[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 160 (2014), Part 7]
[House]
[Page 9166]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                               VA SCANDAL

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Chair recognizes the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Perry) for 5 minutes.
  Mr. PERRY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to bring awareness to the 
outrageous, the almost unimaginable findings from the ongoing VA 
inspector general's review of the Phoenix Health Care System and now 
some two dozen other facilities.
  The stated VHA goal is a 14-day wait for a first-time primary care 
appointment--14 days, 2 weeks. It is a little much for some, but it 
seems appropriate, reasonable for many. That is their goal. Whether I 
agree with it or not, that is their goal.
  However, I am going to read from the executive summary of the 
inspector general's allegations:
  ``Allegations at the Phoenix HCS include gross mismanagement of VA 
resources and criminal misconduct by VA senior hospital leadership, 
creating systemic patient safety issues and possible wrongful deaths. 
While our work is not complete, we have substantiated that significant 
delays in access to care negatively impacted the quality of care at 
this medical facility.''
  Mr. Speaker, that is breathtaking. That is breathtaking. This is our 
Federal Government.
  Falsified data reported last year by Phoenix HCS showed veterans 
waited, on average, 24 days for their first primary care appointment. 
Falsified data said that they waited an average of 24 days; however, 
the recent IG report found that veterans actually waited, on average, 
115 days for their first primary care appointment, with approximately 
84 percent of those waiting more than 14 days, which was the stated 
goal.
  Mr. Speaker, 115 days for their first appointment. That is the 
appointment where you go talk to the doctor and you tell him what is 
wrong or what you think is wrong and he starts making an assessment. 
That is not treatment. That is just an appointment with the doctor. Mr. 
Speaker, 115 days.
  To put it another way, VA management at Phoenix HCS met 16 percent of 
its wait time goal, and those folks still received bonuses for that 
action. The folks that do the work got a bonus for meeting 16 percent 
of their goal.
  When people say to you, as a Representative, there are things wrong 
with the Federal Government, Mr. Speaker, this is what is wrong with 
the Federal Government. Even after cooking the books, the stated goal 
of an average 14-day wait time was not met. Even after that.
  Now, I was proud to vote for Chairman Miller's VA Accountability Act 
last week, but it is a shame--I don't know what it is--that it takes an 
act of Congress to fire somebody in the Federal Government. If you are 
the Secretary and you find somebody that has done something wrong--and 
in these cases, potentially criminal--and you can't fire them, what is 
going on here?
  Now, this is not a new circumstance. We have actually known about it 
for years. Republicans--and I have been here a year and a half--and, I 
imagine, Democrats have been complaining for years about this because 
they see it in their districts. But nothing has been done. And some 
will say, well, Congress hasn't appropriated the right money. Three 
times the amount of money since 2001 has gone to the VA for care--for 
care. Three times it has been increased.

                              {time}  1015

  Mr. Speaker, where the President says he has got a pen and a phone, I 
beseech you--I beseech him to call up a veteran in this circumstance. 
Use the phone. Use your pen for an executive order and fix this. It is 
not the words, Mr. President--we are all frustrated, and we are all 
infuriated by this--but it is actions. These are members of the 
military, men and women who have served, men and women of action. Words 
are cheap, Mr. Speaker. It is actions that we require.
  JFK said in one of his speeches that a nation is revealed by whom it 
honors. What is revealed by what is happening now, what has been 
happening, and what hasn't been happening?
  Now, just to kind of show where our priorities are, let's talk about 
what you can get with an access card. This gentleman I am reading about 
bought a swordfish steak at $18.99 a pound or went to the gourmet 
coffee section and ground up some roasted fresh beans. I guess it is 
okay to buy your Halloween candy with an access card. We can provide an 
access card for that, but we can't find a way to provide for the 
veterans who took an oath?
  Mr. Speaker, they said:

       I will defend this country, I will lay my life down, and I 
     won't question. Mine is not to ask why, mine is to do or die.

  Our side of the deal is that we pay, we equip you, and prepare you to 
fight and win, and after you come home all busted up and changed, we 
will take care of you.
  Oh, that is what we say, but apparently that is not what we do. We 
can find a way to pay for these things, but not for that obligation.
  Mr. Speaker, resignation is fine. But that is not going to fix it. We 
request the administration to take action and fix it.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Members are reminded to address their 
remarks to the Chair.

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