Return to Transcripts main page

LEGAL VIEW WITH ASHLEIGH BANFIELD

Return to Battle; President Obama Speech; Obama Signs V.A. Reform Bill; Pentagon Considers Humanitarian Aid in Northern Iraq

Aired August 7, 2014 - 12:00   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


MICHAELA PEREIRA, CNN ANCHOR: Reform bill. They're going to bring that to you ahead on "Legal View."

Thanks for joining me AT THIS HOUR. I'm Michaela Pereira. Ashleigh Banfield's up next.

ASHLEIGH BANFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Hello, everyone. I'm Ashleigh Banfield. And it's Thursday, August the 7th and welcome to LEGAL VIEW.

We are watching some live pictures from Fort Belvoir, Virginia, where President Obama is expected to speak soon. He's going to be signing into law a V.A. emergency spending bill. There's a lot at stake here and much of it having to do with CNN's remarkable reporting on disastrous conditions at the V.A. We're going to bring this to you just as soon as it happens. The live mikes are ready and so are we.

But in the meantime, there's a lot of pressing news. Thirteen 13 hours and counting until that cease-fire in Gaza is due to run out. And that means Israeli and Palestinian negotiating teams have just a day left to agree on something lasting or risk returning to this.

These explosions that were so rampant fell silent on Tuesday, but only after more than 1,800 Palestinians were killed along with more than 60 Israeli soldiers and three civilians. Countless buildings in Gaza, destroyed. And a spokesman for Hamas now warns -- and I'm quoting - "we are ready to return to the battle if peace talks underway in Cairo don't end well."

For its part, Israel is putting out a video purportedly showing a warning shot on a building in Gaza that was used by Hamas but filled with civilians just about a month ago. Look at your screen very carefully. While it's blurry, you can see the occupants are scurrying. However, some of them decide to climb up onto the roof, effectively acting as human shields, Israel says. And so the Israelis say and show the video, they said they backed off and that this building isn't blown up.

President Obama is watching the peace talks from Washington and making no secret of where his sympathies lie.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

BARACK OBAMA, PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES: I have no sympathy for Hamas. I have great sympathy for ordinary people who are struggling within Gaza. And the question then becomes, can we find a formula in which Israel has greater assurance that Gaza will not be a launching pad for further attacks, perhaps more dangerous attacks as technology develops into their country? But at the same time, ordinary Palestinians have some prospects for an opening of Gaza so that they do not feel walled off and incapable of pursuing basic prosperity.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

BANFIELD: An Israeli government adviser tells CNN that his side is willing to extend the cease-fire unconditionally, but Hamas appears to want more, some kind of movement on the core grievances that you just heard the president spelling out. CNN's Jake Tapper is watching the back-and-forth from Jerusalem.

Is there any progress at all so far today, Jake?

JAKE TAPPER, ANCHOR, CNN'S "THE LEAD": Well, Ashleigh, I've been working the phones, and actually right now my understanding is that it's not looking great when it comes to the extension of that cease- fire. Of course, that cease-fire, 72 hours, expires tomorrow morning here in the Middle East. Both sides apparently have made it clear that they don't want to go back to fighting, but they are willing to do so if that's necessary.

BANFIELD: Jake -- I'm just - I'm just going to interrupt you. I'm sorry, Jake, I'm going to interrupt you because the president is about to take to the microphone live and I want to catch everything he has to say. Ostensibly, this is, you know, about the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability and Transparency Act. But, of course, with what's happening where you are, Jake, we want to see if he's going to address anything with regard to the Middle East peace process was well, the conversations that are ongoing in Cairo. America not there but effectively very supportive of these talks as the American representatives have said several times.

Just quickly, so that you know what we're seeing at this Army post about 20 miles south of Washington, he's going to address the issues with regard to this bill.

OBAMA: Everybody have a seat. I think I'm going to take Sergeant Major Magruder on the road.

(LAUGHTER)

I'm just going to have him introduce me wherever I go.

(LAUGHTER)

He got me excited, and I get introduced all the time. So, thank you James for your incredible service to our country.

OBAMA: Give James a big round of applause.

(APPLAUSE)

I also want to say a big thanks to America's new Secretary of Veterans Affairs, Bob McDonald, who is here. Stand up Bob.

(APPLAUSE)

As some of you may know, Bob headed up one of the biggest, most successful companies in the world, but he also was a West Point grad; also a Ranger who served valiantly on behalf of this country. And this is a labor of love for him and he has hit the ground running. He's heading out to V.A. hospitals and clinics around the country, starting with Phoenix tomorrow.

So thank you, Bob, for accepting this charge and this challenge, and making sure that we're doing right by our veterans. I know you're going to do a great job.

(APPLAUSE)

Really proud of him.

(APPLAUSE)

I want to thank all the members of Congress who are here today. I especially want to thank those who led the fight to give Bob and the V.A. more of the resources and flexibility that they need to make sure every veteran has access to the care and benefits that they've earned.

Senator Bernie Sanders; Senator Richard Burr, Representative Mike Michaud, Representative Jeff Miller -- give them a big round of applause. Thank you.

(APPLAUSE)

That's some good work.

(APPLAUSE)

And we are all grateful to our outstanding veterans service organizations for all the work that they do on behalf of our veterans and their families. So thank you very much to all the veterans service organizations. Most of all, I want to thank General Buchanan and Sergeant Major

Turnbull and all of you who serve here at Fort Belvoir. For nearly a century, this base has helped keep America strong and secure. Seventy years ago, troops from here, the 29th Infantry Division, the Blue and Gray, were some of the first to storm Omaha Beach. In recent years, many of you have deployed to Iraq and Afghanistan, and you've risked your lives on multiple tours to defend our nation.

And as a country, we have a sacred obligation to serve you as well as you've served us; an obligation that doesn't end with your tour of duty. Every day hundreds of thousands of dedicated public servants at the V.A. help us honor that commitment. At V.A. hospitals across America, we've got doctors and nurses who are delivering world- class care to America's veterans.

We've got millions of veterans and their families who are profoundly grateful for the good work that is done at the V.A. And as commander in chief, I'm grateful, too. But over the last few months, we've discovered some inexcusable misconduct at some V.A. health care facilities -- stories of our veterans denied the care they needed; long wait times being covered up, cooking the books. This is wrong. It's outrageous.

And working together, we set out to fix it and do right by our veterans across the board no matter how long it took. We've already taken the first steps to change the way the V.A. does business. We've held people accountable for misconduct. Some have already been relieved of their duties and investigations are ongoing.

We've reached out to more than 215,000 veterans so far to make sure that we're getting them off wait lists and into clinics both inside and outside the V.A. system. We're moving ahead with urgent reforms, including stronger management and leadership and oversight, and we're instituting a critical culture of accountability, rebuilding our leadership team starting at the top with Secretary McDonald.

And one of his first acts is that he's directed all V.A. health care facilities to hold town halls to hear directly from the veterans that they serve, to make sure that we're hearing honest assessments about what's going on.

In a few minutes, we'll take another step forward when I sign into law the V.A. reform bill that was passed overwhelmingly with bipartisan majorities, and that doesn't happen often, in Congress.

(LAUGHTER)

It's a good deal.

(APPLAUSE)

This bill covers a lot of ground, from expanding survivor benefits and educational opportunities, to improving care for veterans struggling with traumatic brain injury and for victims of sexual assault. But today, I want to focus on the ways this bill will help us ensure that veterans have access to the care that they've earned.

OBAMA: First of all, this will give the V.A. more of the resources that it needs. It will help the V.A. hire more doctors and more nurses and staff more clinics. As a new generation of veterans returns home from war and transitions into civilian life, we have to make sure the V.A. system can keep pace with that new demand. Keep in mind that I have increased funding for the V.A. since I came into office by extraordinary amounts.

But we also have extraordinary numbers of veterans coming home. And so, the demand, even though we've increased the V.A. budget, is still higher than the resources that we've got. This bill helps to address that.

Second, for veterans who can't get timely care through the V.A., this bill will help them get the care they need someplace else. And this is particularly important for veterans who are in more remote areas, and rural areas. If you live more than 40 miles from a V.A. facility, or if V.A. doctors can't see you within a reasonable amount of time, you'll have the chance to see a doctor outside the V.A. system.

Now, finally, we're giving the V.A. secretary more authority to hold people accountable. We've got to give Bob the authority, so that he can move quickly to remove senior executives who fail to meet the standards of conduct and competence that the American people demand. If you engage in an unethical practice, if you cover up a serious problem, you should be fired, period. It shouldn't be that difficult.

(APPLAUSE)

And if you blow the whistle on an unethical practice or bring a problem to the attention of higher-ups, you should be thanked. You should be protected for doing the right thing.

(APPLAUSE)

You shouldn't be ignored. You shouldn't be ignored, and you certainly shouldn't be punished.

To care for him or her who shall have borne the battle. That's the heart of the V.A.'s motto (ph). That's what the bill I'm about to sign will help us achieve.

But I want to be clear about something. This will not and can not be the end of our effort. Implementing this law will take time. It's gonna require focus on the part of all of us. And even as we focus on the urgent reforms we need at the V.A. right now, particularly around wait lists and the health care system, we can't lose sight of our long-term goals for our service members and our veterans.

The good news is, we've cut the disability claims backlog by more than half. But let's now eliminate the backlog. Let's get rid of it.

(APPLAUSE)

The good news is, we've poured major resources into improving mental health care. But now, let's make sure our veterans actually get the care they need when they need it.

(APPLAUSE)

The good news is, we've helped get thousands of homeless veterans off the street, made an unprecedented effort to end veterans homelessness. We should have zero tolerance for that.

(APPLAUSE)

But we've gotta -- still more work to do in cities and towns across America to get more veterans into the homes they deserve.

We've helped more than a million veterans and their spouses and children go to college through the post-9/11 G.I. Bill.

(APPLAUSE)

But now we've gotta help even more of them earn their educations and make sure that they're getting a good bargain in the schools they enroll in. We've rallied companies to hire hundreds of thousands of veterans and their spouses. That's the good news. With the help of Jill Biden and Michelle Obama -- two pretty capable women...

(LAUGHTER)

They know what they're doing...

(APPLAUSE)

... and nobody says no to them, including me. But now we've got to help more of our highly skilled veterans find careers in this new economy. So America has to do right by all of who serve under our -- proud flag.

And Congress needs to do so also. I urge the Senate, once again, to finally confirm my nominee for assistant secretary for policy at the V.A., Linda Schwartz; my nominee to lead the board of Veterans Appeals, Constance Tobias; my nominee for CFO, Helen Tierney.

Each of them have been waiting for months for a yes or no vote. In Constance's case, for more than a year. They're ready to serve. They're ready to get to work. It's not that hard. It didn't used to be this hard to just go ahead and get somebody confirmed who's well qualified. Nobody says they're not. It's just -- the Senate doesn't seem to move very fast.

OBAMA: As soon as the Senate gets back in September, they should act to put these outstanding public servants in place. Our veterans don't have time for politics. They need these public servants on the job right now.

(APPLAUSE)

So -- so -- so let me wrap up by saying, two months ago, I had the chance to spend some time with some of America's oldest veterans at Omaha Beach. Some of you may have seen on television the celebration, the commemoration of those incredible days of the 70th anniversary of D-Day. And this is my second visit to democracy's beachhead. This is the second time I've gone as president. And it's a place where it's impossible not to be moved by the courage and the sacrifice of free men and women who volunteer to lay down their lives for people they've never met, ideals that they can't live without. That's why they're willing to do these things.

And some of these folks that you met, they were 18 at the time, some of them were lying about their age: they were 16. Landing either at the beach or sometimes behind the lines. The casualty rates were unbelievable. Being there brought back memories of my own grandfather, who marched in Patton's Army, and then came home.

And like so many veterans of his generation, they went to school and got married and raised families. He eventually helped to raise me. And on that visit to Normandy, I brought some of today's servicemembers with me. Because I want to introduce them to the veterans of D-Day and to show the veterans of D-Day that their legacy is in good hands. That there is a direct line between the sacrifices then and sacrifices that folks have made in remote places today.

Because in more than a decade of war, today's men and women in uniform, all of you, you've met every mission we've asked of you. Today, our troops continue to serve and risk their lives in Afghanistan. It continues to be a difficult and dangerous mission, as we were tragically reminded again this week in the attack that injured a number of our coalition troops and took the life of a dedicated American soldier, Major General Harold Greene.

Our prayers are with the Greene family, as they are with all the gold star families and those who've sacrificed so much for our nation. Now, four months from now, our combat mission to Afghanistan will be complete. Our longest war will come to an honorable end. In the years to come, many from this generation will step out of uniform. Their legacy will be secure. But whether or not this country properly repays their heroism, properly repays their patriotism, their service, and their sacrifice: that's in our hands.

I'm committed to seeing that we fulfill that commitment, because the men and women of this generation, this 9/11 generation of servicemembers are the leaders we need for our time: as community leaders and business leaders, I hope maybe some leaders in our politics as well.

From the Greatest Generation to the 9/11 Generation, America's heroes have answered the call to serve. I have no greater honor than serving as your president and commander in chief, and I have no greater privilege than the chance to help make sure that our country keeps the promises that we've made to everybody who signs up to serve. And as long as I hold this office, we're going to spend each and every day working to do right by you and your families.

I'm grateful to you, god bless you, god bless America. With that, I am going to sign this bill.

Thank you very much everybody.

(APPLAUSE)

BANFIELD: And as the president shakes hands with some of the dignitaries who are on the dais with him, some highlights from what you've just seen, a $16.3 billion veterans access to care bill, clearly following on the heels of some of CNN's truly remarkable reporting with Drew Griffin and his team highlighting remarkably long wait times in which veterans were dying while waiting for care at V.A. hospitals across this country; lists that were being undisclosed, even hidden at times; bonuses being given to V.A. workers who clearly did not deserve them; and now a sweeping set of changes to build new medical facilities, to hire more doctors and nurses and health professionals to allow some of these veterans to leave the V.A. system and get care outside the system if the wait times are just too long, and then of course to fire those who need firing, a whole lot easier. I want to bring in our Drew Griffin as well, who's been following this story for years, been trying to get answers for years, and perhaps now, Drew, I'm not sure if this is satisfaction, seeing that this bill had this remarkable bipartisan support, as the president just said

I'm not sure if you see it as a start or if you see this as something more sweeping, but I do want to get your take on this, Drew.

DREW GRIFFIN, CNN INVESTIGATIVE CORRESPONDENT: Well, I think we have to take the president's words as being encouraging that this is, Ashleigh, just the start.

He mentioned we can't just sign this bill and walk away from the V.A. The problems are much, much bigger than funding. In fact, I would argue that funding is not the problem at the V.A. As the president said, he's increased the budget during his administration by leaps and bounds.

This is basically emergency funding, which says to the V.A. you have no more excuses for any veteran waiting for any care anywhere. But the follow up has to be the accountability and ridding that V.A. bureaucracy of managers who have placed it in this emergency situation.

You know, we just found out this morning, to show you how widespread this is, Ashleigh, that the office of inspector general at the V.A. is now at 92 different V.A. facilities, looking into these allegations of wait list manipulation.

That's supervisors and bureaucrats basically lying about wait times. That's what needs to be fixed.

BANFIELD: And you're at the epicenter, effectively where it all started, where your investigation began at the V.A. hospital in Phoenix.

Drew, I just want to ask you, I watched you over the last year-plus knocking on doors, getting no answers, requesting officially time after time for an interview with Eric Shinseki who has stepped down after all of this.

Do you still have any answers you're waiting on, and do you think that the new secretary, Bob McDonald, is going to make any big difference? Or is it too early to tell yet?

GRIFFIN: Well, I think it's too early to tell. Bob McDonald has been on the job for about a week. You can't expect him to have all the answers or give us any answers, but we have tons of questions.

Ashleigh, we, like Congress, have been asking this government agency, this taxpayer-funded agency, for numbers, for reports, for the numbers of people who have died, for its investigative stuff for the better part of the year, and we have been getting stonewalled.

We have gone through the White House, trying to get them to nudge the V.A. to give us some answers. It has been a very big problem getting either one of those places, the White House or the V.A. bureaucracy, to answer our questions.

So I'm not -- certainly, I and our team, we are not going to let up on this. We're going to continue to report this. We hope the V.A. will now be transparent and give us actually honest answers instead of this stuff that we get which -- I mean, I'm just going to tell you what it is. We have been lied to. Congress has been lied to about how big this problem is.

I hope that this is the beginning of the end of that, and I hope this is the beginning of a new V.A. where the bureaucracy will respond to the veterans. And there will be no more of this gamesmanship and member manipulation and wait times that have led to deaths and serious harm to this nation's veterans.

BANFIELD: Here's the number of the day, 16.3 billion. And if that's just the start, it will be interesting to see how it breaks down.

Stand by, if you would, for -- and, by the way, congratulations again. I'm in awe of the work that you and your team -- you know, you're just dogged this following this trail, and it's led to this today.

I want to bring in Athena Jones at the White House. So, Athena, I mean, you're listening to what the president just said. You've seen the breakdown of the numbers. You're at the place where a lot of them emanates from.

They have taken it on the chin at the White House. It's been a real blight on the administration. Is this going to be enough to undo some of that damage?

ATHENA JONES, CNN CORRESPONDENT: Hi, Ashleigh. The White House hopes this is a start. This is an issue they've been paying very close attention to, something that the president has been angry about, something he's been eager to get to the bottom of and to fix.

He said that the American people are rightly outraged by all of these stories of misconduct and the delays, but, of course, he also made a point here by saying that this bill will not and cannot be the end of our efforts.

Implementing the bill will take time. He also gave us a list of other things he believes the V.A. can do more to work on, from mental health care to getting rid of the disability backlog that they've managed to reduce a great deal, but there's still a backlog there.

And so certainly there are going to be a lot of people who are still upset. There are probably still people waiting on these wait lists. There have people who have been seriously injured and died because of this misconduct.

And so certainly the White House sees this as a start but believes that a lot more needs to get done. And that was the message we heard from the president today.

Ashleigh?

BANFIELD: Athena Jones, thank you for that. Drew Griffin, who's in Phoenix for us, and his team, thank you as well.

We're following another big developing story, and this one out of Iraq. Just a moment ago CNN got confirmation that the Pentagon is considering now making some emergency food drops and water drops in northern Iraq.

And we'll let you know who it is who needs it, how dire the situation is there, and why yet again ISIS is part of the problem. More after the break.

(COMMERCIAL BREAK)

BANFIELD: Welcome back. We're following some breaking news in Iraq. Just a few moments ago, CNN confirmed that the Pentagon is considering making emergency air drops of food and water in northern Iraq.

It's all because there's a group of people there, one of the oldest religions, in fact, in the world, a group that's been forced from their homes when that radical Islamist group of fighters formerly known as ISIS raided their town and sent them fleeing into the mountains.

There have dozens and dozen of children dying, women being sold into slavery. Reports from one of the local m.p.s saying 500 men have been slaughtered.

Elise Labott now joins me with more details. The Pentagon getting involved, what more do you know about this? Why now, after so much damage has been wrought just since the weekend?

ELISE LABOTT, CNN GLOBAL AFFAIR CORRESPONDENT: That's right, Ashleigh. The president has been meeting with his national security team this morning, and this is what -- officials are saying is that this is right now a humanitarian problem, but they're really concerned that this could grow even further and they'll have a real catastrophe on their hands.