Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, over a year ago, more than 3,000 veterans in the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center were notified that they could have been exposed to life-threatening diseases like HIV and hepatitis because the Miami VA was not properly sterilizing its equipment for colonoscopies. These are veterans who went in for routine screenings, who put their trust in the medical professionals at the VA, and could have been possibly infected with any number of viruses. Our veterans who sacrificed so much for our country deserve better than this. When this matter first came to light last year, immediate hearings into the matter were called. My colleagues and I were told multiple times that every veteran who underwent a colonoscopy during the risk period would be contacted and would be tested. During followup site visits at the Miami VA, I was again personally assured that the VA had informed every impacted veteran. Most importantly, both local and national VA officials were certain that real positive changes had been made to restore accountability and trust. Now, Madam Speaker, 1 year later, we find out that an additional 79 veterans might have been exposed to these life-threatening viruses but were, in fact, never notified of their risk. Now, we are blessed to have excellent doctors, excellent nurses, excellent health care professionals working at the Miami VA, and I'm sure that they are saddened by this repeated problem.…”