Senator Patty Murray is the Chair of the Senate Budget Committee and serves on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. Her office issued the following:
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT: Murray Press Office
Wednesday, June 11, 2014
(202) 224-2834
VETERANS: Murray Remarks on Sanders-McCain Compromise
Murray: “We must keep working to address the management, resource, and personnel shortcomings we know exist at the VA.”
(Washington, D.C.) – Today, U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a
senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee,
delivered the following remarks on the Senate floor before voting on the
Sanders-McCain legislation aimed at addressing transparency, wait
times, and accountability issues at the Department of
Veterans Affairs. The measure overwhelmingly passed the Senate and will
now be reconciled with legislation passed by the House of
Representatives, before heading to the President for his signature.
Senator Murray’s remarks as prepared:
“This
compromise is an excellent example of what Congress can do when we work
together to put veterans first and work toward substantive solutions to
the challenges
they face. Passing this legislation is a critical step toward
addressing some of the immediate accountability and transparency
concerns plaguing the VA and fixing its deep-seated structural and
cultural challenges.
“Each
new report seems to paint a more serious and more disturbing picture of
the VA’s system-wide failure to provide timely access to care for our
nation’s heroes.
I am especially concerned by the number of facilities that serve
Washington state veterans that have been flagged for further review and
investigation.
The VA has promised to get to the bottom of this and I expect them to do so immediately.
“However,
these new reports are not only consistent with what I hear so often
from veterans and VA employees, but also with what the Inspector General
and GAO have been reporting on for more than a decade.
“These
are not new problems and Congress must continue to take action on them,
while addressing the inevitable issues that will be uncovered as
ongoing investigations
and reviews are completed.
“I
expect this chamber to come together, as the House did yesterday –
twice, in fact – to move this bill forward – so we can work out our
difference with the House
and send this legislation to the President’s desk as soon as possible.
“As
we all know, there are serious problems at the VA that will not be
solved through legislation alone or by simply replacing the Secretary.
However, I am hopeful
these steps will spark long-overdue change -- from the top down -- in
order to ensure our veterans are getting the care and support they
expect and deserve.
“I
commend the Senator from Arizona and the Senator from Vermont for their
commitment to bipartisanship and putting the needs of our veterans
first. This is an important compromise and I urge my colleagues to
continue the bipartisan
collaboration that made this bill possible.
“Let’s
pass this bill quickly so we can get these reforms in place. And we
must keep working to address the management, resource, and personnel
shortcomings we know exist at the VA.”
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Meghan Roh
Press Secretary | New Media Director
Office of U.S. Senator Patty Murray
Mobile: (202) 365-1235
Office: (202) 224-2834