[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9075]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                     DYING IN LINES--U.S. VETERANS

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Texas (Mr. Poe) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. POE of Texas. Mr. Speaker, on Memorial Day, I was at Houston 
National Cemetery with Texas veterans and their families. They were 
irate about the allegations against the VA. They want to know what we 
plan to do about it.
  In a July 2012 speech, President Obama said: ``I promised to 
strengthen the VA, and that promise has been kept.'' Thanks to 
whistleblowers, we now know that statement is not accurate.
  The more we hear about the VA's treatment of veterans, the worse it 
gets. And over the past few weeks, we have learned that 26 VA 
facilities nationwide are being investigated for cooking the books, 
ensuring that the long wait times sick veterans have to endure are 
hidden from the public. Secret waiting lists, hidden agendas all driven 
by the greed of those at the highest level of the VA.
  Why greed? Why cook the books? Because if wait times are reported 
low, VA officials receive bonuses. VA workers have allegedly used 
different tactics and strategies to give the impression that they were 
meeting the Department's standard of seeing patients between 14 and 30 
days.
  To promote this lie, the Phoenix VA hospital allegedly had a secret 
waiting list to conceal delays and wait times. Meanwhile, dozens of 
patients' conditions worsened, and many died waiting in line. It has 
been reported that between 1,400 and 1,600 sick veterans had to wait 
months to see a doctor.
  The Phoenix VA was not the only place where fraud took place. In my 
home State of Texas, it has been reported that the VA officials in San 
Antonio and Austin purposely manipulated appointment data to hide the 
long wait times.
  According to whistleblower reports, top level VA staff directed 
workers to ``ensure wait times were as close to zero as possible,'' in 
other words, juggle the books. He went on:

       It's plain and simple common sense . . . If you have a 
     patient who has a delay in diagnosis of any cancer, that 
     cancer did not stop growing while they were waiting for the 
     doctor to see them.

  Mr. Speaker, treating our veterans like cattle in line at the 
stockyards is unacceptable. Our warriors are dying in line.
  According to The Daily Beast, a whistleblower in the Texas VA 
described this as ``an organized crime syndicate . . . People up on top 
are suddenly afraid they may actually be prosecuted, and they're 
pressuring the little guys down below to cover it all up.''
  According to the whistleblower, the problem comes from the higher-
ups. ``If VA directors report long delays, they won't stay a director 
very long, and they certainly won't get promoted.''
  ``No one is getting rewarded for honesty. They pretty much have to 
lie; if they don't, they don't go anywhere.''
  ``If one person comes up with a way to cheat on a report to the 
government and profit from that lie, that's defrauding the 
government.''
  ``If hundreds of people are defrauding the government, it's a 
conspiracy, and that's what you've got now, and it runs coast to coast 
and bottom to top.''
  Mr. Speaker, it is time for the administration to stop claiming 
ignorance and blaming lower-level operatives for a scandal that has 
been driven from higher up. Secretary Shinseki has overseen a 
Department that has now been called a ``criminal syndicate.'' He should 
just be fired.
  Those money-hungry executives at the VA who engaged in secret illegal 
activity that has resulted in veterans dying should be treated for what 
they are--criminals. And those veterans who are still waiting in line 
should be given waivers to see the private doctor of their choice.
  Mr. Speaker, cancer does not wait for government bureaucracy, 
incompetence, and delay. American warriors have died in lands far, far 
away. But now, other American warriors are dying in the United States, 
in line, waiting for VA health care. Put those that committed crimes in 
line for the stockade, and fix the problem.
  And that's just the way it is.

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