CONGRESSWOMAN SHEILA JACKSON LEE WRITES VETERANS AFFAIRS SECRETARY REQUESTING ALL INFORMATION ON THE VETERANS IN TEXAS – ON WHETHER THEY HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR TREATMENT AND WHETHER THEY HAVE BEEN IMPACTED BY THESE RECENT ALLEGATIONS OF ABUSE

May 23, 2014

Washington, DC - Congresswoman Sheila Jackson Lee, a Senior Member of the House Homeland Security Committee, released the following statement today in response to President Obama’s remarks on an ongoing investigation into allegations at the Veterans Health Administration and her important meeting today with local Veterans and officials at the Michael E. DeBakey VA Medical Center:

“As elected officials, we must use every tool at our disposal to take action that improves the quality of the care our veterans receive. I have sent a letter to Secretary Eric Shinseki asking for all information regarding the Veterans in Texas who may have been impacted by these recent allegations of abuse. This week I supported a bill that gives the VA Secretary increased flexibility to fire senior executives within the Department. But we must make immediate strides in tackling the systemic failures within the VA that have allowed these problems to fester. There is no time to waste. 

“It is imperative that we get to the bottom of these allegations as quickly as possible. This week the President rightly called on the Inspector General and the Veterans Administration to deliver the full report of their investigations and a list of specific recommendations in the near future. Our nation’s heroes deserve to know all the facts without delay. We must be swift, but fair, to ensure that all those at the VA are working to provide the best services possible for our nation’s heroes. And if they aren’t, they need to go.

“During this Memorial Day Weekend Holiday  we must renew our commitment to keep our promises to the nation’s more than 2 million troops and reservists, their families, and 23 million veterans, including 32,477 here in 18th Congressional District. Let us also honor the memory of the more than 4,400 American servicemen and women who have died in Iraq and more than 2,100 who have died in Afghanistan.  We also honor the sacrifices of the nearly 50,000 troops wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.

“All of us share the goal of ensuring our brave veterans receive the quality treatment they deserve. We must not waste a single second in implementing reforms that can address these problems and prevent them from recurring.”

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