Newsletter: Healing Our Heros

Statement

A few summers ago, my kids and I had the opportunity to visit the World War II Memorial in Washington, D.C. The Memorial features pillars with the name of each state and U.S. territory inscribed toward the top. The pillars are then positioned around an oval pool. While the pillars and pool often become the Memorial's focal point, one of my favorite parts is the quotes carved into the surrounding walls. A comment from President Harry Truman, in particular, sticks out to me: "Our debt to the heroic men and valiant women in the service of our country can never be repaid. They have earned our undying gratitude."

In far too many cases, our Veterans Affairs (VA) system has failed to show this nation's gratitude. Last week, I was very troubled to learn the details of mismanagement claims at VA health care facilities that serve South Dakotan veterans. It highlights that mismanagement, data manipulation, and poor care is not an isolated problem, but a system-wide epidemic. Nationwide, this mismanagement has resulted in some veterans waiting months -- even years -- to receive care. And in a handful of cases, our nation's heroes died waiting for care.

Our veterans deserve better and I will do everything I can to make sure they get better.

On July 30, I helped send an agreement to the President's desk that would begin to overhaul the broken Department of Veterans Affairs. I was proud the agreement didn't just focus on fixing the symptoms of the problem, but invested in making corrections that veterans can benefit from long into the future.

The legislation addresses mismanagement by giving the Secretary of the VA more authority to fire senior employees who are responsible for the poor care some veterans are receiving. It also reduces funding for bonuses that are made to VA employees and increases the money available to hire more doctors and nurses.

I believe one of the most important provisions, however, was a section that ensured veterans can get care even if the VA isn't working properly. More specifically, through the bill, we set up a defined system where veterans can seek private care if VA doctors are unable to treat them within 30 days or if that patient resides more than 40 miles from the nearest VA facility. I'm hopeful this will improve the situation for veterans immediately.

These reforms cannot be the end of the conversation, as a single bill will not correct the devastating problems that plague the VA. I will be watching very closely and monitoring the implementation of the new provisions -- especially the feature that offers private care if VA care is unavailable. I also believe more must be done to ensure each employee is adequately trained to use proper scheduling practices. I'm afraid that is still lacking. I also hope there is a change in the culture at the VA with a new Secretary of the VA and new leadership throughout the agency to fix the wide-ranging problems.

We have to do more than share our words of gratitude with American veterans. Now is the time to take a step back and re-evaluate what our actions say to American veterans -- and the women and men currently in uniform. I'm proud the House and Senate could work together to bring some relief to the VA health care system, but we can't just check the box and put the issue behind us.

I am committed to our veterans and I will do everything I can to make sure those who fought for our country have access to a health care system that treats them with dignity and respect.

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