Trump on veterans' health care, economy - AP FACT CHECK

Veterans Day prompted President Donald Trump and his administration to take stock of what's been done to fix health care for those in uniform. They claimed more progress than has been made.

That tendency to overreach extended to trade and the economy as Trump visited Japan, South Korea, Japan and then Vietnam, where he told U.S. veterans of the Vietnam War that the Department of Veterans Affairs has made "amazing" strides and already "is a whole new place."

His remarks and a White House account of progress at the VA did not acknowledge old problems that persist. For example, a key effort to improve waiting times by revamping the VA's electronic medical record system may not be completed for eight more years — when Trump will be out of office.

A look at some statements about the VA and other topics arising from his travels and over the past week:

WHITE HOUSE: "President Trump signed the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act of 2017, taking action to streamline the appeals process for disability compensation claims within the VA. More than 470,000 veterans are awaiting pending decisions regarding their appeals."

THE FACTS: Trump signed the bill in August, part of a bid to reduce a rapidly growing claims backlog, but its immediate impact is overstated, as it will have no effect on the 470,000 pending claims.

Under the legislation, veterans will be able to file "express" appeals if they waive their right to a hearing or the ability to submit new evidence.

While lawmakers hope the legislation ultimately could reduce average wait times to less than a year, it applies almost entirely to newly filed appeals.

Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin has said the VA would need Congress to approve an additional $800 million for "hiring surges" of additional appeals processors if the VA hoped to clear its current backlog within 10 years.

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