In the News

The Department of Veterans Affairs has rejected a request from members of Congress and veterans advocates to make brain cancer, lung cancer and migraines presumptive conditions for Gulf War veterans. Officials said they cannot prove the high rate of these illnesses among Gulf War vets are related to military service. VA officials said the number of brain cancer deaths for troops exposed to sarin gas was too low to be conclusive, though it was double the rate of troops not exposed. And the rate ... Read more

U.S. Rep. Cory Gardner, seeking to unseat incumbent U.S. Sen. Mark Udall, defended hydraulic fracturing as a job creator and said bans of the practice would kill thousands of jobs “overnight” in a visit to Durango on Sunday. His “all-of-the-above energy policy” relies on fracking. “If an energy ban were to take place in this state, you would lose 120,000 jobs overnight,” he said. “Twelve billion dollars in economic activity would walk away and $1 billion in tax revenues that builds roads and sc... Read more

The revelation of systemic mismanagement and corruption within the Veterans Health Administration has been a shock to the entire country. As a former Army soldier and a Marine Corps combat veteran, my proudest moment serving as a member of Congress was when Republicans and Democrats on the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee stood shoulder-to-shoulder on behalf of our nation’s veterans, and unanimously voted for a subpoena for the secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, retired Army Gen.... Read more

Backers of plans to revamp both Interstate 25 north of Denver andC-470 in southwest Denver pitched for federal funding help Tuesday but came away with no guarantees. Still, Colorado's history of at least paying for portions of its road projects will be looked upon kindly when federal dollars are doled out, said Bill Shuster, GOP chair of the U.S. House Committee on Transportation and Infrastructure. "There is a tendency to reward states ... who are not waiting for federal dollars to be there," ... Read more

Gulf War veterans critical of the Department of Veterans Affairs' record on addressing their health problems are hoping the VA's new health administrator is a sign things will change. Dr. Robert Jesse, named Acting Under Secretary of Health after Dr. Robert Petzel resigned amid thescandal involving manipulated patient appointmentsthat contributed to veteran deaths, was replaced on Wednesday by Dr. Carolyn Clancy, previously assistant deputy undersecretary for health for quality, safety and valu... Read more

Republican Congressman Mike Coffman of Colorado, an Iraq war veteran, joins Simon Constable on the News Hub to discuss the crisis in Iraq. Read more

U.S. House of Representatives leadership announced that Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick, D-Ariz., will serve on the bipartisan conference committee tasked with finalizing major VA reform legislation — the first time the House has gone to a conference committee on VA legislation since 1999. Kirkpatrick was one of just 14 members of Congress chosen for the committee because of their leadership on veterans’ issues. The committee is tasked with brokering final legislation that would clear both the House and S... Read more

The revelation of systemic mismanagement and corruption within the Veterans’ Health Administration (VHA) has been a shock to the entire country. As a former Army soldier and a Marine Corps combat veteran, my proudest moment serving as a member of Congress was when Republicans and Democrats, on the House Veterans Committee, stood shoulder-to-shoulder on behalf of our nation’s veterans, and unanimously voted for a subpoena for the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), Retired Army... Read more

Dr. Thomas Lynch, the Assistant Deputy Undersecretary for Health for Clinical Operations at the Department of Veterans Affairs, claimed the VA was a “good system” that compares favorably with the private-sector in terms of quality of care and patient satisfaction in his testimony before the House Veterans Affairs Committee last night. Rep. Mike Coffman (R-CO) disagreed with Lynch’s characterization, and expressed strong doubt in the current leadership at the VA. He responded, “It’s not a good s... Read more

As an avalanche of former war-mongers and supposed experts made the rounds on cable news stations about the rapidly descending state of affairs in Iraq the past few weeks, there was at least one local voice of reason along the Front Range. Not long after President Barack Obama held a press conference June 19 announcing up to 300 U.S. military advisers to be sent to confront the crisis in Iraq, Congressman Mike Coffman’s office stepped forward and reiterated the bitter truth: It’s not the right ... Read more