The "Whatever Culture"

Press Release

The Iowa Veterans Cemetery in Van Meter is hallowed ground. I live just a few minutes from the cemetery and I pass it on my way home - sometimes I stop and take a moment to reflect. Seeing the American flag flying high and the rows of grave markers stretching across the field always serves as a powerful reminder that freedom is not free. We live in a great country where we can pursue our dreams because of the men and women who wear the uniform, who protect us. We cannot repay the sacrifices of those who didn't make it home. But there are hundreds of thousands of heroes who did come back that are in need of lifelong medical treatment. We can and must give them the gratitude they deserve and care they have earned. Unfortunately, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has failed our veterans and is badly falling short in fixing the problems.

We all remember the scandal from 2014 in Phoenix where the VA facility was manipulating wait times to receive bonuses. It is hard to believe, but veterans were literally dying waiting to see a doctor, while the official books showed no wait times. Even after this "cooking-the-books" episode - tens of thousands of performance bonuses were still paid-out. And this isn't a partisan issue. These problems have occurred under both Democratic and Republican administrations. But we must act now.

There are now 50 percent more veterans on wait lists for a month or more than there was during the height of the scandal last year according to a NY Times report from earlier this year. Additionally, the VA's Health Eligibility Center says 847,822 veterans were awaiting healthcare as of April 2015, and that of those, 238,647 were already deceased. The VA has a budget shortfall of $2.7 billion. And perhaps the most absurd fact, the VA Secretary went on national television and said 60 people were fired for manipulating wait times, and yet only 2 have actually lost their jobs.

I am incredibly frustrated, Iowans are, too. I hear about this issue as I travel from county to county in the Third District. The worst reaction is from veterans themselves and their families; many still have no confidence in the VA. A new poll from Concerned Veterans for America shows that 88 percent of veterans want health care options outside the VA.

Congress is getting fed up with this negligence, it is time for action. Next week the U.S. House of Representatives will consider H.R. 1994 - The VA Accountability Act, a bipartisan bill that I am a cosponsor of, in hopes of stopping this madness. This is what we must do, like the men and women who have served; we must lead the charge to permanently strengthen the VA. For whatever reason there is this "whatever culture" at the VA -- likely because there are no repercussions if one isn't doing their job.

Well, this legislation aims to fix this problem. It will streamline the process to remove or demote VA employees for poor performance, misconduct, or simply not doing their job. And it will protect the whistleblowers needed to root out problems and address this lack of accountability in the VA.

The confidence and trust of veterans in this system must be restored. Those who have put on the uniform of this country deserve better, they have earned it, and so we have an obligation to keep up our end of the bargain and make sure the VA system delivers the best care in the world to our nation's heroes.

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