Ranking Member Corrine Brown Working to Build a Better VA: Opening Statement at Hearing on ‘Philadelphia and Oakland: Systemic Failures and Mismanagement’
Washington D.C.- At the House Veterans’ Affairs full Committee this morning, Ranking Member Corrine Brown (FL-5), made the following opening statement:
“Thank you, Mr. Chairman, for holding this hearing today. I look forward to working with you and all the other members to help our nation’s veterans.
I’d like to recognize and thank Representative Barbara Lee and Representative Mike Thompson and Representative Jackie Speier for all the work they’ve done in keeping tabs on the Oakland Regional Office and Representative Chaka Fattah for the Philadelphia Regional Office. I’d also like to recognize a veteran, Mr. O. Bobby Brown, who is currently getting service by the Philadelphia Regional Office, and is sitting in today’s hearing. Thank you Mr. Brown for your service.
We all agree that providing veterans timely and accurate benefits is an important focus of this Committee. I for one am very concerned with the facts before us today.
Today, we will hear from the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of the Inspector General and numerous whistleblowers who will highlight two broken regional offices. Individual employees, and some supervisors, are alleged to have engaged in shameful activities, which at the end of the day hurt veterans. I know that neither VA leadership nor I will tolerate such actions.
Today, I hope to hear VA’s plan to fix these offices, and ensure accountability for management, and mid-level management. I also hope to hear from our witnesses on what needs to be done to resolve the problem. Our job is not only to find problems, it is to offer solutions.
The Office of Inspector General highlighted in its report ‘serious issues involving mismanagement, and distrust of Veterans’ Affairs Regional Office management impeding the effectiveness of its operations and services to veterans.’
To me, these sound like local, cultural issues, and it sounds like the Philadelphia and Oakland offices are due for a leadership shake-up at all levels if these allegations are proven to be true.
I also hope to hear from VA on how you are coming along with the 38 Department of Veterans’ Affairs Office of the Inspector General recommendations between these two regional offices.
With that said, I think it is important that we keep today’s hearing in context. We are focused on two broken VA Regional offices, while VA as a whole has dramatically increased their timeliness and quality of adjudicating claims. VA seems to still be on track to eliminate the backlog by the end of this year. In fact VA has reduced the backlog from a high of 611,000 claims in March 2013 to approximately 188,000 today.
We are not there yet, but I believe we are on the right track, and I don’t want a few bad actors taking away the progress that has been made across the country for our veterans.
I ask that Representatives Lee and Fattah stay on top of the concerns of veterans who are supported by the Oakland and Philadelphia Regional Offices.
Thank you Mr. Chairman and I yield back my time.”
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