Homeless veterans

EL PASO— When Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki was in El Paso last week, he said, "A year ago, there were 131,000 veterans sleeping on the streets of this very powerful and very wealthy country. I don't have a good reason to explain why."

Unfortunately, that's not a shocking statement. We see them all the time. The trouble is, the problem of homeless veterans has been with us for some time. The surprise should be that more hasn't been done to fix the problem.

There can be a number of reasons that drive veterans to the streets, including alcoholism, drug addiction and mental health problems. But one overwhelming reason is that Veterans Affairs in particular and the government in general haven't been doing enough to address the problem, which has been with us since at least the Vietnam era.

Shinseki said he's expecting a downward trend in the number of homeless vets.

"It's about jobs. It's about education. It's about dealing with the baggage that all of our combat veterans come home with," he said. "It's a full-court press in a variety of areas."

Caring for homeless veterans is just one part of the picture. For way too long the care and treatment of veterans - and in too many cases, their families - has been a source of criticism.

This country expects a great deal of its military personnel, and those in the military have always responded by giving their best. Their courage, sacrifice, patriotism and devotion to duty have preserved this country to this day.

In return, veterans should expect no less than the best possible treatment from their government. The best should be available in terms of medical treatment, mental-health care, education and other benefits.

Shinseki is a twice-wounded Vietnam veteran and retired as an Army general.

He should have a personal perspective on the problems facing veterans and the determination to fix them.

Rep. Harry Teague, said, "Under the leadership of Shinseki, there's going to be tremendous changes. He openly addresses the hurdles we face in the VA. He's not trying to sweep them under the carpet."

Good, because our veterans deserve the best possible treatment.