Zinke Announces Support for Veterans Care Improvements

Press Release

This morning Ryan Zinke, candidate for Montana's lone congressional seat, announced his plan for improving veterans care and the availability of benefits for veterans.

"We promised that we would make sure our veterans were welcomed home with open arms, that they would be provided access to education, that their families would be cared for, and that they would receive access to the best health care possible. We need to do a better job of keeping our promises," said Zinke

Ryan's plan to improve veterans care focuses on the following areas:
Increasing Administrative Accountability: Ryan supports measures that would increase the degree of scrutiny for VA medical facilities, require independent assessments of VA facilities, and do not reward misconduct with bonuses, rewards, or any other benefits.
Improving Access & Quality of Care: We need to provide better access to care for our veterans. Ryan supports allowing our service members to access care at non-VA facilities. This would decrease wait times, increase service, and allow veterans in rural places like Montana to receive care without having to travel long distances.
Increasing Suicide Awareness: Over 400 Montana veterans have been lost to suicide between 2002-2011, losses which could be prevented with the right awareness and support organizations. Ryan supports increasing suicide awareness efforts among families and friends of our veterans.
Education: Ryan supports upholding our promise to assist our veterans with their educational goals. He also supports promoting transparency of the services and educational benefits available to our service men and women to make sure they get the most out of their benefits.
Jobs: Many of our veterans return home with not only leadership skills but also mechanical, tactical, and industrial skills that make them valuable employees. Ryan supports providing more job opportunities to our veterans by working to align industry standards with military standards were applicable so that our veterans can more easily transition to jobs when they return from service.
"I feel strongly that we need to change the dialog," said Zinke, "We need to look at our veterans, not as victims, but as individuals who have made and kept a promise to their country. Now it is our turn to try to do the same."

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