Washington, D.C. - Congressman Dave Loebsack released the following statement today after the House of Representatives voted on the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Management Accountability Act of 2014.
"The men and women who volunteered to serve and defend our nation deserve only the best care when they return from service. Like many others, I have been outraged at the reports of alleged preventable deaths and subsequent cover ups at various VA health centers across the country. While the accountability included in the legislation that passed today is important, there are additional steps that the VA should take to address this problem. They include : hiring more medical specialists to better address the increasing influx of veterans entering the VA health system; reauthorizing the Health Professional Scholarship Program; strengthening and increasing partnerships with community hospitals and university hospitals to take advantage of all medical personnel in a community; and broadening telemedicine pilot programs that allow veterans access to care from the comfort of their home.
"As a parent of military children these recent events are deeply disturbing to me. I believe that the VA must do everything in their power to rectify this situation and I will work to ensure they have the resources they need to prevent anything further from harming our veterans."
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