[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 78 (Thursday, May 22, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3260-S3261]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          VETERANS HEALTH CARE

  Mr. HELLER. Madam President, on Monday, May 26, our Nation will pause 
to remember all those who paid the ultimate price while serving in the 
U.S. Armed Forces. It is a solemn day on which we recognize these brave 
heroes for their valor, their courage, and their commitment to our 
country.
  As we honor and remember those who died fighting for our freedom, 
Congress must also remember we still have a promise to fulfill to the 
veterans who thankfully returned home--many with visible and invisible 
wounds of war. Our Nation has a proud history of caring for its wounded 
and disabled servicemembers and their families.
  When these men and women volunteered their service, the United States 
guaranteed they would be cared for. As a member of the Senate Veterans' 
Affairs Committee, I believe that promise has not been kept.
  It is no secret the Department of Veterans Affairs is facing a 
significant challenge with accountability at all levels of their 
agency. This failure of responsibility has an impact on the hundreds of 
thousands of veterans in my home State of Nevada.
  Last month I was honored to have a number of veterans join me for a 
roundtable in Las Vegas. This was an opportunity for me to listen and 
hear their concerns. By far, nearly every veteran in attendance 
expressed frustrations with the VA's claims backlog and the health care 
they are receiving. These veterans told me they feel discouraged and 
hopeless, that the VA does not and will not keep its promise.
  They told me about the negative impact delays in benefits and care 
have on veterans and their families. Such comments should come as no 
surprise given the difficulties Nevada veterans are facing. Look no 
further than the problem of the claims backlog here in Nevada.
  Although the Secretary of the VA promised there would be changes to 
address this problem, Nevada veterans are still waiting the longest in 
the Nation--up to 352 days on average--for their disability benefits 
claims to be processed. This is nearly three times the VA's deadline of 
125 days to complete a claim.
  These issues in Nevada and the allegations raised across the country 
are causing veterans to lose faith in the VA, and I have raised all 
these concerns to the Secretary in a letter I sent 2 weeks ago. I asked 
for immediate answers about the lack of accountability on the local 
level and whether VA leadership finally plans to do something about it. 
Although I requested a response by Wednesday, May 21, the VA still has 
not responded. What these problems ultimately amount to is a lack of 
accountability in the VA leadership.
  When I questioned the Secretary at a Senate Veterans' Affairs 
Committee hearing last week, he agreed he was ultimately responsible 
for the problems with VA care and health benefits. Despite this 
admission and admitting that veterans are not receiving the care they 
were promised, he said he does not plan to resign. So my question is: 
If the Secretary does not plan to resign, who is held accountable in 
the VA?
  The VA has been given enough chances to change and do better, but 
these were empty promises that have not produced any results. It is now 
up to Members of Congress to take action. That is why I have already 
taken a number of steps to exert oversight, demand transparency, and 
develop solutions to the problems facing the VA.
  During last week's hearing I asked the Secretary for assurances that 
the audits being conducted by the VA at its medical facilities would 
include all of Nevada's hospitals and clinics and the results would be 
shared with me and the rest of our delegation. As promised by the 
Secretary, I look forward to receiving these results as soon as 
possible, and I expect substantive immediate action should Nevada have 
any reports of mistreatment or delayed care of veterans.
  I also visited again with Las Vegas hospital officials last Friday to 
ensure veterans at this facility are receiving the care they have 
earned and that the facility is properly handling its appointment 
waiting times.
  It is critical that the Las Vegas VA hospital constantly work to 
improve its services and follows recommendations from the VA inspector 
general so that patients do not endure long waits--like the blind 
female VA veteran who waited for 5 hours before being seen in the 
emergency room.
  I believe the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee should continue to 
exert

[[Page S3261]]

oversight and hold hearings to keep VA officials accountable and 
transparent to Congress, veterans, and the American public.
  Furthermore, I believe, now more than ever, it is time for Congress 
to take legislative action to fix one of the biggest challenges at the 
VA--the disability claims backlog.
  Despite opportunities for improvement, 293,000 veterans Nationwide 
and 3,700 veterans in Nevada have waited over 125 days for their claims 
to be processed so they can get the compensation they have earned and 
the VA medical care they desperately need.
  To address this issue I introduced the VA Backlog Working Group March 
2014 Report, along with a bipartisan group of Senators, including 
Senators Casey, Moran, Heinrich, Vitter, and Tester. This report 
outlines the claims process, explains the history of the VA's claims 
backlog, and offers targeted solutions to help the VA develop an 
efficient and accurate benefits delivery system that will ensure our 
veterans will never again have to wait more than 125 days to receive a 
decision on their claims.
  What our working group found was that the process is not only 
complex, but the backlog has been a consistent problem for more than 
two decades, largely because the VA is using a 1945 process in the 21st 
century. I sent every Member of this Chamber a copy of this report and 
encourage my colleagues to take a look at it to understand how we got 
to where we are today and what it will take to fix the claims process 
permanently.
  To put this report's targeted solutions into action, our working 
group introduced the 21st Century Veterans Benefit Delivery Act. This 
comprehensive, bipartisan piece of legislation addresses three areas of 
the claims process: claims submission, VA regional office practices, 
and Federal agency responses to VA requests.
  I thank my colleagues--Senators Casey, Moran, Heinrich, Vitter, 
Tester, Murkowski, Cardin, Warren, Klobuchar, Warner, Toomey, Thune, 
Roberts, and Pryor--for joining me to address this very critical issue.
  I recognize because the claims process is complex and there is no 
silver bullet that is going to solve this problem overnight, the VA's 
current efforts will not eliminate this backlog. It is commonsense, 
targeted solutions from Congress that will address some of the 
inefficiencies keeping veterans from receiving a timely decision.
  That is why this bill has been endorsed by a number of veterans 
service organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of 
Foreign Wars, Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans 
of America, Military Officers Association of America, and the 
Association of the United States Navy. I thank these VSOs for their 
support and collaborating with the working group to develop solutions 
to fix this problem.
  Time and again we have asked our men and women in uniform to answer 
the call of duty, and they do so without hesitation. Ensuring veterans 
receive disability benefits and quality VA medical care in a timely 
manner is the least we can do to thank them for their service.
  As a member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, it is my role 
and responsibility to get answers for Nevada's veterans, and I will 
uphold that commitment to oversight.
  In the coming weeks I will be watching the VA closely for changes and 
improvements to mitigate the very serious lapse in care and services 
that have occurred. If the VA continues on the course it is currently 
on, then I think it is time to look for changes at the highest level.
  Again, I thank all of our veterans--including the nearly 300,000 that 
call Nevada home--for defending this country and for preserving 
Americans' liberties. Their commitment and sacrifice will not be 
forgotten nor taken for granted.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The Senator from Washington.

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