Obama to cite progress on veterans’ issues in Monday speech

WASHINGTON (AP) – The White House says President Barack Obama will tout progress on reducing homelessness among veterans in a valedictory address to a veterans’ organization.

Obama will also announce that the administration is halfway toward building a massive veterans’ health database when he addresses the annual convention of the Disabled American Veterans service organization Monday in Atlanta.

The president will use the appearance to recap how he has tried to help veterans, moving past recent scandals involving lengthy wait-times for veterans seeking medical care. Outrage over the delays cost Obama’s first Veteran Affairs secretary his job.

Obama also plans to attend a Democratic Party fundraiser in the Atlanta area before returning to Washington later Monday. That event is closed to news media coverage.

(Copyright 2016 The Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.)