White River Junction:Peake answers questions at town hall

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In Vermont, new VA chief hears complaints from veterans

By John Curran
Associated Press Writer / June 23, 2008
WHITE RIVER JUNCTION, Vt.—Some had beefs about their medical care. Some came to say how great their doctors and nurses were.

Some wanted an answer about a claim, or to find out what Uncle Sam was doing for homeless veterans. One wanted to know where his military records were.

U.S. Secretary of Veterans Affairs James Peake got an earful Monday as about 250 people -- aging veterans, spouses, VA employees -- turned out for the second of two Town Hall-style meetings organized by U.S. Sen. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt. About 175 turned out for an earlier one in South Burlington.

Peake, a West Point graduate and former military surgeon who took the job six months ago, opened the 90-minute meeting at the White River Junction VA Medical Center by telling those gathered for the meeting that his priorities are making the soldier-to-civilian transition a smoother one.

The VA, which employs about 250,000 people and has an annual budget of $80 billion, must improve its "outmoded" system of processing claims and go to a paperless system, he said.

When he opened the room up for a question-and-answer session, no one was shy about calling him on the carpet.

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You have to give Peake some credit because he is trying a lot harder than Nicholson ever did.