A day after winning re-election to his U.S. House seat, Rep. Rick Larsen, D-Wash., sat in a converted classroom at Everett Community College with about 20 veterans, sharing news of job and education opportunities, help for homeless veterans and an update on reforms at the Department of Veterans Affairs.
But Larsen, like others from Congress who hold similar veterans roundtables, was there more as ombudsman than congressman, listening to veterans, who ranged in conflicts served from the Korean War to Iraq and Afghanistan, most of whom were having difficulty navigating the often exasperating process of applying for a disability rating and obtaining medical care from the VA.
Some of the veterans at the roundtable, many with medical needs that need immediate attention, said they’ve been told they may have to wait as much as two and a half years for a disability rating and treatment. Another missed a medical appointment required as part of his application — because he had been redeployed to Afghanistan — and was told his application would be sent to the back of the line. Another young veteran said he had to wait 11 months for tests that confirmed he did not have cancer.
Larsen listened and assigned one of three of his staffers to each of the veterans, telling them that the staffers, who include a retired Navy master chief, would “chase it down.” But in many cases, there is little choice but to wait for the VA to work through its backlog of applications and claims.
Two long wars in Iraq and Afghanistan have flooded the VA with troops in need of care. And, Larsen explained, even old wars, such as Vietnam, continue to add to the burden. The VA recently has added eligibility for three diseases linked to Agent Orange, adding 200,000 claims to the backlog, Larsen said.
Mismanagement has been responsible, as well, as was seen in the scandal over bogus wait lists that claimed no more than 90-day waits for treatment at VA facilities in Phoenix, Arizona and elsewhere.
The mismanagement, at least, is apparently being addressed. Secretary of Veterans Affairs Robert McDonald, a West Point grad and former Proctor & Gamble chief executive, was appointed after the VA scandal forced the resignation of Eric Shinseki. McDonald has promised a long list of reforms, including the firing of as many as 1,000 deadweight agency officials and staffers, increased pay for doctors to fill vacant positions at VA hospitals, a consolidation of more than a dozen VA websites and a change in the agency’s retaliatory culture.
President Obama has requested in his 2015 budget $163.9 billion for the Department of Veterans Affairs, a 6.5 percent increase over the 2014 budget.
There will be pressure to cut from that budget or direct funds away from the VA to private doctors. McDonald told the New York Times such vouchers would be a mistake that would erode funding for the VA’s missions of treatment, research and teaching. It would also undercut the reforms McDonald is attempting to institute.
During times of war, we hear the common call to support the troops, but we need to remind ourselves and our leaders that supporting the troops demands more than a bumpersticker; it’s a lifelong commitment we make to those who serve and sacrifice.
