As you know, Memorial Day doesn’t fall on the anniversary of a great battle or victory. It’s not a day for generals or presidents. It’s a day to honor and remember members of the United States Armed Forces who have died while serving our country. While it is important we set aside this day to pay tribute to their sacrifice, we should think about them every day. After all, we would not be able to enjoy our freedoms if it weren’t for them. We are the land of the free because we are the home of the brave.
Just as these brave men and women pledge to uphold their commitment to serve our country, we owe it to them to uphold our commitment to care for them during and after their service. This is one of our greatest duties as a nation and why I am so outraged over the red-tape nightmare, backlog and wait times far too many veterans face every day at the VA. To add insult to injury, Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald directly compared waiting for VA health care to waiting in the lines at Disneyland.
Not only is this statement outrageous, it also shows just how out of touch the administration is from the problems our veterans face on a daily basis. Because the bureaucracy at the VA has gotten so massive and out of control, resources are wasted and the quality of care delivered to veterans has decreased. We can and must do better.
To break the bureaucratic stronghold at the VA, we must allow veterans the option of seeking private care in their own communities at the doctor of their own choice. A few weeks ago, I introduced the Care Veterans Deserve Act of 2016 to do just that — expand access to care while empowering veterans with more choice and flexibility. I firmly believe this is a step in the right direction to shrink the bureaucracy, eliminate the backlogs and reduce wait-times at the VA.
I was also proud to support the Military Construction, Veterans Affairs and Related Agencies Appropriations bill when it passed the House of Representatives. This bipartisan bill responsibly funds the VA while advancing common sense measures to hold employees accountable. It will force the VA to meet requirements for improving electronic health records, take steps to improve wait times, and prohibit senior administration employees from receiving bonuses.
These are important steps to ensure our service members receive the best care available. After all, it’s because of the individual efforts of each and every soldier, marine, sailor, coastie, and airman that we are the strong nation we are today.
So this Memorial Day, please join me in thanking our veterans, our active duty troops and our military families. Let’s do all that we can to serve our country and to be worthy of the sacrifice of so many of these heroes. We can — and we should — work to make the country for which they died a better place and a nation that honors their sacrifice and upholds the ideals they fought for. Thank you to our United States armed forces, past and present, for your sacrifice, commitment, and heroism. God Bless our troops, our fallen heroes, and the United States of America.
