Earlier this month he signed into law a bill Congress passed to create 27 new department medical facilities and expand care for veterans at non-VA hospitals and clinics. It also gives the VA secretary greater power to fire senior agency executives.

Falsified data

An inspector general's report released in May showed widespread mismanagement, such as falsified data to hide long wait times for medical treatment. At least 35 veterans died awaiting care in Phoenix, officials said.

The VA this week will unveil a new recruiting campaign aimed at attracting "the best and the brightest medical professionals" to work for the agency, according to the fact sheet released ahead of the speech.

Obama will discuss executive actions designed to ensure that those service members leaving the military who have been receiving mental-health care will continue to get such help, the fact sheet said. Also, the VA will adopt a new policy to enable veterans to maintain access to mental-health medication they were prescribed while in the service.

More veterans' health records will be moved to electronic form, allowing for better access by the Defense Department and the VA, which will help offer "safer, and more efficient care," the fact sheet said.

Homeless veterans

The president will tout a reduction in homelessness among veterans by one-third, or 25,000 people, in the past four years, according to the White House. To continue that effort, Obama will announce partnerships in five cities to further reduce the number of veterans who are homeless, with services available to them to include job training, the White House said.

The voluntary program Obama will announce with lenders aims to help service members "have every opportunity to pursue the American Dream" of home ownership, according to the fact sheet.

The banks in the program, which include Bank of America Corp., Citigroup Inc. and Wells Fargo & Co., have pledged to focus on better inform veterans of financial services for which they qualify, the White House said.

Legion members are "cautiously optimistic" about the changes occurring at the VA, said the Legion's national commander, Daniel M. Dellinger, in a phone interview before the White House provided details of the speech.

'Cultural change'

"Just putting money toward it isn't the answer," said Dellinger, 64, a Vietnam veteran who lives in Vienna, Virginia. "It's a cultural change that's needed," and the Legion is "anxiously awaiting when that' going to be unfolded."

Senator Kay Hagan of North Carolina, a Democrat seeking re- election this November against Republican challenger Thom Tillis, is among the lawmakers who has criticized Obama on the veterans-care issue. She said in an Aug. 22 statement that "the Obama administration has not yet done enough to earn the lasting trust of our veterans and implement real and permanent reforms at the VA."

Hagan, who co-sponsored the bill to overhaul the VA, is scheduled to speak to the Legion convention after Obama. She said she'll outline steps to "uphold the commitment our government has made" to U.S. veterans.

VA Secretary Eric Shinseki stepped down in late May, and about a month later Obama picked as his replacement Bob McDonald, a former Procter & Gamble chief executive officer.

The American Legion called for Shinseki's ouster on May 5 and criticized Obama for not removing him at that point, Dellinger said.

As many as 10,000 veterans were expected to attend the convention, the Legion said on Twitter.

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