Trump's promised hotline for veterans remains unfilled

http://www.militarytimes.com/articles/trump-veterans-campaign-promises-hotline-unfilled

Trump's promised hotline for veterans remains unfilled

By: Leo Shane III, May 14, 2017

WASHINGTON — Nearly four months into his presidency, Donald Trump’s White House has not set up a promised hotline for veterans’ complaints that he vowed would speed up reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The idea was part of candidate Trump’s 10-point plan to help veterans unveiled last July. Most of the other promises are also unfulfilled, although several will require cooperation from Congress regarding additional funding or new legal authorities.

But the hotline, which Trump promised would be “devoted to answering veterans’ complaints of wrongdoing at the VA and ensure no complaints fall through the cracks,” was largely assumed to be within the new president’s executive office powers and budget. White House officials said they have no updates on when or whether the hotline will be established. VA officials did not respond to requests seeking comment on the idea.
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The idea was part of a larger theme by the Trump campaign of widespread problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has faced accusations of failing to address concerns about long wait times for medical appointments and lax oversight of employees in recent years.

The 10-point VA plan was recently removed from Trump’s campaign website along with a host of other documents from last summer and fall. Trump’s re-election campaign said the changes were made to help better inform the public with “fact-based information” on Trump’s accomplishments, in preparation for the 2020 campaign.
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