Daniel Akaka: “I rise today to laud this bipartisan effort to address the funding crisis in VA health care. Yesterday, the Veterans…”

“I rise today to laud this bipartisan effort to address the funding crisis in VA health care. Yesterday, the Veterans Affairs Committee held a hearing on VA's admission that it is more than $1 billion in the hole this year. With this announcement, we have the long overdue realization that VA hospitals and clinics are in crisis. I think one of the lessons we can all take from this is: reach out to VA nurses and doctors and reach out to the veterans service organizations. So many advocates have been bravely forthcoming about the desperate financial picture in VA over the past 6 months. I welcome the administration's admission that there is a shortfall. But I caution that VA officials are not the only source of information. By waiting for this revelation, we forced veterans to wait longer for needed care and providers to go for months with substandard medical equipment. That said, I am delighted that we now have bipartisan recognition that there truly is a problem at VA. Both sides of the aisle are now working together to improve the quality of care for our Nation's veterans. We shared with the Budget Committee what was needed for next year. This was based on early warnings from sources out in the field. And we raised the funding issue twice on the Senate floor. During the budget resolution debate in March, I offered an amendment to increase VA's funding by $2.8 billion for next year.…”