7/13/16	S.3198	A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the provision of adult day health care services for veterans.
7/12/16	S.3170	A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the removal or demotion of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs based on performance or misconduct, and for other purposes.
7/11/16	S.3154	A bill to amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in awarding a contract for the procurement of goods or services, to give a preference to offerors that…
7/7/16	S.3141	A bill to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a grant program to improve the monitoring of mental health and substance abuse treatment programs of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The above chart is a sample of bills being reviewed by the U.S. Congress. The source is the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.

Less than 2 years ago, a Procter & Gamble CEO, West Point graduate, and former Army Captain came on board as the VA Secretary. Bob McDonald, a republican was assigned the task of turning the scandal ridden entity around to better meet the needs of veterans. To date he has taken many steps to improve the delivery of service to our veterans.

My policy wish is for the VA Secretary, Bob McDonald along with the MyVA Advisory Committee Chairman, Generable Joe Robles, to receive the legislative support that they are asking for which is to push through their recommendations via the Veterans’ First Act, in order to transform the VA culture around to better meet the needs of our veterans; and that any attempt to continue to delay passage due to political reasons end.

Their requested legislation has been languishing in the U.S. Congress since May of 2016. Both leaders are asking that the VA transformation plans not be subject to election year politics. (For more on this, see the related article link below.)

An example of the politicizing of the VA is from a 7/19/16 Military Times article: “The chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee and Donald Trump’s top veterans adviser (FL R-Jeff Miller) backed off his support for current Veterans Affairs Secretary, Bob McDonald.” The House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman, Mr. Miller is supporting Donald Trump for the U.S. presidency and his VA reform plan which was made public on 7/11/16.

Then in the U.S. Senate, there is republican Senator John McCain from Arizona who has been on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee for many years. It was during his watch that a whistle blower made public in 2014 the “wait time scandal” at the Phoenix, Arizona VA Hospital. Senator McCain is convinced that the VA system is too broken to fix. Thus around the end of April, 2016, he introduced the “Care Veterans Deserve Act” to compete with the bill that the VA Secretary and the MYVA Chairman General Robles are asking to be passed.  He is just plain wrong on this one.

The American Legion on their web site alleges that “Members of a congressionally appointed Commission on Care, many of whom are medical industry executives, are reportedly pushing lawmakers in Washington to support long-term plans to accelerate privatization of VA health care.”(Three out of eleven commissioners refused to sign off on the 300 page report.)

In order for the VA Secretary McDonald to successfully complete his mission to constructively overhaul the VA culture, he publicly stated in September, 2016 that he needs his recommended  suggestions. as listed in the current Omnibus Bill to be passed, as soon as possible. This requested legislation comes less than two years after the last veterans omnibus was passed by lawmakers in the wake of the wait times scandal. The Omnibus Bill, titled, “Veterans First Act” has been passed out of the U.S. Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, in a bipartisan manner during May of 2016. But now it is still sitting there in the gridlocked U.S. congress while the legislators claim to care about our military heroes.

On 4/28/16, Leo Shane III and Patricia Kime reported the following details in their Military Times article:

“The new omnibus–the Veterans First Act–would go along with a VA leaders’ request to be able to more easily hire and fire department senior executives, changing the employment policies to rules closer to private-sector contracts. It also includes a new office charged with protecting whistleblowers, with more oversight and reporting to Congress.”

“On health care, the bill includes a massive expansion of VA’s program for caregivers of seriously injured veterans, which provides financial support, health benefits and other services for family members offering care.” 

Jim Myers of the Columbus Dispatch writes the following in the 9/1/15 article, “A chief urges Congress to pass bill to reform agency:”

“Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald wants Congress to pass a sweeping Senate reform bill to continue transforming his beleaguered agency that two years ago was engulfed in a scandal.”

“But even though the proposed Veterans First Act emerged from the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee with unanimous support in May — a rare display of bipartisanship — the bill has remained stalled with no floor vote.”

“There’s no question we have more work to do to make sure the VA is delivering the best possible care to all veterans, which is why Congress should move forward on this bipartisan bill quickly,” said Sen. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, a member of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee.”

“With so many (6 million regular users) relying on the system, the congressional clock continues to tick as McDonald warns that he will need time to get reforms in place before the Obama administration ends in January.”

“Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., the lead sponsor of the bill, is optimistic about its chances. However, after blowing through several self-imposed deadlines since May, he conceded that his plan for a quick and easy vote faces obstacles.”

“New legislation that McDonald says costs nothing has been rolled out and can be added to the Veterans First bill later in the legislative process, a plan that Isakson supports.”

“In five years, veterans could have appeals resolved within one year of filing,” McDonald said.

“Amid the uncertainty surrounding the reform efforts in Congress, the congressionally mandated Commission on Care released a report that included a number of recommendations for the VA.” (This republican led effort, unveiled on 7/11/16 in VA. Beach is not supported by the American Legion. See link below.)

“McDonald embraced several of those and said that some are underway as part of the “MyVA” initiative designed to modernize the agency and turn it into veteran-centered service organization. McDonald said while in Cincinnati at the National Convention of the American Legion. We have challenges, yes. But VA can be transformed.”

(Source: 4/2/15 (Robert) Rivard Report, “Obama Taps Robles, Retired USAA CEO, To Lead VA Reform Initiative;” updated 10/7/16.)

“President Obama announced the formation of the MyVA Advisory Committee earlier this month (March 2015) during a visit to a VA medical facility in Phoenix. He was accompanied by Secretary of Veteran Affairs Bob McDonald, VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson and Robles. The leaders held a round table at the Phoenix VA hospital and met with veterans to hear their firsthand frustrations seeking medical services and their benefits.”

“It’s important that veterans know that somebody’s got their backs, and that, if there are problems, that we’re not being defensive about it, not hiding it.” — President Obama

“Now it’s former USAA CEO and President Joe Robles Jr.’s turn to get back into the action. The retired Army Major-General Robles has agreed to serve as chairman of the Veterans Affairs Department’s newly formed MyVA Advisory Committee, an initiative to take one of the federal government’s worst performing bureaucracies and make it more service friendly.”

“General Robles will head a blue ribbon panel of former military leaders, business executives and health care experts. It’s a major undertaking and one that comes with serious risk of failure or at least frustration. No federal agency has proven less receptive to reform and modernization or more resistant to change.”

“Robles will chair a board with considerable firepower and will convene the group’s first meeting in April and thereafter meet every few months. Exactly how he and other committee members will tackle the VA’s long-entrenched problems remains to be seen.”

“The VA has been criticized as a paper-driven bureaucracy where records and claims often were lost or ignored for months, and where many veterans failed to win the agency’s attention unless their cases drew media attention. The committee’s mandate is to develop short-term and long-range goals to improve VA operations and services.”

The MyVA Advisory Committee: