Newsletter: Ensuring Accountability in the Care of Americas Veterans

Statement

Dear Friends,

More than a year after the health care scandal and coverup at the Veterans Administration, the Obama Administration is still falling far short of fulfilling our nation's obligations to those who have served.

But two bills passed last week by the House take important steps to restore the VA's credibility and give our 20 million veterans the health care they deserve.

The VA Accountability Act adds new tools to protect whistleblowers, hold senior managers accountable and provide flexibility to fire employees who aren't performing. The VA Budget Choice and Improvement Act sets aside $3.3 billion for non-VA care and makes improvements in the Veterans Choice Program, particularly important in rural states like Idaho.

The VA scandal began in spring 2014 in Phoenix, where investigators confirmed whistleblower reports that patients were dying in a system of backlogged care as VA employees faked data on appointment wait times. Evidence of wrongdoing then spread across the system that provides treatment to almost 9 million veterans annually.

The Obama Administration reacted passively. Only three employees have been successfully fired for manipulating wait times and just 14 face discipline.

That weak response comes despite VA Chief of Staff Rob Nabors' report that "a corrosive culture" delayed necessary care. "There is a tendency to transfer problems rather than solve problems," Nabors wrote last year. "This is in part due to the difficulty of hiring and firing in the federal government."

The VA Accountability Act addresses those flaws, authorizing the firing or demotion of employees based on performance or misconduct and streamlining the appeals process.

Unfortunately, the Administration hasn't adequately implemented a law Congress passed last fall to provide treatment outside the VA system. The program has been plagued by delayed care, scheduling problems and cost overruns, according to a new report by the VA's inspector general.

My office can help.

More than half of the constituent services work in my office concerns veterans. Recently, an Air Force veteran who had a knee replacement was told she had to wait two weeks for an eligibility determination for physical therapy near her home in North Idaho. Working with the VA, my office was able to get her the care the doctor ordered in a more timely manner.

Please remember that if you or someone you know is having problems with the VA or any other federal agency, I'd like to help. Please visit my Constituent Services web page to learn more.

Thank you,

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