Progress for Veterans

Two Obama administration officials marked Veterans Day with observations and data on how the Veterans Affairs Department is improving the lives of those who served.

Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki took to the op-ed page of The Wall Street Journal to explain why veterans make good employees. More than 100,000 vets work for his department, he said, about of a third of all employees -- and there's a goal of reaching 40 percent.

Over at the Office of Management and Budget, associate director of performance Shelley Metzenbaum penned a blog saluting the department. She reported that VA managers' increased attention to customer service measures raised the percentage of medical care appointments that were completed within 14 days of a new patient's desired date. It hit 89 percent in 2011, up from 84 percent the previous year.