Military & Veterans

U.S. House of Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) released the below statement today after President Obama signed the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 into law: “As a Marine Corps combat veteran, member of the conference committee and Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, I am proud that Republicans and Democrats were able to put aside their partisan differences to focus on supporting our nation's veterans with choice, account... Read more

The deputy secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs announced on Wednesday changes specific to the Eastern Colorado Health Care System, including the Colorado Springs clinic, stemming from the department's unflattering audit of healthcare access wait times. "We still take too long to deliver decisions to our veterans, we still don't meet our quality standards and there are occasions where the quality of our data, the integrity of our data ... has been called into question," Deputy S... Read more

U.S. Reps. Keith Rothfus, a Republican from Sewickley, and Tim Murphy, a Republican from Upper St. Clair, have asked the Veterans Administration for an accounting of disciplinary actions taken after the deaths of at least six veterans from Legionnaires’ disease. In a letter to Department of Veterans Affairs Interim Under Secretary for Health Carolyn Clancy, Rothfus, Murphy and Mike Coffman, a Republican from Colorado, asked for a “full and open accounting” of any disciplinary or administrative ... Read more

The House of Representatives on Wednesday overwhelmingly passed legislation intended to end a crisis in Department of Veterans Affairs healthcare by getting hundreds of thousands of veterans off waiting lists and into doctor's offices. The bill passed the Republican-controlled chamber by a vote of 420 to five, with seven abstentions. The Democratic-led Senate may vote on the measure as early as Thursday, with just two days left on the congressional calendar before the August recess. The legisla... Read more

Two top supervisors in Colorado and Wyoming face disciplinary actions, including possibly losing their jobs for manipulating records on veterans’ wait times. Ralph Gigliotti, who overseas VA facilities in the Rocky Mountain Region and Cynthia McCormack, the director of the Cheyenne, Wyoming facility are the individuals who possibly will lose their jobs. Four other employees face suspension, demotion or admonishment, but they were not named in a news release. An internal audit at the Cheyenne ho... Read more

The House of Representatives voted on Wednesday to pass a $17 billion compromise bill to help fund an overhaul of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, leaving the Senate next to vote on the measure. The Senate could vote on the measure Thursday, according to Senate staff.With a vote of 420-5, the House approved legislation cobbled together by members of a House and Senate in conference committee after more than a week of contentious wrangling by lawmakers. "I am proud that Republicans and D... Read more

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) made the following statement regarding the House and Senate Veterans Affairs Conference Committee negotiations: "As a combat veteran, I am proud that Republicans and Democrats were able to put aside their partisan differences to focus on supporting our nation's warriors with choice, accountability and greater transparency. This reform will allow veterans to vote with their feet if they receive substandard treatment at VA facilities. I'm also proud ... Read more

Today, U.S. Representative Mike Coffman (R-CO) made the following statement regarding the Senate confirmation of Bob McDonald as VA Secretary: “I wish Robert McDonald the best in his new role as the new VA Secretary. He has an extraordinary background of private sector leadership and he knows how to make a large organization function. McDonald will soon find out that changing the culture of the VA will be extremely difficult but I am optimistic that he begin that difficult and necessary process... Read more

In the 1930s, people suffered through the summer with electric fans. Today, we have central air conditioning. In the 1930s, news came via radio and the morning newspaper. Now, we hear about worldwide events instantaneously with alerts on our smartphones. In the 1930s, the VA processed paper disability claims. Today, it does the same. Created in 1930, Veterans Affairs is an 84-year-old bureaucracy that hasn't adapted to a 21st century world. In an age of instant communication and data clouds, th... Read more

The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs has released data that shows 80 percent of disability claims filed by Gulf War veterans for conditions related to the war have been denied, citing “inadequate and insufficient evidence” to indicate that the cancers, chronic fatigue and migraines they suffer from are service-related. “[The Institute of Medicine] stated that there ‘is no consistent evidence of a higher overall incidence of cancer in veterans who were deployed to the Gulf War than in non-dep... Read more