Ros-Lehtinen Contacts Top Veteran's Administration Official and House Chair Of Veterans' Affairs Committee: Serious Public Health Breech at Miami VA Medical Center
Congresswoman Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, senior member of the Florida Congressional Delegation, contacted today General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, as well as the Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, regarding a very serious matter at the Miami VA Medical Center where over 3,000 veterans may have been exposed to several potentially deadly infections. The Congresswoman is requesting public hearings to be held by the Committee to get to the bottom of this mess.
The Congresswoman, whose husband Dexter Lehtinen is a wounded and decorated Vietnam War veteran, as well as her step-son and daughter in law who served in Iraq (Lindsay alse served in Afghanistan), asked that the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs hold public hearings to ensure that there are no unreported incidences of potential exposure to deadly infections and to also receive a firm commitment that the VA is working to eliminate this risk immediately.
Ros-Lehtinen also requested that the Department of Veterans Affairs brief all Members of Congress who have constituents who may have been affected by this grave situation. She also requests that all efforts to remedy this terrible scenario be made swiftly and in earnest as this has happened before when a Tennessee VA Center exposed over 6,000 veterans to deadly infections in the same manner.
Said Ros-Lehtinen, "Our obligation to give our veterans the best possible medical care is the least we can do as gratitude for their sacrifices and service to our nation. When we have situations such as this where thousands of veterans may be exposed to life threatening infectious diseases, it creates justifiable panic and distrust and it embarrasses all who made a pledge to keep our veterans healthy. This disaster must never repeat itself and we need to hold public hearings and make sure the VA is held accountable.
To say that this is a horrifying scenario would be too conservative. This is bad and it must be corrected."