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President Barack Obama said Monday that the U.S. has made serious strides in improving services for military veterans, but work remains to overcome shortcomings in the delivery of health care, housing and mental health services. He called the nation's commitment to its veterans a "sacred covenant." "I don't use those words lightly. It's sacred because there is no more solemn request than to ask someone to risk their life, to be ready to give their life on our behalf," Obama said at the annual convention of the Disabled American Veterans. (8/1)

The president acknowledged that many veterans remained frustrated by the health care bureaucracy, calling continued delays in seeing doctors “inexcusable.” And he said the country needed to do more to help economically struggling veterans. But veteran homelessness, he said, has been cut almost in half since 2010, when the administration outlined a national strategy on the issue. He vowed to continue working with states and cities toward “ending the tragedy, the travesty of veterans’ homelessness.” (Shear, 8/1)

President Barack Obama [was in] Atlanta Monday to raise campaign funds for Democrats and to address the convention of the Disabled American Veterans. The president's visit comes just a day after his Veterans Affairs Secretary, Bob McDonald, announced the opening of a new call center in Atlanta, which will handle the increased volume of mental health crisis calls. The idea is to cut the number of veteran suicides, which continues at an estimated average rate of more than 20 per day. On "Morning Edition," host Denis O'Hayer spoke with McDonald. (O'Hayer, 8/2)