Hegseth: Move Shows Minority Leader Pelosi’s Failure to Grasp Seriousness of VA Scandal
Arlington, Va. — Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, issued the following statement after the Democratic Steering Committee’s decision to name Rep. Corrine Brown (D-FL) as the next Ranking Member of the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC):
“The election of a new HVAC ranking member was an opportunity for congressional Democrats to demonstrate their seriousness about VA reforms they bragged about passing when they were on the campaign trail. Unfortunately, Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi chose to throw her support behind Representative Corrine Brown (D-5-FL), who has been at best an apologist for the status quo at the VA, and at worst totally detached from reality. Rep. Brown has consistently dismissed the pervasive problems at the VA in the face of overwhelming evidence of the department’s cultural and structural issues, including asserting immediately after the VA scandal that ‘we’re doing fine in Florida,’ when clinics in her district have some of the worst wait times in the nation.
“With the agency charged with caring for our nation’s veterans in total disarray and veterans dying while on secret waiting lists, Speaker Pelosi still hasn’t gotten the memo that the House VA committee is not a B-Team committee anymore. Contrast that with Speaker Boehner who kept in place Chairman Jeff Miller (R-1-FL) – who led the way on VA reform – to keep the focus on reforming the troubled department. If you want serious and substantive change, you must have serious and substantive leadership.
“Rep. Brown’s election makes it clear that Nancy Pelosi and the Democratic leadership in Congress have no intention of doing anything but blocking real reform at the Department of Veterans Affairs even as hundreds of thousands of veterans are still waiting for the care and benefits they have earned. We heard a lot of talk by both parties about caring for our nation’s veterans in the lead-up to the midterm elections. Minority Leader Pelosi just proved by the tone deaf actions of her caucus that it was exactly that—just talk.”
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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 liberty we and our families so proudly fought and sacrificed to defend.