Political Quotes

“I believe when it comes to caring for our Nation's heroes, we can't accept anything less than excellence. As have many of my colleagues, I have been very troubled by the most recent allegations of the VA failing to provide veterans timely health care. The VA generally offers very high-quality health care and does many things as well or better than the private sector. But when you are caring for our Nation's heroes and you have the backing of the full resources of the Federal Government, ``just as good'' is not enough. We expect more. So I am very frustrated to be here again talking about these deeply disturbing issues and the Department's repeated failures to change. GAO and the inspector general have reported on these problems many times over the years. Last Congress we did a great deal of work around wait times, particularly for mental health care. I think the VA is starting to see that business as usual is not acceptable. The administration has taken steps to begin addressing some of the major systemwide problems, but much more needs to be done. Tomorrow, when I meet with the President's nominee for the VA Secretary, I am going to ask him how he plans to make these changes. That is why I am very glad to be serving on the veterans conference committee, because Congress needs to act as well. The most important thing we can do right now is to pass responsible and effective legislation to bring much-needed reforms to the VA, and we need to do it soon.…”