Obama to address VFW convention - Army News | News from Afghanistan & Iraq - Army Times

Obama to address VFW convention

President Barack Obama will address the Veterans of Foreign Wars convention in Phoenix on Monday, part of a continuing effort by the young administration to show veterans that their needs are not being overlooked — even at a time when the national economic crisis and push for health care reform are getting most of the attention.

Glen Gardner Jr., national commander of the country’s largest group of combat veterans, said the VFW is “grateful to President Obama for taking the time to speak to us on issues that are vitally important to our nation’s veterans, her military and their families.”

Obama addressed the VFW at its national convention last year during the height of the presidential campaign, at a time when polls showed that most veterans supported Republican candidate Sen. John McCain of Arizona.

Since taking office, the Obama administration has had a few missteps on veterans’ issues — including a budget proposal to charge a veteran’s private insurance for the cost of treating service-connected injuries, and a Homeland Security Department threat assessment that some saw as a warning that combat veterans could become domestic terrorists.

However, Obama’s face-to-face meetings with leaders of major veterans’ service organizations have paved over problems, and the administration’s recent pledge to ensure that veterans and their families are not intentionally harmed by health care reform also has helped to quell concerns.

VFW officials expect about 13,000 people to attend the four-day convention, which begins on Monday.

Eric Shinseki, the retired Army general who heads the Veterans Affairs Department, also will address the group, as well as Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman, and Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., chairman of the House veterans oversight and investigations subcommittee.

The convention is not open to the public.