdonough, who has led the v.a. since february 8. any veterans -- many veterans are struggling with covid-19, lasting physical and invisible combat wounds, adapting to civilian wife -- life. a report made public indicated that vets comprise 14% of all adult suicides in 2019. access to care is among the top issues for the v.a.. veterans appear to have difficulty accessing care specifically in rural areas of the country. according to the national center for veterans analysis and statistics, and the u.s. departments of veteran affairs office of rural health, of the nearly 20 million veterans in the united states, 4.7 million live in rural america. 2.7 million or 58% of these vets are enrolled in the veterans affairs health care system, with more than half affected by a service related condition. the task of ending homelessness among the nation's veterans is immense. according to the department of housing and urban development, more than 37,000 veterans are homeless. if that was not enough, tackling claims

dennis mcdonough spoke at t

bolten: both dennis mcdonough -- jack, he was your successor as chief of staff, your immediate successor. you would serve the second term of the obama administration. i did it in december of 2008 for the incoming chief of staff rahm emanuel. dennis did it in 2016 for the incoming chief of staff reince priebus. we both convened everyone in our office, the chief of staff's office. in my case in the 2008 case there were 21 living chief of staff's and 18 showed up to give advice. dennis got a similar turnout in january will stop i guess it would have been january of 2017. you will recall by the time dennis hosted much for reince priebus, when chatham house rules we went around the table and gave advice. the real weight of the advice to rahm emanuel, who was an characteristically -- uncharacteristically quiet. you might remember -- mr. lew: i was not yet a former at that point. mr. bolten: that's right. you were not there. you were there in 2017 when rahm emanuel was -- in 2017. when rahm emanuel was hearing the advice he had a notepad taking notes. i was on a program with him where he retrie