Military & Veterans

U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) offered the following statement in response to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald’s obnoxious statement at a House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing questioning Coffman’s credentials. After being criticized by Coffman for failing to acknowledge the depth of the problems at the VA, Secretary McDonald responded: “I’ve run a large company, sir, what have you done?” “Let me start by telling you something I haven't done,” said Coffman, a... Read more

The head of Denver's VA Medical Center says she's known for years about the sleep lab's unauthorized patient list, which only became public last month when a whistleblower spoke out to 9Wants to Know. Director Lynette Roff, who also supervises outpatient clinics in eastern Colorado, has repeatedly denied 9Wants to Know's requests for interviews. She did tell her side of the story at a staff meeting on January 30, and we've obtained a recording. That meeting occurred less than 24 hours after the... Read more

U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) offered the following statement in response to a recording of Denver Veterans Affairs (VA) Director Lynette Roff threatening potential whistleblowers. “Director Roff’s threats are exactly what is wrong with the leadership at the VA,” said Coffman, a Marine Corps combat veteran. “We owe a great deal of gratitude to the whistleblowers across the VA. Without them, many of the worst cases of corruption and mismanagement would never have been uncovered had... Read more

The VA is maintaining that the announced retirement of the director of the Veterans Affairs hospital in Denver had nothing to do with reports by 9News that her office had kept a secret list of veterans awaiting appointments in a sleep clinic in 2012. And no doubt Lynette Roff's retirement also had nothing to do with the fact that Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, and Sen. Michael Bennet, a Democrat, have called for an investigation by the VA's Office of Inspector General. And, naturally, Roff's reti... Read more

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman has introduced a bill that would authorize the Army Corps of Engineers to be the permanent construction authority for the Aurora Veterans Affairs Hospital and raise the current $800 million spending cap to $1.1 billion. Coffman’s bill is co-sponsored by the entire Colorado congressional delegation, including Reps. Diana DeGette, Ken Buck, Scott Tipton, Ed Perlmutter, Jared Polis and Doug Lamborn. “We cannot erase the unforgivable errors that have already been committed by... Read more

A plan to overhaul the military retirement system is gaining traction among some members of Congress, but most say it will take more time and hearings to digest a 300-page report released last week that called for major changes to retirement pay and health care benefits. “We’re just at the beginning. That was just a first step, so I can’t draw any conclusions,” Sen. John McCain, chairman of the Armed Services Committee, said a day after he held an initial hearing to go over with his panel’s mem... Read more

The director of the veterans health care system for Denver and eastern Colorado is retiring, days after a report that a Veterans Affairs sleep clinic in Denver had a secret waiting list. Lynette Roff is stepping down, a spokesman for the VA said Tuesday. No other details were immediately released. Former VA employee Tommy Belinski obtained a paper waiting list — separate from the official computerized list — that could have been used to hide lengthy waits for appointments at the sleep clinic, K... Read more

The head of the Veterans Affairs - Eastern Colorado Health Care System is leaving her job effective March 1. Lynette Roff, who has held the position for 10 years, says she has elected to retire after almost 42 years of government service. Colorado Republican Congressman Mike Coffman questions whether her "retirement" was voluntary. "I doubt that it was," he told 7NEWS. "I think the timing is a little interesting." Roff has been under fire because of complaints about the quality of patient care.... Read more

The director of Denver's Veterans Affairs hospital has announced that she's leaving the VA, according to an email obtained by 9Wants To Know. Lynette Roff's retirement will be effective March 1. The retirement was reportedly not planned. Roff took over as Hospital Director in September 2005. Her resignation follows a 9Wants To Know investigation into a secret waiting list kept in the hospital's sleep lab. "I am electing to retire from federal service effective March 1, 2015," Roff said in an em... Read more

Two Colorado Congressmen are demanding a new federal investigation of the Denver VA Hospital after 9Wants to Know exposed a secret waiting list used in the sleep lab. Former Denver VA Medical Center worker turned whistleblower Tommy Belinski said he wanted the truth to come out, and He kept copies of records the VA never wanted the public to see. "I think there needs to be some accountability to those who are knowledgeable about it," he said. Belinski provided 9Wants to Know with a secret wait ... Read more