[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 6]
[House]
[Pages 8815-8816]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




     ACCOUNTABILITY IS NEEDED IN THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS

  (Mrs. KIRKPATRICK asked and was given permission to address the House 
for 1 minute and to revise and extend her remarks.)
  Mrs. KIRKPATRICK. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to talk about the need 
for accountability and action in the Department of Veterans Affairs. I 
urge my colleagues to sign on to a letter I

[[Page 8816]]

have written the Secretary that follows up my call on May 6 for a 
nationwide audit of all veteran medical facilities.
  While the VA has stated that an audit is currently under way, I am 
very concerned about testimony in last week's Senate Veterans Affairs 
hearing. In that hearing, it was suggested that the audit under way may 
not be as thorough and comprehensive as what I called for.
  I do not believe that a thorough, in-depth examination of patient 
scheduling in every VA facility can be accomplished in just a few 
weeks.
  Mr. Speaker, if we are dealing with a serious, systemic problem, then 
this audit is critical. We need a thorough and comprehensive review of 
scheduling practices at every VA medical facility. Anything less would 
be a disservice to our veterans who deserve a health care system they 
can trust.

                          ____________________