[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 13]
[House]
[Pages 17943-17944]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                   ENSURING ACCOUNTABILITY AT THE VA

  (Mr. PAULSEN asked and was given permission to address the House for 
1 minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. PAULSEN. Mr. Speaker, on November 11, Veterans Day, we will honor 
and remember the efforts of those who serve our country. We owe it to 
our veterans to keep the promises made to them when they first joined 
the military.
  Despite bipartisan action in Congress to increase efficiency and care 
at the

[[Page 17944]]

VA, we are still suffering from a lack of transparency that makes it 
very difficult to determine what actions still need to be taken to 
ensure quality, timely care for our veterans. Now we have learned that 
there are over 140 investigations by the inspector general that were 
hidden. These investigations were shelved; they were not made available 
to the public or to Congress.
  That is why I am supporting bipartisan legislation, the Veterans Care 
and Reporting Enforcement Act, which will require reports from the 
investigations by the inspector general to be made public, to be made 
available to Congress.
  I want to thank my Minnesota colleagues, Congressmen Tom Emmer and 
Tim Walz, for bringing this legislation forward. It will go a long way 
toward making the VA more accountable so that our veterans get the care 
that they deserve.

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