Sen. Bernie Sanders, the Vermont socialist, has been all over the media discussing the VA scandal.
However, I can’t find Mr. Sanders reflecting on his own role in the fiasco.
Last September, Sanders argued, “The VA is making progress in reducing the disability claims backlog. I meet very often with General Shinseki, (and) with (VA Under Secretary) Allison Hickey to see the progress that they are making.”
Apparently Sanders, chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, needs new glasses.
As the public and the president were discovering the depth and breadth of the scandal, the Vermont senator moved quickly to defend the VA: “The Veterans Administration provides very high-quality healthcare, period. It’s not perfect.”
“Not perfect” indeed.
Sanders also warned of “a rush to judgment,” noting emphatically, “We don’t know how many veterans died.”
As the scandal spread nationwide, the good senator … freaked out. “There is right now as we speak a concerted effort to undermine the VA,” he told MSNBC’s Chris Hayes.
“What are the problems?” Sanders asked himself. “The problems is … you have folks out there now — Koch brothers and others — who want to radically change the nature of society, and either make major cuts in all of these institutions, or maybe do away with them entirely.”
How possible future cuts might prevent the VA from getting the job done at present remains unclear.
On Thursday, Sanders blocked Senate consideration of HR 4031, which had passed the House by a whopping bi-partisan 390 – 33 vote. The bill would have given the VA Secretary the power to replace managers who weren’t producing for patients.
Senator, let our vets go … let them escape the bureaucracy to seek the care they deserve.
This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.
5 replies on “Senator for the VA”
Why the hell should Sanders give a sh‑t about veterans care? he gets the best freebies- (as do all members of Congress – free) along with all of his other goodies. He never served in the military, nor did his glorious socialist CIC; nor most of the current Congress.
How could they worry about this? There are VERY IMPORTANT ISSUES-LIKE THE NAME OF THE WASHINGTON DC FOOTBALL TEAM ( 50 SENATORS SIGNED A PETITION TO CHANGE IT); THE PAY OF THE EX- N.Y. TIMES EDITOR (HARRY REID BITCHED THAT SHE GOT LESS THEN HER PREDECESSOR – FALSE; AND WANTS TO MAKE IT ILLEGAL FOR A COMPANY TO HAVE AN INTERNAL POLICY TO FORBID EMPLOYEES FORM DISCUSSING THEIR SALARY.
WITH ISSUES OF THIS NATURE, AND MAJOR IMPORTANCE, HOW CAN WE EXPECT CONGRESS TO DEAL WITH SUCH MINOR MATTERS AS VETERANS CARE; BENGHAZI; THE IRS SCANDALS; AND OFF THE BURNER- THE HOLD LAND FOUNDATION ( FUNDING TERRORISTS); FAST AND FURIOUS; ETC?
GET REAL.
LOOK AT THE IMPORTANT ISSUES. WHO GOT MARRIED IN ITALY AND WHY HER BROTHER DID NOT SHOW UP AND PICTURES. AP HAS IT ON THE FRONT PAGES
This might be the one area where putting the vets into the exchange, perhaps with a reduced or eliminated copayment, could be an improvement for a while.
The VA was simply acting as it must, x dollars equals y services, allocation by triage and rationing, coming soon to a hospital near you!
How many veterans have to die before Shinseki gets fired?
How many have to die before he gets charged with a crime?
How many have to die before Sanders gets held accountable and voted out of office?
Two wars not paid for – off budget at that. No plan for returning vets. Medicine improved so that more severely injured survive rather than die. And someone decides it is a good idea to have a 14 day appointment criteria. Impossible to meet – at the VA or in the private sector.
Imagine the VA schedulers who were given ultimatums to schedule an appointment within 14 days. Their jobs may have been in the balance so they came up with a way to game the system and insure that their supervisors got their bonuses.
There shouldn’t be bonuses and appointment times have to be realistic.
Speaking as a former U.S. Army Sergeant, who served from 1966 to 1969, I use the V.A. I’ve never had any particular problem, except for slow service.
Speaking as an ideological libertarian, the V.A. was a bad idea from its inception. If the goal is to shift money from taxpayers to veterans, a far more efficient approach would be to pay their private health insurance premiums.