Veterans group wants presidential candidates to address issues through town hall meetings

Pentagon spending cuts. U.S.-led airstrikes against the Islamic State. VA clinics in disarray.

A conservative veterans advocacy group is providing presidential candidates an opportunity to address these issues and other hot topics in the 2016 campaign season.

Concerned Veterans for America has invited many of the major candidates in both parties to town hall meetings designed to give voters in early primary states a chance to meet and query the politicians.

“We wanted to get these individuals on the record on the issues that matter to veteran and military families, as well as active service members. The national deficit, spending, national security, the VA — ask them to articulate their visions for fixing the VA, their national security beliefs,” said Dan Caldwell, CVA’s legislative and policy director. “That’s just the goal, get them on the record talking to families in key states about the issues important to them.”

Among the Republican candidates, former Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, Sen. Ted Cruz of Texas, Sen. Rand Paul of Kentucky and Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida have all done town halls, but billionaire businessman Donald Trump has yet to accept an invitation, the group said.

“What’s at stake for veterans is what’s at stake for all Americans: the future of this country,” Mr. Caldwell said. “It’s more personal for veterans, because they’ve sacrificed in uniform to protect this country and ensure freedoms are preserved.”

Mr. Cruz attended a town hall last week in New Hampshire, where he criticized the deal President Obama and other international leaders struck to try to contain Iran’s nuclear program.

“We need a president who understands who our enemies are,” Mr. Cruz said, adding that on the first day of his presidency, “I intend to rip to shreds this catastrophic Iranian nuclear deal.”

The town halls come as the Department of Veterans Affairs struggles to repair itself after last year’s wait-list scandal, which saw dozens of veterans die while awaiting health care, and forced a shakeup at the top of the department.

Mr. Rubio, who spoke at a CVA town hall in June in New Hampshire, said the problem isn’t money, but rather bureaucratic bungling and a system not ready for the 21st century.

“We actually doubled spending since 2007,” Mr. Rubio said. “It’s how the money is being spent. And today, the money is being spent trying to bail out a model that no longer works, as is clearly evident. I mean, if you doubled spending, it means you should’ve doubled performance, and in fact, it’s gone the opposite direction. That alone is proof positive that the money alone is not the cause.”

Mr. Paul said the VA itself does too much, and suggested that it should focus on core areas where it can specialize in care for vets, such as amputations or post-traumatic stress disorder. He added that veterans should be allowed to see private doctors — particularly those who live far from a VA clinic.

Politicians in Washington are too eager to spend money to solve problems without seeing if it’s going to the right place, the Kentucky senator said at his July town hall gathering in South Carolina.

“Let’s just throw more money at it because veterans are our constituency and they’ll think that we like them and are treating them well if we put more money at them,” Mr. Paul said.

All of the candidates have been a hit with veterans, Mr. Caldwell said, noting that only Republicans have responded to the group’s invitations.

CVA plans three or four more town halls this year and hopes to include more non-presidential candidates as well, he said.

Mr. Caldwell noted that the leaders in Democratic presidential nomination race — former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton and Vermont Sen. Bernard Sanders — have not responded to the CVA’s invitations, adding that the group is not impressed with Mr. Sanders’ ideas for the future of the VA.

“Senator Sanders has already been on the record on these issues quite a bit. He’s been outspoken and vocal and pretty clear where he stands on VA reform right now. Unfortunately, that’s to preserve the same broken system we have right now. He has an absolutely terrible record on the VA right now,” Mr. Caldwell said.