Aug. 9 (Bloomberg) -- Republican John McCain today vowed to improve medical care for America's military veterans if he is elected president.

``As president, I will do all that is in my power to ensure that those who serve today, and those who have served in the past, have access to the highest quality health, mental health and rehabilitative care in the world,'' McCain said in a speech at a meeting of the Disabled American Veterans.

He called for full funding of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as improved oversight of its operations.

``I will not accept a situation in which veterans are denied access to care on account of travel distances, backlogs of appointments, and years of pending disability evaluation and claims,'' the Arizona senator said in the speech in Las Vegas, Nevada.

McCain, a U.S. Naval Academy graduate and former fighter pilot, was held for five years as a prisoner of war in Vietnam. He has been appealing to veterans in his bid for president.

``Veterans must be treated fairly and expeditiously as they seek compensation for disability or illness,'' McCain, 71, said.

To address the shortage of veterans' facilities, McCain has proposed a card that would allow veterans to obtain health care from private providers. ``This card is not intended to either replace the VA or privatize veterans' health care, as some have wrongly charged,'' McCain said in his speech.

Access Card

``We do have some concerns about the access card,'' said Joe Violante, national legislative director for the disabled veterans group. He said he fears McCain's card proposal might erode veterans' benefits.

``The quality of care veterans receive from the VA is excellent,'' Violante. ``Veterans are better served at VA.''

Democratic candidate Barack Obama's campaign took advantage of McCain's Nevada trip to run television ads highlighting the Arizona senator's support of nuclear power.

The ads call McCain ``the leading proponent of storing nuclear waste in the state of Nevada,'' at Yucca Mountain.

Obama, 47, has been ``adamantly opposed to Yucca Mountain from the start,'' Democratic Congresswoman Shelley Berkley of Nevada says in the ads, which are airing in Las Vegas and Reno.

``If the McCain plan is not halted, Nevada's families and small business owners will have to live in fear from decades of toxic radioactive waste being stored in their backyard,'' Berkley says.

Obama, an Illinois senator, is vacationing in Hawaii.

Yucca Mountain

Nuclear power is a centerpiece of McCain's energy plan. He has set a goal of building 45 new nuclear power plants by 2030, and supports radioactive waste reprocessing.

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said in a statement that Obama in 2005 voted for legislation that included funding for the Yucca Mountain Nuclear Waste Repository.

The legislation was a water appropriations bill that passed on an 84-4 vote, Obama spokesman Bill Burton said in a statement.

To contact the reporter on this story: Lorraine Woellert in Washington at lwoellert@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: August 9, 2008 18:02 EDT