Letter to Carl Levin, Chairman of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations, and John McCain, Ranking Member of the Senate Subcommittee on Investigations - Regarding Investigation into Veteran's Healthcare System

Letter

Dear Chairman and Ranking Member:

We are writing to request an immediate investigation into reported mismanagement, incompetence, and corruption within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) health care centers throughout the country. Specifically, the investigation should focus on how appropriated funds for patient care and record management were spent in light of allegations of concerted efforts to present inaccurate and misleading information about patient wait times in order to ensure VA employees qualified for personal bonuses.

Recent reports have alleged VA employees created "secret" waiting lists, shredded official documents and engaged in other nefarious activities in order to cover-up backlogs of veterans' claims. Media reports have suggested that these "secret lists" were maintained in some cases to garner better data for year-end performance bonuses. If true, these despicable acts are at the very least improper expenditures of government funds, and at worst may have contributed to the deterioration in health or even death of some of our brave veterans. This potential appalling behavior towards our veterans, mismanagement of government funds, and breach of public trust certainly warrants your committee's full attention.

Given even the slightest hint of a possible organized effort to fabricate information critical to the care of our nation's veterans, an immediate investigation should be conducted to determine if the health care of our veterans is being put at risk. We request your committee join the effort to thoroughly investigate and expose the facts surrounding this situation.

The federal government's commitment to honor our nation's veterans and provide them with proper care should never be called into question. Any allegations of such a heinous conspiracy as to engage in personal profiteering at the expense our veterans' wellbeing by the very public servants entrusted to care for our veterans must be taken seriously and not ignored.

Thank you for your serious consideration of this matter and we look forward to your response.

Sincerely,