Hearing of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee - Scheduling Manipulation and Veteran Deaths in Phoenix: Examination of the OIG's Final Report

Hearing

Thank you, Mr. Chairman.

Today's hearing provides the opportunity to examine the VA Inspector General's final report on the patient wait times and scheduling practices within the Phoenix VA Health Care System.

This report did not state a direct causal relationship between long patient wait times and veteran deaths. For some, that is a major concern, and accusations of undue influence by the VA on the IG report will be discussed at length today.

What the IG did find is that the cases included in this report clearly show there were serious lapses in VA's follow-up, coordination, quality, and continuity of health care to veterans. They also concluded that the inappropriate scheduling practices demonstrated in Phoenix are a nationwide systemic problem.

I do not need any more evidence or analysis. There is no doubt in my mind that veterans were harmed by the scheduling practices and culture at the Phoenix facility and across the nation. The bottom line is this behavior, and its detrimental effect on veterans, is simply not acceptable.

My heart goes out to the families of the veterans who did not receive the health care they deserved in Phoenix and around the country. Rest assured, we will understand what went wrong, fix it, and hold those responsible for these failures accountable.

As such, my questions to the VA today are straightforward -- what went wrong, what are you doing to fix the problems, how will you ensure this never happens again, and how are you holding those responsible accountable?

I applaud Secretary McDonald for taking forceful action to begin to address the systemic failures demonstrated in Phoenix. We need serious, deep and broad reform -- the kind of change that may be uncomfortable for some in VA, but so desperately needed by America's veterans.

I believe that such reform must be guided by a higher-level National Veterans Strategy that outlines a clear vision of what America owes its veterans, and a set of tangible outcomes that every component of American society can align and work towards. Earlier this week, I sent a letter to President Obama asking him to establish a working group to engage all relevant members of society in drafting this National Veterans Strategy.

We know from experience that VA cannot do it alone. We must develop a well-defined idea of how the entire country -- government, industry, non-profits, foundations, communities and individuals -- will meet its obligation to veterans.

VA needs to become a veteran-focused, customer service organization. It needs to be realigned to become an integrated organization. It should do what it does best, and partner for the rest. It needs to be the government model for honesty, integrity, and discipline.

We need to complete our investigation of the problems, and provide oversight on the solutions.

I look forward to today's additional testimony about what happened in Phoenix, and how the VA is working to ensure it never happens again.

I yield back the balance of my time.

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