08.11.17 • Press Release
DULUTH, MN - Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN.), alongside Representative Rick Nolan (D-MN), released the following statement after the two Representatives hosted a roundtable at the Duluth Law Enforcement Center in Duluth, Minnesota where they heard from rural veterans, veterans’ advocates, and regional healthcare providers about the unique challenges facing rural veterans when accessing medical care through Veterans Health Administration (VHA) medical
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08.09.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-Minn.) released the following statement after the Merit Systems Protection Board (MSPB) ordered a stay of Department of Veterans Affairs’ removal of the former Director of the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center:
“I am disappointed to learn there has been a delay in efforts to hold the D.C. VA accountable,” Rep. Walz said. “I spoke to Secretary Shulkin yesterday and know he remains committed to ensuring the culture and operations of the
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07.28.17 • Press Release
Washington, D.C. - Today, Chairman Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn) and Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-Minn.) released the following statement on their bipartisan agreement to extend Choice funding for six months, authorize 28 major medical facility leases and enhance the recruitment, retention and training of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) workforce:
“Once again, our committee has shown we are committed to working through our differences to get things done for our nation’s heroes. When our
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07.25.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after legislation to temporarily extend funding for the VA Choice program failed to pass out of the House of Representatives.
“If Republican House Leadership stuck to the bipartisan principles for which the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has come to be known, we could have easily passed this legislation the first time and veterans would not be left in the
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07.25.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, a bill to improve and extend G.I. Bill benefits granted to veterans, their surviving spouses and dependents.
“Today, Members on both sides of the aisle demonstrated their gratitude to those who have selflessly served and sacrificed for our
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07.17.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after the Committee met in open session to examine the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, a bill that will improve and extend G.I. Bill benefits granted to veterans, their surviving spouses and dependents.
The hearing comes less than a week after Ranking Member Walz and Chairman Phil Roe (R-TN) introduced the bipartisan legislation,
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07.17.17 • Press Release
Today, Chairman Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-Minn.) introduced the Harry W. Colmery Veterans Educational Assistance Act of 2017, named for the principal architect of the original GI Bill, to improve and extend GI Bill benefits granted to veterans, their surviving spouses and dependents.
Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz, along with Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.) and Jon Tester (D-Mont.), made the following statements in
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06.23.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after President Donald Trump signed into law the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. The legislation will give the VA Secretary the tools he needs to hold bad employees accountable and will do so in a way that maintains Constitutionally mandated workplace protections for civil servants while also protecting good employees
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06.15.17 • Press Release
(U.S. Senate) -U.S. Senators Jon Tester (D-Mont.) and Brian Schatz (D-Hawaii) and U.S. Representatives Tim Walz (D-Minn.) and Debbie Wasserman Schultz (D-Fla.) today released a report detailing the impact of President Trump’s budget on America’s veterans.
While Trump requested an overall increase in funding for the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), his proposed budget shifts funding away from critical programs that veterans rely on - including programs that deliver disability benefits,
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06.13.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after the U.S. House of Representatives voted to pass legislation that will increase accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs. The vote comes a week after the U.S. Senate passed identical legislation. The bill now heads to the President for consideration.
“I applaud my colleagues in Congress for passing this incredibly important and overdue legislation
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06.09.17 • Press Release
Today, Chairman Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) and Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-Minn.) released the statement below following Majority Leader McCarthy’s announcement the House would consider the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 next week:
“In order to bring wholesale reform to VA, we must give Secretary Shulkin the tools to fire or discipline employees who don’t live up to the standards expected of those serving our nation’s heroes. We thank
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06.07.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after the Committee met in open session to conduct an oversight hearing on post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) among veterans, a hearing which was initially requested by the Ranking Member. The Committee received testimony from numerous experts on PTSD, many of whom are veterans who have struggled with post-traumatic stress themselves.
The hearing examined
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06.06.17 • Press Release
Washington, D.C. - Today, Reps. Phil Roe, M.D. (R-Tenn.) and Tim Walz (D-Minn.), Chairman and Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, respectively, released the following statements after the Senate passed legislation to bring accountability to the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA):
“With the Senate’s passage of this legislation, we are one step closer to creating a true culture of accountability at VA while protecting the whistleblowers who are essential to
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06.05.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) and Subcommittee on Health Ranking Member Julia Brownley (D-CA) released the following statement after Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Dr. David Shulkin announced that the VA will soon take steps to adopt the same electronic health record (EHR) system as the Department of Defense.
“The decision to fully modernize the VA’s electronic health record is the right one and one I have been
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05.29.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement in observance of Memorial Day 2017:
“In the 241 years since our nation’s founding, countless American heroes have raised their right hand and sworn an oath to support and defend our Constitution as well as a set of principals Americans regard to be self-evident: that all people are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable
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05.24.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after the Committee examined the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Budget Request for Fiscal Year 2018 as proposed by President Donald Trump and his Administration. The Committee received testimony from VA Secretary Dr. David Shulkin as well as other leaders from the VA.
“Budgets are more than just fiscal documents; they are a reflection of our values. While
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05.23.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after the House of Representatives voted to pass six pieces of bipartisan legislation that will directly benefit veterans and their families across the U.S. Included in these bills are critically important provisions that will modernize the appeals process for VA disability claims, maintain disabled veterans’ standard of living through an annual compensation cost of
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05.17.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. --- Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) and Representative Elizabeth Esty (D-CT) released the following statements after the Committee considered 11 bills for markup, including multiple pieces of bipartisan legislation to streamline and modernize the VA’s claims processing capabilities in addition to legislation that will maintain veterans’ standard of living through an annual compensation cost of living adjustment.
“I’m extremely proud
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05.10.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, House Committee on Veterans Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Inspector General (OIG) sent a letter it to VA Acting Under Secretary Alaigh citing continued patient safety concerns at the Washington, D.C. VA Medical Center.
The letter detailed the findings of an OIG Rapid Response Team who visited the facility today. Specifically, the team found a patient prepped for
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05.04.17 • Press Release
WASHINGTON, D.C. - Today, Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations Ranking Member Annie Kuster (D-NH), House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN), and House Committee of Veterans' Affairs Vice Ranking Member Mark Takano (D-CA) released the following statement after they led a group of Democratic lawmakers on an oversight trip to the Department of Veterans Affairs Medical Center in Washington, D.C.
Last month, the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of
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