Chairman Jeff Miller released the below statement today ahead of President Obama's State of the Union address.
"President Obama's Department of Veterans Affairs is an agency where proven incompetence, corruption and whistleblower retaliation are routinely tolerated. This sad fact is contributing to all of the department's most serious problems and distracting from the good work tens of thousands of VA employees do every day on behalf of America's veterans. With bills such as the VA Accountability Act, Congress is working to improve services to veterans by addressing VA's chief problem -- a pervasive lack of accountability -- head on. But incredibly, President Obama is actively opposing these efforts instead of welcoming them. That's why I hope the president will use tonight's State of the Union address to recommit himself to fixing what his own deputy chief of staff deemed a "corrosive culture' at the department. Until President Obama gets serious about holding VA employees who can't or won't do their jobs accountable -- something he is currently refusing to do -- the department's many problems will continue."