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U.S. Senator Sherrod Brown
Honoring Our
Vow to America’s Veterans
In recent weeks, hundreds of Ohioans have called or written about the
critical need to fix the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)
system and ensure that our veterans are receiving quality healthcare
without long delays. The great majority of VA employees are dedicated
to serving their patients, and many are veterans themselves, but the
wrongdoing of a few has tarnished the VA’s reputation, and underscored
the need to address existing problems with the claims backlog, the
suicide rates of our veterans, our large homeless veteran population,
and unacceptable delays in scheduling patient care.
I share Ohioans’ concerns on all of these points. Our veterans deserve
a VA that matches their commitment to our nation in its commitment to
caring for them.
I am committed to rebuilding the VA system and I was honored to be
chosen as one of only 14 Senators to serve on the 2014 joint veteran’s
conference committee. Conference committees work to create one final
bill when the House and Senate versions of a bill differ and this
committee is the first in 15 years to negotiate much needed veterans’
legislation. We recently met to finalize legislation that passed the
House and Senate in different forms to ensure veterans’ access to
excellent healthcare.
The Senate version would increase accountability for senior VA
employees; provide an option for veterans in remote locations who are
experiencing long wait times to receive care from another institution
in a timely manner; and allow the VA to hire more doctors, nurses, and
other staff needed in VA hospitals and clinics – enhancing the VA’s
ability to provide veterans with the care they deserve.
Last week, I met with Robert McDonald, the former CEO of Proctor and
Gamble who is President Obama’s nominee for Secretary of Veterans
Affairs. I expressed to him my disappointment with recent allegations
against the VA and concerns for both our veterans and the VA employees.
I also shared some of my priorities and spoke with him about his vision
for improving our VA system. After sitting down with him, I am
confident that he is ready to breathe new life into the VA and begin
work on reforming and rebuilding the VA and ending the disabilities
backlog. It’s time to move swiftly forward towards a solution. Sending
final legislation to the President and confirming Robert McDonald are
the first steps toward working to serve the men and women that have
given so much while serving our nation.
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