Fighting for Those Who Fought for Us!

Statement

I was outraged when I learned about the secret wait lists at certain VA medical centers.

As your Congressman one of my top priorities has been, and will remain, ensuring that the brave Americans who have served this country are treated properly. I believe that our veterans deserve a lifetime of opportunity and quality health care which is why the recent allegations concerning VA falsifying wait times is particularly troublesome.

To begin the process of cleaning up this mess, I became an original cosponsor of H.R. 4810, the Veteran Access to Care Act of 2014, which would allow veterans who live more than 40 miles from a VA facility and have waited too long for an appointment to seek medical care in approved non-department facilities. With my support, this bill overwhelmingly passed the House and I hope to see the Senate take this issue up quickly.

I also voted for legislation which gives the Secretary of the Veterans Affairs a greater ability to remove ineffective employees from positions of power.

Closer to home, 23 of my Texas colleagues and I took things a step further. We sent a letter to the Acting Inspector General of the VA demanding a prompt and thorough investigation into the claims of mismanagement and deception in Texas VA centers. We were assured that the VA is taking these claims seriously and its investigation now includes centers in our state. My colleagues and I will not stop questioning the VA until we know what went wrong and determine how to prevent it from happening in the future.

Moving forward will not be easy. The VA provides care for nearly 6 million veterans, 700,000 of whom are recent veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan. As our military footprint abroad draws down and more veterans return needing care, we will face increasing health costs and diminishing government budgets at home. It is Congress' job to oversee and investigate bureaucratic wrongdoing at the VA while also ensuring that America's promise to our veterans is upheld. Once we fully know the extent of wrongdoing in the VA we can begin to overhaul the system so that our veterans are better served.

I believe that reform in the VA is necessary and it must come soon. I will continue to fight for those who fought for us and promise to keep you updated on the battle.

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