Candidate Todd Young Focuses On Veterans Issues
October 20, 2016 at 5:01 p.m.
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Local Republicans hosted the meeting Wednesday in which veterans were asked to discuss their concerns over the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Young was joined by Tony Principi, a former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under President George W. Bush, and former Congressman Steve Buyer, who represented Indiana’s 5th district. Both touted Young for Congress, in part because of his background in the Marines.
A handful of veterans, including one from the Vietnam era, offered their concerns for a department that has fallen under criticism in recent years after 15 years of continuous war.
Grubbs, the mother of four who has three children currently serving in the military and whose husband is a veteran, was more than willing to provide some thoughts.
While she has seen some good aspects of the VA, Grubbs talked passionately about the pitfalls of an agency overwhelmed with trying to care for veterans.
Her husband suffers with back problems that originated during his time in Iraq. Among his difficulties, she said, are the struggles of just getting out of bed.
Advice from the VA was to avoid those types of tasks, which she said, seemed to ignore the physical problem he is experiencing.
“The VA is broken,” Grubbs told about two dozen people at GOP headquarters on Center Street.
Grubbs said she wasn’t expecting to walk into a meeting when she arrived, but said she thinks Young is the right person to help straighten out the VA.
She said she believes Young’s background in the Marines is a “big plus.”
“He knows what’s going on and he’s got a military perspective. Unless you’ve been through the VA system, you don’t know,” Grubbs said.
Buyer, addressing Grubbs, said the culture at the VA needs to change and pointed to a growing backlog of cases.
“There are so many present-day issues in the VA that require modernization, not only in health care, but also in the claims process,” Buyer said.
“The reason the secretary and I are here is that we recognize leadership. We’re here to stand with a Marine who’s got the values and will exercise leadership and in particular, ma’am, will be a good listener to what you are saying,” he said.
Principi said he began a four-year stint under Bush in 2001 at a time when the department’s budget was $72 billion and included 230,000 employees
“Today, the budget is $180 billion and (has) 360,000 employees and it seems we have more problems,” Principi said.
He said he believes Young will help reform the agency.
“These are not easy times. The military is changing and the VA has to change with it,” he said.
Buyer was an Army reserve officer and served five months in Iraq during the Gulf War. Soon after returning, he successfully ran for Congress.
Young faces former Sen. Evan Bayh for an open seat.
“When you are a senator, you’ve got the ability to perfect change. I’m right here next to a man who knows at the moment of call, the difference between right and wrong,” Buyer said.
Young pledged to take Grubbs’ concerns back to Washington.
“You brought forward very easy to understand challenges whose solutions might not be completely straight forward. They may be complicated,” Young said.
“We owe it to your children, we owe it to you and all veterans to make sure we improve the circumstances,” he said.
Young will be back in Warsaw Friday when he headlines the Kosciusko County GOP Hall of Fame dinner at Creighton’s Crazy Egg Cafe.
Local Republicans hosted the meeting Wednesday in which veterans were asked to discuss their concerns over the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Young was joined by Tony Principi, a former Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs under President George W. Bush, and former Congressman Steve Buyer, who represented Indiana’s 5th district. Both touted Young for Congress, in part because of his background in the Marines.
A handful of veterans, including one from the Vietnam era, offered their concerns for a department that has fallen under criticism in recent years after 15 years of continuous war.
Grubbs, the mother of four who has three children currently serving in the military and whose husband is a veteran, was more than willing to provide some thoughts.
While she has seen some good aspects of the VA, Grubbs talked passionately about the pitfalls of an agency overwhelmed with trying to care for veterans.
Her husband suffers with back problems that originated during his time in Iraq. Among his difficulties, she said, are the struggles of just getting out of bed.
Advice from the VA was to avoid those types of tasks, which she said, seemed to ignore the physical problem he is experiencing.
“The VA is broken,” Grubbs told about two dozen people at GOP headquarters on Center Street.
Grubbs said she wasn’t expecting to walk into a meeting when she arrived, but said she thinks Young is the right person to help straighten out the VA.
She said she believes Young’s background in the Marines is a “big plus.”
“He knows what’s going on and he’s got a military perspective. Unless you’ve been through the VA system, you don’t know,” Grubbs said.
Buyer, addressing Grubbs, said the culture at the VA needs to change and pointed to a growing backlog of cases.
“There are so many present-day issues in the VA that require modernization, not only in health care, but also in the claims process,” Buyer said.
“The reason the secretary and I are here is that we recognize leadership. We’re here to stand with a Marine who’s got the values and will exercise leadership and in particular, ma’am, will be a good listener to what you are saying,” he said.
Principi said he began a four-year stint under Bush in 2001 at a time when the department’s budget was $72 billion and included 230,000 employees
“Today, the budget is $180 billion and (has) 360,000 employees and it seems we have more problems,” Principi said.
He said he believes Young will help reform the agency.
“These are not easy times. The military is changing and the VA has to change with it,” he said.
Buyer was an Army reserve officer and served five months in Iraq during the Gulf War. Soon after returning, he successfully ran for Congress.
Young faces former Sen. Evan Bayh for an open seat.
“When you are a senator, you’ve got the ability to perfect change. I’m right here next to a man who knows at the moment of call, the difference between right and wrong,” Buyer said.
Young pledged to take Grubbs’ concerns back to Washington.
“You brought forward very easy to understand challenges whose solutions might not be completely straight forward. They may be complicated,” Young said.
“We owe it to your children, we owe it to you and all veterans to make sure we improve the circumstances,” he said.
Young will be back in Warsaw Friday when he headlines the Kosciusko County GOP Hall of Fame dinner at Creighton’s Crazy Egg Cafe.
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