***** Reformatted. Please distribute. CLINTON/GORE ON ISSUES OF CONCERN TO VETERANS For decades Americans struggled and sacrificed to defend freedom and democracy and to win the Cold War. Our nation owes a great debt of gratitude to the soldiers, sailors, Marines, airmen and airwomen whose talent and dedication led to our victory. Bill Clinton and Al Gore have consistently supported veterans. They deeply appreciate the sacrifices of those who were called to serve our country and fight for the ideals for which it stands. Our veterans deserve the best we have. A Clinton/Gore Administration will work to improve health services at VA hospitals and preserve them strictly for veterans. We must ensure that men and women in the armed services and defense industries have opportunities to shift their talents to the civilian sector. Bill Clinton and Al Gore have offered a detailed plan to utilize the talents and energies of those who have served in the military to meet many of our pressing needs at home in the fields of medicine, education, law enforcement and industrial technology. The Clinton/Gore Plan Health care * Appoint a Secretary of Veterans Affairs who understands the real problems facing veterans and can go directly to the President to cut through bureaucracy and improve services for our veterans. * Ensure the VA receives the funding it needs to provide excellent, timely care to veterans and oppose opening VA hospitals up to non-veterans. * Cut bureaucracy at the VA to decrease waiting periods for outpatient services and to ensure that benefits arrive on time. * Ensure advance notification of any changes in benefits packages and programs for disabled veterans. * Fund programs to deal with the common mental health problems of veterans, such as Post-Traumatic Stress Syndrome. Employment in a post-Cold War economy * Gradually scale down our military forces by shifting military personnel from active duty to the National Guard and reserves and gradually limit recruitment and reenlistment efforts. * Provide early retirement incentives, with a pro-rated pension for military personnel with 15 to 20 years of service to encourage voluntary down-sizing. * Work with states to provide alternative certification programs for military personnel who retire to take jobs in critical professions like education, health care or law enforcement, and increase their military credit by one year for each year of such employment. * Train military personnel for critical civilian professions by allowing them to take a one-year educational leave of absence with pay before officially beginning their retirement. Taking care of our soldiers * Expand Veterans Centers to help veterans, their spouses, children and other family members learn to deal with the scars of war. * Assist homeless veterans by converting closed military bases to homeless shelters, with priority for veterans. These centers should provide medical care, job training, and job counseling. * Make resolution of the POW/MIA issue a national priority by insisting on a full accounting of all POWs and MIAs before normalizing relations with Vietnam; working with the Russian government to reveal any information it has on Americans held; and declassifying pertinent government documents. * Reevaluate the discharge process, particularly as it affects Vietnam veterans and the enforcement of the statute of limitations. The Record Veterans affairs * Under Bill Clinton, Arkansas has ranked first nationwide three years in a row in per capita veteran reimbursement by the U.S. Department of Agriculture. * Strongly supported the budgets and initiatives of the Arkansas Department of Veterans Affairs and Arkansas Veterans Home. * Appointed directors who ensured the agency is represented by strong veterans advocates; these directors are valuable advisors on Governor Clintons staff. * The Governors Task Force on Veterans Affairs ensures that all veterans have a voice in issues that concern them. * Governor Clinton has shown unwavering support of the County Veterans Service Officer program, the backbone of a statewide veterans assistance program. * Signed executive orders in 1983, 1989 and 1990 to ensure that there is a veterans preference in state hiring. * Senator Gore has opposed President Bush's efforts to open VA hospitals to non-civilians. He recently wrote a letter to President Bush criticizing his inadequate funding for veterans health. * Opposed attempts to reduce the travel allowance for veterans needing VA medical care. * Supported legislation to improve veterans' health care with two cost-of-living increases in service-connected disabilities and compensation * Supported the Agent Orange Act of 1991. * Supported full funding for the Homeless Veterans Reintegration Program, which is tremendously successful at locating and helping homeless veterans by teaching them important job skills. Honoring veterans * Bill Clinton was the first donor to three non-profit corporations established to expand the three national cemeteries in Arkansas, two of which were in imminent danger of closing. * Strongly supported a bill to provide a $25,000 state appropriation to each fund drive and signed legislation into law. National Guard and Reserve * Authorized and supported the Arkansas National Guard's deployment to overseas locations for training purposes. * Directed the formation of family support groups in every location from which the 7,000 Arkansas Reserve and National Guard men and women were deployed for active duty in Desert Storm. * Oversaw Operation Welcome Home , which was the third largest troop appreciation parade in the nation. Veterans of every conflict participated in the parade. * Formed the Arkansas POW/MIA Verification Task Force to investigate the presently unknown fates of 26 Arkansans. Governor Clinton appointed members to the force based on their record of involvement with veterans.