Political Quotes

“I will vote no on the nomination of Joshua Jacobs to be Under Secretary for Benefits at VA. I will do so for reasons I have already stated publicly in the Record when I paused consideration of his nomination last month. I placed that hold to bring attention to serious ethical lapses and the VA's complete stonewalling of my inquiry into those issues. Veterans Affairs, for 2 years, has chosen the path of inattention and disrespect, not just to this Senator from Iowa, but more importantly to the Senate, the people I represent, and all Americans who believe in honest government. I began my inquiry 2 years ago into serious conflicts of interest at the VA, concerns that it had failed to protect sensitive and confidential information about publicly traded companies, and the shocking and potentially illegal--and fully documented--termination of a person the VA suspected of being a whistleblower. The VA failed to cooperate on all counts. These are matters that are in the VA's own best interest to resolve. It doesn't do the VA or anyone else any good, and it certainly does no good for our veterans, for these serious matters to be swept under the rug. At my request, VA's inspector general investigated the serious allegations I raised of potentially criminal conflicts of interest and confirmed them to the extent possible. However, he wasn't able to finish his investigation and determine whether criminal activity occurred because the subjects refused to cooperate.…”