Political Quotes

“I have the honor of serving with the chair on the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and I want to speak tonight about a set of issues, a circumstance that we have found ourselves in. As you will recall, several years ago there was a national news story and our Nation was appalled to learn that Department of Veterans Affairs employees from across the country were creating secret waiting lists that stood between veterans and the care they deserved. Veterans died waiting for care because of deceptive practices at the VA. In the wake of that wrongdoing, I called for the resignation of the then- Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. At that time, I didn't think things could get worse at the Department, but I was wrong. In 2014, during the confirmation hearings for the current VA Secretary, Bob McDonald, he seemed to understand the urgency demanded by the American people and by their Congress to fix the problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs. In his testimony, he promised that ``the seriousness of this moment demands action . . . those employees that have violated the trust of the Nation and of veterans must be, and will be, held accountable.'' Now, more than 2 years later, with authorities granted by Congress and signed into law by the President, the Secretary seems to have forgotten that promise.…”