By John R. Carter

Our government must put veterans first.  This nation is forever indebted to the dedicated men and women who put themselves in harm’s way and selflessly sacrifice so much to protect and defend the freedoms of our great nation. 

But we cannot provide our veterans with the care they deserve until we reform the Department of Veterans Affairs and address the treatment at regional VA hospital facilities.

Under President Obama’s watch, the VA has accumulated massive backlogs in the enrollment system.  Veterans actually died waiting for care.  This is outrageous and my colleagues and I said the VA must be held accountable.

Bureaucrats within the VA have a record of shirking responsibilities and commitments to our nation’s warriors.  Our veterans deserve better.  That is why I called on the FBI to conduct an investigation of the Temple facility for criminal activities, and for the Veterans Affairs Administration to investigate the VA facility as well, in an effort to administer cultural and bureaucratic reforms.

I proudly co-sponsored the VA Accountability Act of 2015, which recently passed the House.  This bill gives the Secretary of Veteran’s Affairs the authority to immediately remove any VA employee from their position if they are found to have engaged in misconduct.  It also ends abuse of the civil service appeals process, and limits the Secretary’s authority to remove or demote an employee for whistle-blowing.

More must be done but our efforts in Central Texas are beginning to make a difference.  The backlog of disability claims older than 125 days fell from more than 40,000 claims in July 2012 to less than 6,000 today, an 85.5 percent improvement in Central Texas. 

While this is progress, it is still not the service and care our veterans deserve. Wait times for appointments are still entirely too long. And, unfortunately, the reforms we are making in Central Texas are not taking hold nationwide. I will not stop fighting until we get this resolved!

It is unfathomable that the President continues to allow this to happen, even as the FBI and internal investigations prove the VA is systemically failing in its job to care for our veterans. Changing the way they measure data is not reform. The VA must implement true reform, both culturally and in leadership. Employees that cannot, or will not do their jobs need to be removed, and the culture of retaliation against those willing to step forward to highlight these abuses must be stopped. The President can do more, and should do more, but I have no confidence he will do anything.

I will continue to fight for our veterans and will not stop until every veteran is treated appropriately and receives the care they deserve.  Anything less than first-class treatment of our brave warriors is simply unacceptable. 

John R. Carter is a Republican and represents Texas District 31 in the U.S. House of Representatives, which includes Fort Hood, the largest military installation in the free world. He serves as Chairman of the Homeland Security Subcommittee on Appropriations, is on the Subcommittee for Commerce, Justice and Science and the Defense Appropriations Subcommittee. 

###