Congress had 68 years to fix the VA

Wounded Times
Kathie Costos
July 26, 2014

The House Veterans Affairs Committee was first seated in 1946. Among their duties was to ensure our veterans had whatever they needed to recover after putting their lives on the line for this entire nation. 68 years later members of Congress accepted no responsibility for what happened to veterans.

Representatives and Senators want to pretend everything they have been hearing about veterans issues are all news to them. How dumb do they think we are? We know veterans have been calling their offices, reporters have been covering the news in their districts and we also know they have been getting an earful during their campaign stops to get support for their political life.

It has been their job to know and fix it.

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives was authorized by enactment of Public Law 601, 79th Congress, which was entitled "Legislative Reorganization Act of 1946." Section 121(a) of this Act provides: "there shall be elected by the House at the commencement of each Congress the following standing committees": Nineteen Committees are listed and No. 18 quotes: "Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to consist of 27 Members." This Act has since been amended so that there are now 22 Standing Committees in the House of Representatives. The number of Members (Representatives) authorized to serve on each Committee has been changed from time to time. There are currently 29 members of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

The Committee on Veterans' Affairs is the authorizing Committee for the Department of Veterans Affairs. The Committee recommends legislation expanding, curtailing, or fine-tuning existing laws relating to veterans' benefits. The Committee also has oversight responsibility, which means monitoring and evaluating the operations of the VA. If the Committee finds the that VA is not administering laws as Congress intended, then it is "corrected" through the hearing process and legislation. We are the voice of Congress for veterans in dealings with the VA.

You read the details on Congressional VA failures on Wounded Times all the time but they are so detached from reality they may actually believe they have gotten away with it. Last night on The Rachel Maddow Show it was made very clear too many of these people, elected to do their jobs, just show up to get a paycheck and free healthcare.

RACHEL MADDOW 07/25/14 Will do-nothing Congress do nothing on VA?

Senator Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, talks with Rachel Maddow about whether this Congress, arguably the worst Congress ever, has the ability to pass a badly-needed bill addressing the needs of veterans and the V.A.

Bernie Sanders, Chairman of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee is right about treating veterans should always be considered a price associated with what it costs to send troops into combat. So how is it that members of Congress have been able to get away with whining about not having enough money in the budget to take care of our veterans? How is it they think the other part of their job, in control over what the VA doesn't do as much as what they do do, is not their responsibility?

They got away with it because no matter how much our veterans are loved in this country, voters are no longer interested in the best and brightest serving them. They are no longer interested in voting on the issues. What is worse about most of us is the fact we hold none of them accountable for anything they fail to do.

This country is in deep trouble but the one obligation we have, no matter what part of the country we live in, is to take care of our veterans. They risk their lives, put up with extreme hardships in our name and suffer for the rest of their lives after being wounded or disabled. Widows and orphans mourn the loss of someone they love and then have to face needing this nation to step up for their sake.

They do all of this with political ideals in the proper ranking far behind what their buddy needs up to and including them to take a bullet to save their lives. Members of our congress are too cowardly to take on their own party for the sake of veterans and stand up for them.

That is the biggest shame of all. If they fail veterans, what else are they willing to sacrifice for some political game?