All veterans and their families deserve to receive every single benefit from both state and federal governments that they earned by bravely serving our country,
In honor of Veterans Day on Nov. 11, our Lean to the Left podcast guest is Paul R. Lawrence, Ph.D, former Under Secretary for Benefits at the Veterans Administration. An Army veteran, Dr. Lawrence is the author of a new book, "Veterans Benefits for You," which provides updated information, including some insider tips, explaining how to maximize your veterans benefits.
A public sector vice president with Kaiser Associates, Dr. Lawrence helps business and government leaders make informed strategic and operational decisions by developing and implementing unique solutions. He has a long and distinguished career writing extensively about management and government, testifying before Congress and state legislatures, and was twice selected by Federal Computer Week as one of the top 100 public service business leaders.
We’re proud to present Dr. Lawrence and hope the information he provides will help veterans take advantage of the benefits and services to which they are entitled.
Some questions we discussed with Dr. Lawrence who explains how to maximize your veterans benefits:
Q. You served in the Army and attained the rank of Captain after graduating from the Army’s Airborne School, and you received the Meritorious Service Medal. Tell us a little bit about your time in the Army.
Q. What prompted you to write this book?
Q. After the Army, you became a management consultant becoming a partner at Ernst & Young, a vice president with Accenture, executive director at the MITRE Corporation, vice president with IBM Business Consulting Services, and a partner at Pricewaterhouse Coopers. What did you do during your business career to help fellow employees who were veterans?
Q. You served as undersecretary for benefits in the VA for three years during the Trump administration. I’m sure that experience helped prepare you for this book about veterans benefits, right?
Q. Can you walk us through the key components of your book and how veterans can benefit from it?
Q. In your book’s introduction, you write that more than 3 million Americans have served in the military since 9/11. How did that event affect veterans and the services they need?
Q. What is your advice to veterans who are having difficulty obtaining the benefits they seek?
Q. You also are the author of “Transforming Service to Veterans,” which details your journey from a business executive to political appointee charged with providing benefits to veterans and implementing veteran-focused legislation. Tell us about that and why you wrote it.
Q. What’s your take on the VA and its service to veterans? Are changes needed, especially when it comes to medical care?
Get a copy of the book here.
Listen to the interview:
View the interview: https://youtu.be/_rOOM8qmGUI