Details a lot of Miss Management and at the phoenix v. A. We saw cases where folks had serious are diseases. Still had to wait months h nine weeks. Six months to get any sort of follow up apoints scheduled. I got a class to talk to a deputy second earlier this week. He said it is still bad news report and still an embarrassment for the department. How extensive was the i. G. Investigation . This was a pretty in depth report. They spent months combing through files, not working, they said working with the department of justice and the fbi on possible fraud and case thats could result in criminal cases down the line. But they found widespread problems and investigationings of other facilities turned up the same issues of mismanagement, problems with how scheduling occurs. And really some systemic cultural problems that the va has been struggling to address since the spring. What did they find out about suicide and prevention related to the care they get at v. A. Facilities . Small we heard a lot from veteran organizations over the years. Story is a lot of different medical issues when veterans can get in and when they can be seen by someone, get the care they need, the care is good but the problem is getting in there. Zoo we saw some reports in this i. G. Review of folks who had had suicidal idation, some Serious Mental Health issues but again, were put off for weeks or months for follow ups that could have been key in addressing their issues and helping stabilize condition. Host so you mentioned cultural issues. Something brought up repeatedly when people talked about what happened at these facilities. How does the i. G. , what do they recommend to address culture at the v. A. . Guest they have 24 recommendations. They either agree with them or theyre working on them. In terms. Cultural issues, it will start with v. A. Taking a step back, looking at this report and going more in depth, seeing which employees made mistakes, where the mistakes, were they ma list shoes or protecting bonuses . We heard from second mcdonald and others officials that they will hold folks accountable. So far, weve only seen a handful of firings. S. E. C. Secretary mcdonald said yesterday 30 personnel actions against various employees since the end of may but that will be what lawmakers and outside groups want to see next, who ends up losing job, who ends up facing severe punishment as a result of these mistakes. Ahead of this report, president obama in north coast announces steps hes taken to address care and other aspects of v. A. Care, veterans care. What did he say . Guest it was a wide ranging speech. He unveiled about 20 new executive orders. On a variety of topics. You know, expanding some new Mental Health programs, pilot programs to deal with suicide prevention. Some programs to deal with transition issues for the four veterans that are looking for jobs or simply trying to deal with student loan, mortgage loan, things of that sort. A real grab bag of issues. Reaction from veterans groups from, lawmakers has been mixed. Most folks think these are nice steps but nothing revolutionary or that will change the landscape. But the president said you know, these are important steps and its important to keep moving forward, to keep finding ways to fix the problems facing the v. A. And veterans. The end of the speech was a long bit of talking about american involvement, not just that the government cant solve all these problems. It will also take community involvement. Bringing the idea of team work together, something the president has said in the past but in light of the scandals facing the v. A. And the concerns, new emphasis on all of us, all the country needing to come together and rallying around veterans. Host what are the Biggest Issues for veterans . Guest now the big issue is trust in the v. A. Groups have been shaken by this. They see the c. A. As a critical tool moving ahead. There is always talk about whether the system is outdated. Whether or not private health care could fill the void. Veteran groups certainly dont want to see that. They love the v. A. They want the v. A. To be a Strong Resource for them but the scandals have scared them. Theyre worried the veterans wont have the faith in the system to get their disability benefits, deal with the red tape to get education benefits and to go seek medical help if they need i there is a lot of medical issues that v. Appears is a leader in. Ptsd, prosthetic, suicide a push for them. These are all things the veteran groups want to see v. A. Improve in, want to see them still be a leader leader enbut right now, that involves fixing the image of the v. A. And convincing veterans theyll be treated the right way. Host well be talking to our viewers about this, steps by the administration and what else needs to be done in line for veterans as well. Phone number on your screen. Start dialing in now. Unemployment among post 9 11 veterans 9points 2 a bill that would help is stuck in the senate. What is the situation with joblessness and veterans . Guest especially the post9 11 have been veterans, the bureau of labor statistics admits its a little tougher to get a handle on. What is known that it is a tough job marked out there for returning vets. President did address this a little bit with some of the executive orders. Made this appoint in recent years. Wanting to find jobs for Truck Drivers or medics returning. Make it easier for them to get certifications they need to transition to the job market. The overall veterans unemployment number has been better than the national for last couple of years but as you know, unemployment is an issue in every sector. Especially for the younger guys, the guys just returning from afghanistan who had multiple tours in iraq. They feel that more can be done not only to reward their service but use the skills they bring back with them, take advantage of the leadership and the reliability and also the Service Specific skills that they bring home. Okay. Leo shane, thank you sir. New, lets turn to all of you, george, a veteran and independent in georgia. George, youre on the air. Caller good morning. How are you doing . Im at the v. A. In the decatur, georgia. I had some issues where by i go to Mental Health and ive been diagnosed with post Traumatic Stress disorder. I was approached by captain robinson with the v. A. Police department and back last year, he threat inned that if he see me at the v. A. , him and another policeman would have me arrested. You know, ive been having nightmares and i havent actually been going back there in which i receive Medicare Part a and b now because im a Social Security disability beneficiary which i had 37 years work history and 131 quarters with the Social Security administration. As a mere lad, i went into the military in 1979 and got out in 1980 and got shot up with various chemicals and gases because of my m. O. S. And now i see a cardiologist, pulmonary, doctor, ent, dermatology, poe die try. George, does the v. A. Pay for all of that . Inches ive been cited at 80 but i received a letter directly from the director threatening me that my claim was erroneous. In 1979 and 1980, there was a medical valuation and i got cited with multiple diagnosis of some of the things i just mentioned like hypertensive Heart Disease and he held my claim up for the last 3 1 2 years. They oh me 35 years retroactive. I filed with the American Legion three months after i got out under title 38. Those entitlement are due me. Host all right. George. Diane next. Democratic caller, what do you make of the step to improve the v. A. Health care system . Caller they need to because my brother died in 2005 from the disease he had from agent orange. I watched my brother suffer and at times they had him waiting for appointments and they would call my brother back to let him know but the first thing they should do to improve this, this is just not happening. This happened when bush was in there. You know, all of a sudden we had a person to come out and let us know what is going on with the system. We want thome go over and fight for this country but when they come back, they throw our veterans aside. The veterans are homeless. We got people around here im going to hurry up. We have people Walking Around talking to themselves. You cant help the fellow man that laid their life on the line for you . It has been happening all the time and thank god in heaven we have people out there to put it out there. Thank you. Host all right. Diane. Take a look at what the administration is proposing. New recruiting campaign to fill shortages of doctors an nurses at v. A. Hopses. In role people receiving care for Mental Health conditions. Study for if people show signs of being vulnerable to suicide or post Traumatic Stress disorder. A study involving 1800 veterans at 29 hospitals. 80 million for diseases including post Traumatic Stress disorder and partnerships in five cities to further reduce Homeless Veterans with Services Like job training and agreements with lenders, banks, for active duty troops to reduce mortgage i want rates and their monthly payments. That is some of what the president announced his administration is doing to help veterans in this country. Patrick, a republican, what do you think from florida . Caller well, this is kind of a typical in depth reporting cspan has. You didnt happen to mention that military times has nothing to do with the military. Its a selfapointed people inside dc. Most of the va benefits go to nonService Related injury, prostate cancer, lung cancer, diabetes, you didnt happen to mention when i did my time, part of the benefit of doing time in the military, that you got medical care so you can go in when i was in, i walked out when i was 22 and i had benefits right then so three years down the road, if i had a gall bladder, i can go right to the v. A. And have them pay for it. You know . All these deaths in arizona, were those Service Related injuries from iraq, iran . Not iran, but afghanistan . Do you even know that . Host patrick, youre welcome to go and look at the ins gps report. Can also find it on the we site. The report issued yesterday. After president obama announced several steps before the American LegionNational Convention in North Carolina, were getting your thoughts on that this morning. James is a veteran in georgia, independent call irwhat do you thing . Guest i think the veteran could help with democrats because im sitting here with no teeth at all. I have six teeth and no dental health care. I think they need a dental care program. Host they dont have one, james, that is right . Guest yes, that is correct. Host all right. Rick, also a independent veteran. In ohio. Caller i think obama is going to give 100 million for a couple of different the walmart heirs sit on 250 billion. Apple computer sitting on 175 billion in cash. When you manipulate the price of gas from 1. 25 up to 4, that takes about 250 to 300 billion out of the system, with a b. Warren buffett is probably sitting on 100 billion. So first of all, you know, this is similar to trading workers. You can judge society on how you treat your workers and your soldiers and if you see how society treats its workers, its similar to the soldiers. And i want to went this. This whole thing was brought up in arizona. And it was political. And im sure that the va has many, many, faults but whatever faults they have, theres probably ten areas where theyre excellent. But that this is political, all political and a backfire on the republicans and im not waving the flag for the democrats, but literally, this is political. Again, theres a couple of trillion dollars sitting you know, ten corporations and ten families sitting on a couple trillion dollars. This is typical. Youre going to give 100 million to the soldiers. Host what about the bill that president obama signed into law earlier this month. Heres the headline. Obama signs veterans bill into law and says president obama signed a bill to overhaul the department of veteran affairs in a rare display of bipartisan in the current congressional gridlock. The signing which took place at fort bell everywhere in virginia capped off negotiations. Says the bill was passed with bipartisan majoritying that doesnt happen often in congress. The first step toward fixing the problems at the v. A. And highlighted the work still to be done. Including eliminating the back long and helping more veterans get jobs. Also urged the senate to confirm pending nominees so, 16 billion, rick. Caller 16 billion, thats going to fix the problem that was start when bush went into afghanistan and iraq illegally, but another point um you literally have five states in this country that are responsible for all of these wars and thats the state of texas, the state of georgia, its the state of virginia. And its connecticut and maryland. And right there, i gave you 90 of all the military base, all the military contractors in this country. So, you know, if you want the people to pay for these veterans, lets go to the states that are responsible for the wars. The states that have all the military contractors and the military bases. Host all right. Rick. The bill that president obama signed into law authorizes new v. A. Clinic, funding for Health Care Providers and allows veterans that faced lengthy waits to see doctors outside the system and makes it easier for the v. A. Secretary to fire or demote officials. Joanne, greensburg, pennsylvania, democratic caller. Go ahead. Caller good morning. I appreciate president obama taking the lead here. Republicans have repeatedly used obstruction track tics which i find trees news personally and recommended reading is the new new deal by Michael Greenwald and also in the house of representatives. Its just ridiculous in detail. The Republican Opposition to the stimulus, all things obama to veterans care. They spent more money on benghazi investigation thats were bogus and ridiculous and more than they did on the veterans. John mccain is on the sunday show so frequently. The scandal on the veterans care started in arizona. He hasnt been looking for the camera in dc, cho have checked on the veterans that were not receiving care in arizona. Host all right. Joanne. Here is a response from jeff miller, republican of florida, chair of the v. A. Committee in the house to what the president said yesterday. The white house claims that va is improving when it comes to accountability dont add up. Especially when no one has been fired as a result of the v. A. Scandal. Goes on to say the department is still sitting on 113 outstanding requests from the House Committee on veteran affairs and v. A. Whistleblowers that tried to eggs pose problems are still enduring retaliation. Theres a response from the top republic on the house v. A. Committee. Robert, youre next. Democratic caller. Hi, robert. Caller good morning. How are you doing . I think jesus put it simply. He said what you do to the least of my brother, you do on to me. The probably with the veterans is almost that old divide and conquer. If they would be concerned about the least of america that dont have insurance or have poor health care, then they would be taken care of. Until we learn to do that, you know, were all going to suffer because they go from one bad thing to the next. And when it comes to health care, i worked 40 years to make sure that everyone had an opportunity to have health insurance. We now have it. So what they do is make sure we see to it that all these people that have health insures can get good health care. Host all right. Robert. Were going to keep taking your thoughts. Executive actions announced yesterday, 20 of them to improve care for veterans in this country. Some dealing with the actual care, suicide prevention. Others dealing with job training to help homelessness swell reducing Mortgage Rates for active duty soldiers to reduce monthly payments. Well get your shots on that first other headlines. Front page. Washington Business Journal this morning. Israel and hamas greed to new ceasefire. Open ended. Ends 7 weeks of conflict in more than 2200 people killed. Holding for now. More talks are planned in cairo next month. And then on the domestic side, in the New York Times front page this morning, on Climate Change, davenport has this story. Obama pursuing climate accord in lieu of a treaty. Own Administration Working to forge a sweeping Climate Change agreement to force nations to cut fuel emissions without ratification from congress. In preparation for this agreement to be signed at meeting in 2015 in paris, meeting with diplomats to broker a deal to commit some of the Worlds Largest economies to enact laws to reduce carbon pollution. But under the constitution, a president may enter into a legally bind abouting treaty only if it is approved by 2 3 majority of the senate to side step, they are devicing what they call a politically binding deal that would name and shame countries into cutting emegses. Likely to face strong objections from republicans on capitol hill and poor countries around the world but negotiators say it may be the only realistic path on Climate Change. This story is the lead banner on drudges web site as well as the huffing ton post this morning and next to that in the New York Times this is story above the fold. U. S. Mobilizing allies to widen the middle east strikes. The ups has be you gun to mobilize behind action in syria and moving toward intersection pangs air strikes. Probe about broadening his campaign against want militants in iraq and syria and nearing a decision to authorize air strikes and air drops of food and water around the northern iraqi town. Homes to members of t