Joe Biden Promises To Protect Care For Veterans

Vice President Joe Biden spoke at the Disabled American Veterans national convention in Las Vegas on Saturday, promising to protect their benefits, while at the same time deriding lawmakers from both the Republican and Democratic parties for talking about averting cuts to the budget, but failing to do anything about them.

Biden assured the audience that President Barack Obama is “committed to the core” to take care of service members who are returning from war, according to The Boston Herald. The Vice President stated:

“Look, we’re going to get through this, in my view, but this is a hell of a way to do business. We owe our military more certainty.”

Biden touched on the central theme of Obama’s re-election campaign, reminding veterans that the Obama administration has increased funding to veteran by 30 percent, adding that veterans’ medical care was exempted from the automatic cuts that will hit both military and domestic programs on January 2.

Vice President Joe Biden also took time to thank veterans for their service to the country, stating:

“We can all take a page from your book — a sense of shared sacrifice and the understanding that all of us, all of us have to do our part.”

Biden’s visit comes just one day after presumed Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney campaigned in North Las Vegas, hoping that his efforts would secure Nevada’s six electoral votes for the November election, reports Yahoo! News. Biden’s visit helped to bolster supporters like Danny Pagan, who is a retired 28-year Army veteran. Pagan said that he was impressed by the Vice President’s speech, and added that he has seen President Obama’s policies towards helping veterans firsthand. He stated:

“The president is doing what he said he’s doing for veterans and that’s what it’s all about.”

Another Disabled American Veterans member, Stacy Tuck, said that Obama’s administration has “stepped up” to help veterans, but at the same time she was skeptical about Joe Biden’s broad promises. Tuck stated that, “People tell you what you want to hear.”