CVA on Sen. Sanders as Senate VA Chairman: Apologist for VA Failure
Sen. Sanders Refused to Conduct Proper Oversight, Minimized VA Scandal
Arlington, Va. – In response to Senator Bernie Sanders repeatedly citing his time as chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee during CNN’s Democratic Debate tonight, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Legislative and Political Director Dan Caldwell issued the following statement:
“As chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Sen. Bernie Sanders was an apologist for the status quo at the VA and repeatedly minimized the deep-rooted problems within the department. Unlike his colleagues in the House, Sanders held zero oversight hearings prior to the VA wait list scandal – neglecting his critical role as a watchdog of the VA. Once the scandal broke, Sanders bent over backwards to defend the VA, blocked a bill that would have made it easier to fire bad VA employees, and even bizarrely at one point tried to blame the wait list scandal on the Koch brothers. And despite the impression he tried to give during the debate tonight, Sanders had to be forced into supporting more health care choice for veterans and instead wanted to double-down on the VA’s failed health care system by spending more money and building more hospitals.
“Senator Sanders will likely continue to try and tout his time as Senate VA Chairman. But an honest look at his time as chairman will show that he failed in his responsibility to oversee the VA and was not a leader in the fight to reform and fix the VA.”
To schedule a TV interview with Dan Caldwell, Legislative and Political Director for CVA, contact Guestbooker at booking@guestbooker.com. For other media inquiries, contact press@cv4a.org.
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Concerned Veterans for America is a non-partisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization that advocates for policies that will preserve the freedom and prosperity we and our families so proudly fought and sacrificed to defend.