Continuing Push for VA Transparency, Rose & Cisneros Introduce Bill to Make Public VA Reports

Press Release

Congressmen Max Rose (NY-11) and Gil Cisneros (CA-39), members of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, introduced legislation today as part of their continued efforts to increase transparency and accountability at the Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA). Earlier this year, Rose and Cisneros were successful in pushing the VA to fix its website to better serve the veteran community and comply with all federal mandates.

"When the VA is required to study an issue and report back, what's the use if it's impossible to find?" said Rose, an Army combat veteran. "This is a commonsense proposal that would ensure that veterans and the public would have easy access to these public documents. Transparency is essential for accountability."

"As a Navy veteran, it's troubling that veterans face difficulty in accessing public documents at the VA," Cisneros said. "We should be working to make it easier for our veterans to access the information they need, not harder. I'm proud to join Congressman Rose in introducing this bill to guarantee accountability and transparency at the VA and promote a system that serves those who have served us."

Congress often mandates the VA to issue reports on service and accessibility, including reports on nurse staffing, fraud prevention efforts, and the activities of the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower protection. Rose and Cisneros' VA Reporting Transparency Act would require these Congressionally-mandated reports to be made available on VA's website (after redactions), and mandates VA provide Congress with a list of reports that are no longer useful, in an attempt to improve efficiency for both Members and VA.

Rose has made fighting for veterans and expanding access to health care and transportation services a top priority. With the support of the VA, the House of Representatives passed Rose's FIGHT Veterans Suicide Act, a bipartisan bill aimed at stemming the public health crisis of veteran suicides on VA campuses. Rose also secured language in the Department of Defense funding bill to change a policy that causes servicemembers and veterans on Staten Island to receive hundreds of dollars less per month for housing than the other four boroughs

Following feedback from local veterans concerned with a lack of transportation options to Department of Veterans' Affairs (VA) appointments, Rose helped secure language in the VA funding bill to prioritize transportation assistance for veterans. Additionally, earlier this year, Rose successfully passed an amendment to the Veterans Access to Child Care Act to expand childcare coverage from the VA to apply to veterans seeking treatment for addiction.

Bill text HERE.

Source