The Veterans Administration system has fallen behind because of decades of neglect, but a new law signed on Wednesday by President Donald Trump will modernize it and make it a "system we all want for our veterans," VA Secretary David Shulkin said Thursday.
"This is our fifth major piece of legislation getting done in bipartisan support," Shulkin told Fox News' "America's Newsroom" program.
"I feel good about where we're headed."
After speaking to veterans at the American Legion national convention in Reno, Nevada on Wednesday, Trump signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, legislation aimed at cutting veterans' waiting time directly by making it easier for vets to challenge VA disability benefit claim decisions.
"We worked hard to get this bill," Shulkin told Fox News. "The bill hasn't been updated in terms of the law since the 1930s. Now we finally have legislation to allow us to make these decisions much faster for our veterans."
Another law passed earlier this year allowed Shulkin to have the authority to make sure the "right people" were working in the VA.
"The vast majority of the people who work in the system are top notch professionals," said Shulkin. "In the cases where there are individuals who lost their way and shouldn't be working in the VA, I have to make sure we can move them out."
Shulkin said he does believe that when it comes to veterans' issues, Democrats and Republicans agree that work must be done, and when it comes to veteran issues, "this is an area I think all Americans can feel good about."
Sandy Fitzgerald ✉
Sandy Fitzgerald has more than three decades in journalism and serves as a general assignment writer for Newsmax covering news, media, and politics.
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