Obama says progress made on disability-claims backlog

ORLANDO, Fla. President Obama on Saturday announced a new initiative to help treat veterans with brain injuries and mental-health conditions, as he and first lady Michelle Obama paid tribute to disabled veterans before departing on their summer holiday.

Speaking to the annual conference of Disabled American Veterans, which represents 1.2 million people nationwide, Obama announced a $100 million grant to research centers, led by the University of Texas in San Antonio and Virginia Commonwealth University, dedicated to treating brain injury and mental-health issues, particularly post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

He also said his administration would launch a new effort to share research among the numerous federal agencies studying and providing treatment to veterans with neurological problems.

Brain injury and disease are among the enduring legacies of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, with significant numbers of veterans experiencing PTSD. In addition, the suicide rate among veterans has soared in the past decade.

Im not going to be satisfied until every veteran ... gets the support and help they need to stay strong, Obama told about 4,000 veterans gathered in Orlando. Weve got to end this epidemic of suicide among our veterans and troops.

Obamas administration has faced withering criticism from veterans advocates for the backlog of claims from disabled veterans, which stood at more than 600,000 in March. The backlog has been an embarrassment for a president who had pledged to promptly tend to the needs of veterans.

But Obama said Saturday that his administration has had success in reducing the backlog by more than 20 percent and is on track to eliminate it by 2015.

Im going to be honest with you: It has not moved as fast as I want it. Thats been unacceptable, he said.

He blamed the delays on an influx of new veterans with PTSD and new claims by veterans affected by Vietnam-era Agent Orange.

We are not where we need to be, but were making progress, he said.

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Obama says progress made on disability-claims backlog