[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 121 (Wednesday, July 30, 2014)]
[Senate]
[Page S5125]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                          McDONALD NOMINATION

 Mr. COCHRAN. Mr. President, my office continues to receive an 
inordinate number of complaints about persistent problems with the 
delivery of health care services and other benefits by the Department 
of Veterans Affairs to those who have served in our Armed Forces. This 
is very troubling to me.
  Evidence of serious and systemic mismanagement and negligence within 
the Department led to the resignation of a former Secretary of the 
Department and a call for a thorough assessment of how to better serve 
our veterans. We should take very seriously our responsibility to those 
who have served in our military. Robert McDonald, the next Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs, will face many challenges to improve the VA system. 
He will have the support of many of us in Congress as he assumes this 
important position.
  I have recommended on several occasions continued, vigorous oversight 
by the Department of Veterans Affairs during the implementation of a 
corrective action plan at the G.V. ``Sonny'' Montgomery VA Medical 
Center in Jackson, MS. Reports from VA patients, their families and VA 
hospital officials in Mississippi have served to guide corrections and 
improvements at the facility.
  I support measures to correct the VA's problems and improve the 
quality of, and access to, care for veterans. I am hopeful that the 
pending VA reform legislation and the confirmation of a new Secretary 
of Veterans Affairs will be reassuring steps toward enhancing the 
delivery of health care services to our veterans.
  We can and should do better for those who have devoted themselves to 
serving our country.

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