The House and Senate Armed Services Committee finished their markup of the FY2018 National Defense Authorization Act (NDAA) in June, authorizing billions of dollars more than what President Trump requested. The timeline for the NDAA passing both chambers is uncertain due to the NDAA being blocked from a fast-track debate in the Senate last week…. Read more »
It was a dramatic week in Veterans Affairs last week, but on Friday the House finally passed legislation to continue funding the Veterans Choice Program. Lawmakers introduced a measure to continue funding at the beginning of last week, however it was shot down, mostly along party lines. But Friday was a different story. The House… Read more »
Last night the House failed to pass a bill providing emergency funding for the Veterans Choice Program. Although reauthorized earlier this year by President Trump, VA Secretary David Shulkin surprisingly testified last month that the program was rapidly running out of money and would be depleted by mid-August. This, he said, was due to the… Read more »
Veterans from all over the country have faced extensive wait times at the VA, and many have stood up to share their experiences. Marine Corps veteran and Purple Heart recipient Ben Rangel is one of those veterans. Ben served in the Marine Corps for eight years. During that time he served three tours, two of… Read more »
Three years ago, a succession of scandals at the Department of Veterans Affairs revealed veterans were dying due to negligence, fraud and abuse at VA hospitals across the nation. In response, Congress implemented a temporary measure that was meant to ease the burden on some veterans by allowing them to receive care elsewhere in the… Read more »
One of the VA’s better-rated facilities has come under fire on multiple fronts for misconduct and poor quality of care for its patients. Whistleblowers at the Manchester, New Hampshire VA – the only VA hospital in New Hampshire – claim that facilities are unsanitary and infested with flies, veterans are waiting extensive amounts of time… Read more »
Last week the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin announced plans to publicly post the firings, demotions and suspensions of VA employees in order to improve transparency in the accountability process. Secretary Shulkin and the Trump administration’s recent actions to bring more accountability and transparency to the department is a positive step towards reforming… Read more »
