Military & Veterans

Lawmakers commended the VA on Monday for taking some actions to improve waiting times, but criticized the department for its lack of transparency about its new initiatives and wondered why it took so long to make seemingly-obvious fixes. The VA says its Accelerating Access to Care Initiative allowed for 200,000 appointments to be scheduled in the last two weeks in May, taking a step to improve lengthy wait times faced by veterans. But Rep. Jeff Miller, Florida Republican and chairman of the Hou... Read more

A top federal investigator has identified “a troubling pattern of deficient patient care” at Veterans Affairs facilities around the country that she says was pointed out by whistleblowers but downplayed by the department. The problems went far beyond the extraordinarily long wait time for some appointments — and the attempts to cover them up — that has put the department under intense scrutiny. In a letter Monday to President Barack Obama, Carolyn Lerner of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel ci... Read more

Despite secret lists, data manipulation and charges that veterans died because of long wait times, every senior VA executive received high marks over the past four years, the department revealed last week. Every one of the almost 500 senior executives at Veterans Affairs has been rated “outstanding,” “exceeds fully successful” or “fully successful” since fiscal 2010, Gina Farrisee, assistant secretary for human resources and administration, told the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on Frida... Read more

President Barack Obama said Thursday the U.S. will send up to 300 military advisers to Iraq to set up joint operation centers but was adamant no U.S. troops will be returning to combat roles to help slow violent sectarian fighting in the country. The president also said Iraq should form a new government to better represent all Iraqis, calling for leaders with an inclusive agenda better able to overcome the nation’s deep sectarian divisions. “It’s not our job to choose Iraq’s leaders,” the presi... Read more

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman was selected this week to serve on the negotiating team that will hash out differences between the House and Senate bills designed to reform the beleaguered U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. In that role, the Aurora Republican — a military veteran himself — will join with a small group of other lawmakers to finalize legislation aimed at bringing more accountability to VA officials while finding alternatives for veterans waiting for medical care. It’s also a major boost... Read more

Aurora’s 6th Congressional District incumbent Mike Coffman, R-Aurora, tweeted that he has been appointed to a House “conference committee” to negotiate an agreement on the House and Senate Veterans Affairs accountability and emergency care measures. “I am humbled to be appointed to the conference committee and focused on #VAaccountability so our nations veterans have the care they deserve,” he said today. House Speaker John Boehner, R-OH, today named eight House Republicans to serve on the conf... Read more

Over the last days and months, the 17 veterans of the Iraq War currently serving in Congress have helplessly watched from Washington as insurgent fighters gained ground in Iraq — ground that they fought for not long ago as combat surgeons and fighter pilots, platoon leaders and chaplains. But these new members of Congress aren’t marching lockstep on the way forward for the deteriorating country — not with each other, and not with older hawks on the Hill calling on President Barack Obama to get ... Read more

Budget experts called Thursday for lawmakers to find an offset for the Veterans Affairs bill when they begin conference negotiations this week. The Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget sent a letter to the conferees saying that the need to keep promises to the nation’s veterans shouldn’t relieve members of the need to be fiscally responsible and pay for the changes. “National priorities must be funded responsibly to provide a sustainable base for that commitment,” Maya MacGuineas, CRFB pr... Read more

Today, Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Aurora) made the following statement after being appointed by Speaker of the House John Boehner (R-OH) to the House-Senate Conference Committee on the Senate Amendments to H.R. 3230, the Veterans’ Access to Care through choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act: “I am humbled to be appointed as a conferee, and I’ll be focused on fighting for Colorado veterans every step of the way. We must come together quickly in a bipartisan manner to iron out the differences bet... Read more

U.S. Rep. Mike Coffman has asked the inspector general of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to investigate the agency's treatment of a Denver veteran. Coffman requested the investigation after a VA spokesman characterized the veteran, who complained about his medical care, as mentally ill. "Flagrant violations of law used to silence and intimidate critics are becoming commonplace and accepted practice by the VA," Coffman wrote Monday in a letter to Richard Griffin, acting inspector genera... Read more