[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 30, 2014)]
[House]
[Page H7045]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              CENTRAL ALABAMA VETERANS HEALTH CARE SYSTEM

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentlewoman from 
Alabama (Mrs. Roby) for 5 minutes.
  Mrs. ROBY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to share with this Congress and 
with this Nation a story of mismanagement, malfeasance, negligence, and 
coverup at the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System, or CAVHCS.
  I know most of my colleagues can point to at least some problems at 
the VA systems in their State. But what has transpired in my hometown 
of Montgomery, Alabama, and central Alabama rises to a level of 
misconduct and mistrust I am not sure many other systems can match. And 
I do this not simply just to disparage the system for no reason. I do 
this to shine a light on some truly disturbing practices so we can 
finally clean up the mess. I do this so that the 50,000-plus veterans 
that depend on the Central Alabama VA can one day have confidence in 
the health care system we promised them.
  After Phoenix, when the scheduling scheme began to unravel, it was 
revealed in early June that the Central Alabama VA had one of the worst 
wait times in the country. It was particularly bad for mental health 
patients.
  I actually met with our local VA director, who acknowledged the 
discrepancies and tried to reassure me by leading me to believe that 
action had been taken to remove those responsible. It turns out that 
wasn't true. No one was fired. Mr. Speaker, if a Member of Congress 
can't get a straight answer from the VA, imagine what our veterans go 
through every single day.
  In the wake of this clear breach of trust, we began digging deeper to 
find out what was really going on at the Central Alabama VA. The 
information that we received from sources who came forward was 
alarming. It is also consistent with reports gathered by independent 
inspectors and some great investigative reporters.
  Here is what is being uncovered:
  A Montgomery VA pulmonologist manipulated more than 1,200 patient 
records to show tests that never occurred. After being caught, the 
doctor was never fired or suspended. He actually was caught 
manipulating records again but somehow went on to receive a 
``satisfactory'' performance review;
  At least 900 unread patient X-ray tests, many showing malignancies, 
were lost over a 5-year period. When the tests were discovered 
recently, top hospital administrators tried to cover up the problem;
  Email records show the Central Alabama VA director was alerted to the 
concerns over patient scheduling practices more than 8 months before 
taking action;
  And finally, Mr. Speaker, perhaps the strongest evidence yet has 
emerged that the rampant scheduling manipulation at Central Alabama 
wasn't a misunderstanding at all but, rather, a facility-led standard 
operating procedure. More than 57 percent of staff surveyed at Central 
Alabama said they received ``instruction'' to manipulate patient wait 
times, 57 percent. Mr. Speaker, that is off the charts. The national 
average is 12.7 percent, and other systems near Montgomery aren't even 
close.
  There is clearly a systematic problem in Montgomery, and it needs to 
be corrected. That is why I have joined with Senator Richard Shelby to 
write the new Secretary of Veterans Administration, Robert McDonald, to 
call his attention to the Central Alabama VA. Specifically, Senator 
Shelby and I are asking Secretary McDonald to review these instances of 
mismanagement, visit CAVHCS with us, and develop a plan of action to 
reform the Central Alabama system.
  It is so important to remember that thousands of doctors, nurses, and 
public servants at the VA work very hard every day to give veteran 
patients the best health care that we can offer. Their service is 
honorable, and it is a shame that it is overshadowed now by a system 
that too often fails those it was created to help.
  Mr. Speaker, we cannot allow the American people to forget about 
this. We cannot allow the news media to move on to the next story. I 
hear from veterans every day who are depending on us to make this 
right. This will be an uphill battle. I know that. But it is a fight we 
have to fight. We have to change this culture of complacency. That 
starts with new leadership, and I look forward to working with 
Secretary McDonald.

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