Our service members, veterans, and their families are smart, tough, and resourceful -- they will accomplish any mission we ask of them, whatever the cost. It's time for a government that fights as...
Today, we gather across the country to thank our military personnel past and present. I’m grateful for my three older brothers, who all served.
Too often, the day-to-day sacrifices of service members, veterans, and military families go unseen and unremarked. It’s time for meaningful action and policies that support our military and military families both during and after service — not just on Veterans Day, but every day.
We can honor our veterans by ending these endless wars, reining in our bloated defense budget and reducing the influence of defense contractors at the Pentagon, and bringing our troops home responsibly — and then providing our veterans with the benefits they’ve earned.
That’s why last week, I released my plan to support our service members, veterans, and military families — including protecting earned benefits, prioritizing family readiness, tackling military sexual assault, cutting veterans’ suicide in half in my first term, ensuring equal treatment for all who serve, easing the transition for veterans, and creating a 21st century VA health care system.
Our service members, veterans, and their families are smart, tough, and resourceful — they will accomplish any mission we ask of them, whatever the cost. It’s time for a government that fights as hard for them as they do for us.
→ We start by protecting the earned benefits for those who serve, because it’s about honoring the commitment of those who choose to serve with commitments of our own. As president, I will propose pay raises at or above the Employment Cost Index to ensure that compensation remains competitive with the civilian sector and that it reflects the unique demands of military life.
We’ll also empower our military students through my plan for affordable higher education that makes two- and four-year public college free, and cancels student loan debt up to $50,000 for 42 million Americans. This will provide relief for thousands of military families burdened with higher education expenses beyond what is covered by the GI Bill, and ensure that all of our veterans and their families have the chance to get essential job training and degrees without taking on a dime of student loan debt.
As president, I’ll also work with Congress to give the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau new tools and additional authority to enforce the Servicemembers Civil Relief Act to protect military families from financial scams.
→ Next, my plan prioritizes military family readiness. Military families form the backbone of our armed forces, and we know that they face special challenges, like regular moves from assignment to assignment and the anxiety of a loved one’s deployment.
From increasing spousal employment; to providing universal child care, investing again in DOD child care and modernizing schools on base; to supporting wounded warriors and their families; to providing safe and affordable military housing, my plan ensures military readiness by supporting and uplifting military families.
→ My plan will also put service members and veterans first. Nearly two decades of combat has put significant stress on the force, and this will continue to manifest itself long after combat operations are over. Our first priority must be the care and safety of those who serve or have served in uniform. That means tackling military sexual assault, pursuing a suite of concrete policies to cut veteran suicides in half within my first term, treating the opioid and addiction crisis, and addressing the “invisible wounds” of war.
→ We’ll also ensure equal treatment for all who serve. When we discriminate or treat classes of service members as less worthy than their peers, we fail to honor the diversity of our force, and we harm our ability to recruit the strongest possible future force. Minority communities in the military — particularly LGBTQ+, women, Black, and Latinx service members — are significantly under-represented in the leadership ranks. My plan pays special attention to these communities to ensure that we are protecting and honoring everyone who volunteers to serve.
→ My plan will also ease the transition for veterans. Many new veterans struggle to find a sense of purpose or connection in new civilian careers and communities. While the Department of Defense has improved its transition counseling in recent years, we can do more to prepare service members to return to civilian life. My plan ensures a “warm hand-off” between the DoD and the VA, eliminates the benefits backlog, clears “bad paper” discharges, helps transitioning service members find good jobs, and works to end veterans’ homelessness.
→ Finally, my plan creates a 21st Century VA Health Care System. In recent years, attacks on the VA have intensified as Republicans have pressed to privatize large chunks of VA service. A Warren administration will be clear-eyed about leadership challenges at VA. We will hold accountable leaders who fail to put veterans first or misuse resources, and we will empower whistleblowers who report wrongdoing to address their concerns and protect them from retaliation. While community care is appropriate where specialists are unavailable or geographically inaccessible, let me be clear: a Warren administration will invest in the VA, not further dismantle it. We will not cut the high-quality, evidence-based, culturally competent programs that our veterans rely on.
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