Joint Statement by Chairman Dent and Chairman Abraham Following Oversight Visit of the Philadelphia VARO

Statement

Congressman Charlie Dent (Chairman, House Appropriations Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Subcommittee) and Congressman Ralph Abraham, M.D. (Chairman, House Veterans Affairs Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs Subcommittee) released the following joint statement on their oversight visit of the Philadelphia VA Regional Office.

"The issues raised in the VA OIG report two months ago exposed the personal and monetary costs that develop and thrive within an environment and structure that lacks true accountability. While these specific issues occurred here in the Philadelphia Regional Office, the unfortunate reality is that they are not contained to a single facility or region and they speak to a broader need to reform the VA's internal culture to avoid further consequences at the national level. Through our respective roles as authorizers and appropriators, we have a responsibility to carry out diligent oversight in order to ensure that our veterans and all who are served by the VA are receiving the quality of care that they deserve. Today we had the opportunity to learn about the good progress being made to rectify the specific issues raised by the OIG from the VA's senior leadership, but we also saw firsthand the amount of work that still needs to be done to address the underlying concerns that still remain through our conversations with the employees who are on the front lines. We look forward to continuing our work together to apply the lessons learned here into the policies and resources needed to provide our veterans with the service they have earned."

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