May 23, 2014 - 3:51 PM
Senator Burr Releases an Open Letter to America’s Veterans
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WASHINGTON,
D.C. –Today,
U.S. Senator Richard Burr (R-NC), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on
Veterans' Affairs, released the
following open letter to America’s veterans:
May 23, 2014
To
the Nation’s Veterans,
Over
the course of the last few weeks, there has been a great deal of media
coverage—rightly so—of the still-unfolding story coming out of the Department
of Veterans Affairs regarding secret wait lists and other problems related to
appointment scheduling at VA facilities. Last week, the Senate Committee on
Veterans' Affairs heard from Secretary Shinseki, representatives of some of the
Veterans Service Organizations (VSOs), and others.
While a great deal of the media coverage of the hearing has focused on what
Secretary Shinseki said, and didn't say, much less has been seen of the
testimony of the VSOs that testified. I wanted to take a brief moment to
comment on that testimony.
First and foremost, I must recognize and commend the American Legion, National Commander
Dan Dellinger, and the American Legion team for taking a principled stand,
before the hearing and during it, and calling for leadership change at the VA.
It is clear that the Legion has been listening to its membership about the
challenges they face in gaining access to care, and has reached the conclusion
that "enough is enough" and the status quo is indefensible. The
Legion's membership has much to be proud of with the organization they support.
Regrettably, the Legion was alone among the VSOs that testified in taking such a
stand. It became clear at the hearing that most of the other VSOs attending
appear to be more interested in defending the status quo within VA, protecting
their relationships within the agency, and securing their access to the
Secretary and his inner circle. But to what end? What use is their access to
senior VA staff, up to and including the Secretary, if they do not use their
unprecedented access to a Cabinet Secretary to secure timely access to care for
their membership? What hope is there for change within the VA if those closest
to the agency don't use that proximity for the good of veterans across our
country?
I believe the national and local commanders of every VSO have the interests of
their members at heart, and take seriously their commitment to their members
and their organization. Unfortunately, I no longer believe that to be the case
within the Washington executive staff of the VSOs that testified. Last week’s
hearing made it clear to me that the staff has ignored the constant VA problems
expressed by their members and is more interested in their own livelihoods and
Washington connections than they are to the needs of their own members.
I
fear that change within the VA will not be possible unless and until these organizations
also reconsider their
role as well as the nature of their relationship with VA.
Sincerely,
Richard Burr
United
States Senator
