In this week’s Republican address, Rep. Jackie Walorski (R-IN) calls on President Obama to support reforms that would bring accountability to the Department of Veterans Affairs. The VA has become the epitome of bureaucracy run amok, doling out bonuses to senior officials despite a claims backlog that has left veterans waiting in line for benefits and delays in care that have led to preventable deaths.
CBS News: “Eyeing disability backlog, GOP rep. pushes VA accountability”“Citing a backlog of disability claims that leaves many disabled veterans waiting months to receive their benefits, Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., slammed the Department of Veterans Affairs for mismanagement Saturday, saying the VA has ‘become the epitome of bureaucracy run amok.’ She called on the president and Democrats in Congress to support a bill she said would give the VA secretary ‘the authority he needs to fix things.’ … Her proposed solution, the ‘VA Management Accountability Act,’ is currently moving through the House Veterans Affairs Committee, and it's picked up the support of House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio.”
CNN: “GOP pushes for accountability bill in VA reform in weekly address”“Republicans in their weekly address Saturday slammed the Department of Veterans Affairs for keeping soldiers waiting for their disability checks. In calling for support of the VA Management Accountability Act, Rep. Jackie Walorski associated crippling bureaucracy in the agency to preventable deaths of patients waiting for their paper work to go through.”
The Hill: “GOP on VA backlog: ‘Bureaucracy run amok’”
“President Obama should back a measure to streamline a Veterans Affairs ‘bureaucracy run amok,’ a House Republican said in the party’s weekly address Saturday. The Indiana Republican noted that Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) supports the VA Management Accountability Act, as do groups like the American Legion, Concerned Veterans for America, AMVETS, and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.”
ABC News Radio: “In this week's Republican address, Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski hopes President Obama will support a bill she says will empower the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to fire senior officials who ‘aren't up to the job.’ Walorski, a co-sponsor to the bill, says the VA Management Accountability Act was developed in response to the claims backlog leaving many veterans waiting for months or years to receive their benefits.”
VOA News: “In the Republican address, Representative Jackie Walorski of Indiana urged President Obama to support the Veterans Administration Management Accountability Act. She said the president's support would be a ‘big step in the right direction’ for helping veterans.”
Associated Press: “In the Republican address, Rep. Jackie Walorski of Indiana is urging Obama to support the VA Management Accountability Act. She says it's a step in the right direction for helping veterans.”
Newsmax: “Walorski: VA Is 'Epitome of Bureaucracy Run Amok'”
“Indiana Rep. Jackie Walorski is calling on President Barack Obama to support a bill to make the Veterans Administration more accountable in hopes of resolving a stubborn claims backlog that has kept veterans waiting months or even years to receive their benefits.”