By Caitlyn Meisner | Copy Editor, Kaity Kempf | Broadcast Reporter
Secretary Denis R. McDonough of Veterans Affairs (VA) spoke to Baylor students and faculty on Thursday, Feb. 9 about the PACT Act, a new law that expands health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances.
In an exclusive interview with the Lariat and LTVN, Secretary McDonough said he came to Baylor because there is an amazing group of student veterans and active duty members.
“It’s a great opportunity for us to talk to one of the areas where the VA has to do a much better job, which is with younger veterans,” McDonough said. “We want to get them into our case. We want to make sure that they trust us; we had a good conversation about trust.”
McDonough said he came to central Texas not only to speak to Baylor students, but attend multiple career fairs in Waco and Temple to recruit for more clinical and administrative positions in the VA.
“We’re dramatically expanding our workforce to make sure that we can process claims for veterans who file under the new law called the PACT Act,” McDonough said. “We’re hiring about 2,000 people; we want to hire more Texans to work on behalf of our veterans.”
McDonough said it’s the VA’s turn to “do their part.”
“[Younger veterans] have been fighting our wars here over the last 30 years in the Middle East,” McDonough said. “They’ve done their part. It’s now our turn to do our part to support them, to serve them as well as they’ve served us.
“We got to make sure that we’re responsive to them: the veterans, veteran survivors and the veterans’ families. That’s who we work for, and we need to hear from them how we’re doing.”
McDonough met with a group of 17 students and seven faculty and staff members across campus. Many of the students have served or are currently serving in the Marine Corps, Navy, Army and Air Force, along with several dependent students of veterans.
Rhasean Stephens, a second-year law student from El Paso, said he was happy to be invited to the discussion as an active duty military officer, especially because of his status at the law school.
“Being able to get that perspective and speak to more of a policy, legislative background helps,” Stephens said.
Stephens also said it was a great experience to hear the perspectives of veterans and other active duty members. He said although he wasn’t able to ask a question to the secretary, he learned a lot from the discussion.
“I think when it comes to the VA, there’s so many sensitive subjects and people really want to share their peace especially with somebody who has so much influence,” Stephens said. “Just being able to hear the other veterans and hear from the secretary was a great time.”
Meagan Noranbrock, alumna from the class of 2022, said the thought-provoking questions being asked by other students got her mind reeling with many questions of her own she had not prepared. She works as the director of the Veterans One Stop in Waco — which she just started on Thursday — and she said she was excited to pass along this valuable information to the veterans and her coworkers.
Noranbrock said the disability claims veterans file to receive benefits often take weeks or months, force veterans to travel long distances and/or aren’t taken seriously.
“I asked him [about] their plan to change any of this because there [are] veterans that don’t have access or means to go an hour away or to wait months and months,” Noranbrock said. “He said ‘keep trying’ because… he has this level of confidence now that we should all have and hope to have. So I will try again.”
She also said she was happy McDonough spoke about President Biden’s desire to work for all veterans.
“He brought up that up a few times over making sure we understood he was not just here for a specific type of veteran,” Noranbrock said. “I like the fact that he even brought up LGBT, minorities, all that kind of stuff. [He said] the VA shouldn’t discriminate veterans and [if] you raise your hand, you should get (the benefits) you deserve.”
Kevin Davis, Veterans Program manager, said he was grateful for the secretary being so transparent with the students.
“He was that transparent and open, which I thought was really neat, like ‘Hey, let’s shine lights on where we want to improve and work towards that,'” Davis said. “That was really encouraging to me as a veteran that we have someone like that at the top who’s really willing to lean into areas of potential growth.”
Dr. Sparky Matthews, clinical professor and pre-medical mentor of the honors program, retired Col. of the Air Force and first surgeon general of the Space Force also said he was the secretary’s transparency.
“What I think the students saw [and] what I certainly saw as a veteran myself is the man that’s in charge of the VA open and honest, not afraid of the tough questions … with great detail and specificity,” Matthews said. “You don’t find that in the U.S. government very often, especially in the senior level.”
