Just a few days ago, we celebrated America’s 250th birthday, and the anniversary of the adoption of the Declaration of Independence. This proclamation launched America on a path to freedom, opportunity, and prosperity unrivaled in human history. The central premise of the Declaration of Independence is the notion that all men are created equal, and the pursuit of this ideal has fueled American success since the nation’s inception.
Today, the America First Policy Institute (AFPI) released the following statement from Michael Shires, Ph.D., vice chair of Education Opportunity at AFPI, regarding policies that would return education to the states:
Veterans rely on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) Veterans Health Administration (VHA) to provide timely, high-quality care for the injuries and illnesses they incurred in the course of military service. However, the agency routinely fails to deliver on this promise by forcing veterans to languish on waitlists for care. In response, President Trump signed the VA Maintaining Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside Networks (MISSION) Act into law in 2018, giving veterans the right to obtain care from providers in their own communities when the VHA could not deliver. By 2024, the MISSION Act connected 3.1 million veterans—over a third of the VHA’s veteran enrollees—with high-quality clinics and hospitals in their communities.