WASHINGTON — On the heels of media reports that American veterans have died waiting for critical medical care appointments, Rep. Mike Rogers, R-AL03, today announced his support for a bill to hold accountable senior VA employees that may have been responsible for the extended appointment waits.
“The recent reports of preventable deaths of Veterans while waiting for VA care are appalling and inexcusable,” said Rogers. “It is also greatly disturbing to learn that some senior executive managers at these specific VA centers received massive bonuses, and those bonuses were never tied to their performance. These senior managers have the duty and responsibility to make sure our Veterans get the care they deserve on time. If they can’t do their jobs, then they should be fired.”
CNN recently conducted a six-month investigation into “extended delays in health care appointments suffered by veterans across the country,” some of whom “died while waiting for appointments and care.”
Several days ago, CNN revealed that 40 U.S. veterans died while waiting for appointments at a VA hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. On top of that, the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system, had apparently created an elaborate scheme to hide the fact that they were not delivering timely care to their patients.
(Below: the full CNN report on veterans being stuck on long waiting lists, and the ensuing coverup)
Congressman Rogers and many of his colleagues are now pushing the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014. The bill would give the Secretary of Veterans Affairs the authority to remove senior VA hospital managers based on poor performance.
“The senior leadership at the VA must be held accountable for their management performance,” Rogers said. “Once they are, then hopefully they will start to address the massive backlog of cases at the VA. I fully support House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Jeff Miller’s call for an inspector general’s investigation on these recent reports of preventable deaths and lavish bonuses.”
Rogers noted that he had recently toured two Veterans Facilities that serve the Veterans of Alabama’s 3rd District.
“I have seen firsthand how important these types of facilities are to our Veterans,” he said. “Our veterans answered the call of duty when our nation needed them. Our nation in turn must keep our promise we made to them.”
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