Kansas City Mayor Pro Tem Circo and Councilman Brooks Visit with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki

Recently, Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki visited Kansas City, Missouri to tour the Kansas City Veterans Affairs Medical Center.  While there, he met with Mayor Pro Tem Cindy Circo and Councilman Michael Brooks along with veterans and members of the audiology profession.  Afterwards, Circo and Brooks shared their views:

As members of the City Council we greatly valued this opportunity since it allowed Kansas City to highlight its Veteran Affairs Cochlear Implant Clinic. This program has had a tremendous impact on veterans in the region in just the short amount of time it has been operating.
 
The event was at the Veterans Affairs Cochlear Implant Clinic and  it was great to hear Secretary Shinseki expand the discussion and talk about the White House’s plans for supporting veterans. Secretary Shinseki’s compassion for the men and women who have served this country was very evident when he spoke. The Obama administration has demonstrated that they care about veterans.
 
Here in Kansas City we are extremely pleased about the White House’s renewed focus on supporting the employment of veterans both regionally and nationally through the proposed Veterans Jobs Corps. Once passed by Congress we believe that it will greatly aid more veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan by employing up to 20,000 veterans during the next five years.

The impact of programs like the Cochlear Implant Clinic and the Veterans Jobs Corps can be measured in numbers, but statistics fail to capture how much these programs truly help those impacted.

As a veteran (Councilman Brooks) and as an individual with family members who are veterans (Mayor Pro Tem Circo) we are proud to have the VA audiology clinic here in Kansas City.

We are excited and supportive that Veterans Affairs as a national entity that will continue to go above and beyond in serving on so many different levels for those that have served our country."

Find out more about how the Obama Administration is helping veterans and watch President Obama explain why creating a Veterans Jobs Corps is crucial for strengthening America's middle class.