Military & Veterans

Aurora’s Congressman Mike Coffman came out of another battle victorious this week. The 21-year military veteran and three-term Republican congressman got into a war of words with VA Secretary Robert McDonald a couple of weeks ago during a House committee hearing on why the Aurora VA boondoggle hospital and similar over-budget, over-deadline boondoggle projects are still over-budget and nowhere near complete. The heated hearing went nuclear while Coffman pressed McDonald to know whether he’s cle... Read more

“Let me start by telling you something I haven’t done,” said Coffman, a Marine Corps combat veteran. “I have never run a federal agency that tolerates corruption the way the VA has. I’ve never built a hospital that’s years behind schedule and hundreds of millions over budget. And I’ve never been a shill for inept bureaucrats who allowed American heroes to die on a medical waiting list while waiting for medical care.” –Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.), statement on website, Feb. 12, 2015 This stateme... Read more

On an evening last March, 42-year-old Dedra Hughes’ thoughts turned to suicide. The Army veteran, who had been diagnosed with post-traumatic stress disorder five years earlier, had split with her boyfriend days before. She was unemployed and had stopped taking classes. And she was convinced her two daughters would be better off without her. Sitting on the floor of her suburban Chicago living room, Hughes attempted to slash her wrist but didn’t draw blood, and says she passed out from anxiety. H... Read more

The Washington Post’s Fact Checker looked into U.S. Representative Mike Coffman’s (R-CO) claims to be a Marine Corps combat veteran and determined them to be 100% true, even “award[ing] Coffman the elusive Gepetto checkmark.” According to the Washington Post, “when it comes to Coffman’s record, he is a combat veteran in the most literal and widely-understood use of the term.” The fact check came in response to a heated exchange between VA Secretary Robert McDonald and Rep. Coffman over criticis... Read more

“Nine hundred people have been fired since I became secretary. We’ve got 60 people that we fired who have manipulated wait times.” – Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald, NBC “Meet the Press” interview, Feb. 15, 2015 These figures from McDonald’s first Sunday TV show interview seemed to be a bombshell revelation in the aftermath of the wait-time manipulation scandal at Veterans Affairs medical facilities. McDonald was appointed secretary late July 2014, amid whistleblower al... Read more

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Wednesday asked a Republican lawmaker who served in both Iraq wars, "What have you done?" as the two men sparred over huge cost overruns at a troubled Denver VA hospital. McDonald was defending the VA's budget at a hearing when he and Colorado Rep. Mike Coffman tussled over construction delays and cost increases at the long-delayed hospital project. After a few minutes of arguing, McDonald snapped at Coffman: "I've run a large company, sir. What hav... Read more

Some veterans advocates are calling VA Secretary Bob McDonald to apologize to Rep. Michael Coffman, Colorado Republican, after a heated exchange in Wednesday’s House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing. Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, said Mr. McDonald’s tone in responding to Mr. Coffman’s questions in the hearing was representative of a larger problem within the agency. “The disrespectful comments made today by Secretary McDonald are unfortunately emblematic of the attitude... Read more

Outside the Denver Veterans Hospital, a few blocks off 9th and Colorado, the beautiful February weather has coaxed veterans outside and into the sunshine. Some smoke, others chat and then, there are those who head to the nearby food cart to grab a bite. The nearly 70 degree temperatures have brought outside multiple generations of warriors, some whose wars were fought in what seems like a lifetime ago. Some proudly wear ballcaps bearing their service branch insignia. For others, its windbreaker... Read more

A Colorado congressman is calling for a broader investigation into wrongdoing at the Denver Veterans Affairs Hospital after the hospital director made "veiled threats" to potential whistleblowers. "Once you talk to the media, you are on your own. The VA does not support you." Director Lynette Roff said in an employee meeting on Jan. 30. "Once you are in hot water, nobody will help you." 9Wants to Know obtained a recording of the meeting, in which Roff also discussed a secret patient waiting lis... Read more

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald lost his cool in a House hearing Wednesday after Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) asked him questions about huge cost overruns at a Denver VA hospital, which prompted McDonald to blame Congress for those problems and then imply that Coffman isn’t qualified to debate the issue. At the end of a few minutes of sniping, McDonald ended by barking at Coffman, “I’ve run a large company, sir. What have you done?” As it turns out, Coffman is a combat veteran who sta... Read more