Political Quotes

“the Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee--headed by Chairman Johnson and Ranking Member Carper--had a very important hearing where we heard from whistleblowers from the VA, and then afterwards we heard from VA officials and representatives from the inspector general's office. The issue of how we treat those who have served the country is so critical to who we are as a nation. Yet, over the last year, we have learned of shocking failures at the Department of Veterans Affairs, and today's testimony, unfortunately, was no different in terms of how whistleblowers were retaliated against at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Instead of a culture that encourages people to come forward when things go wrong, people who come forward when things go wrong are treated badly and also face consequences as far as their employment, and that is wrong. Over the last year, we have seen shocking failures, including veterans being denied care after being placed on secret wait lists, experiencing extended delays in benefits, and endless wait times for repeals, reviews, or action on claims. Recently, we also learned that as of last year, the VA had 867,000 pending health care enrollment records. That is almost 1 million records without a final determination status--some from decades ago. Nearly one-third of the veterans who had applied to the VA for care have now been reported as having died.…”