Johnny Isakson: “Senator Tester, like you, I get my best information at the Legion, the IAVA, and from folks around my State. I am a…”

“Senator Tester, like you, I get my best information at the Legion, the IAVA, and from folks around my State. I am a member of the American Legion post at Loganville, GA, and go every once in a while to the bar and get a drink just to find out what is going on. I find out more there in an hour socializing than I find out by reading every newspaper in the United States of America. Let me tell you what some of the organizations are saying--because these veterans service organizations are the voice of the American people who served in our military, and they are the people who communicate to us in committee. The VFW wants the Secretary to weed out misperformers and especially the criminals, regardless of whether the crime was committed on or off duty. The VFW wants a bill passed because maintaining the status quo does not work for those who have borne the battle and borne the fight. They want to make sure the VA holds their employees to the standards the veterans of America feel they have committed themselves to as veterans serving in our military. The American Legion applauds the bipartisan effort to provide Secretary Shulkin the additional tools to increase accountability and address poor performance within the Department of Veterans Affairs. I underscore this, because in the bill Jon and I ensure we motivate management to understand it is their job to seek out nonperformance and correct it before it runs amuck.…”