{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/democratic-veterans-congress-decry-trump-administration-s-va-tricare", "Democratic Veterans in Congress Decry Trump Administrations VA-Tricare Merger Proposal", "2017-12-05", "2017", "2017-12", "Democrat", "House", "AZ", "Ruben Gallego", "G000574", "rubengallego.house.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON DC \u2013 Today, 5 veterans serving in Congress \u2013 Reps. Ruben Gallego (D-AZ), Salud Carbajal (D-CA), Anthony Brown (D-MD), Ted Lieu (D-CA) and Collin Peterson (D-MN) \u2013 wrote to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin urging him to reconsider a plan reportedly being developed behind closed doors to partially merge the VA and DOD health care systems.\u00a0 The letter argues that the proposal represents a dangerous step towards privatization and could compromise the VA\u2019s critical role as a direct provider of care to veterans.\u00a0 The Congressmen also criticized the secretive manner in which the proposal is being developed\u2014without public meetings, independent studies or consultations with veterans organizations.\u00a0 \u00a0\n\u201cVeterans recognize that merging the VA with Tricare simply doesn\u2019t make sense,\u201d said Rep. Gallego, a Marine Corps combat veteran. \u00a0\u201cThe Trump Administration\u2019s obvious intention is to erode the VA\u2019s ability to serve as a direct provider of care to men and women who risked their lives for our country. \u00a0This half-baked idea is also clearly consistent with the extreme privatization agenda that conservative groups have been pushing for years\u2014groups more interested in discrediting government than in improving health care for our veterans.\u00a0 Congress should put a stop to this unwise and unworkable plan.\u201d\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\nThe full text of the letter is below and can be found online here.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\n\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nDear Secretary Shulkin:\nWe write to express our grave concerns regarding a proposal reportedly being considered by the Administration to partially merge the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) health care systems. If adopted, this radical shift in policy could undermine care for veterans, increase their medical costs and dramatically expand the federal government\u2019s reliance on the private sector to meet the unique needs of men and women who served our nation in uniform.\u00a0 We strongly urge you to reconsider this proposal and to refrain from taking any additional steps to implement it without first consulting with key stakeholders, including interested Members of Congress and veterans groups.\u00a0\nWhile we strongly support ongoing efforts to strengthen coordination between VA and DOD, it is important to note that the two Departments serve separate patient populations with drastically different needs.\u00a0 Specifically, Tricare beneficiaries are generally younger and healthier than veterans who receive care through the VA. As stakeholders will attest, providers at the VA are uniquely trained and equipped to manage the care of a patient population that suffers from combat-related injury and illness, including traumatic brain injury and PTSD, in a culturally competent environment. We are therefore concerned that merging the two programs would compromise critical services for older veterans and those with serious medical conditions.\u00a0 Further, a Tricare-VA merger could compel veterans entitled to care provided by the VA system to instead seek care through the private sector, a shift that could unfairly force veterans to pay out-of-pocket costs that they wouldn\u2019t otherwise be required to bear.\u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nIn addition to the potentially harmful impacts of this proposal, we are deeply concerned by the manner in which such a consequential change in veterans policy is being considered.\u00a0 No public meetings or hearings have been held. \u00a0No independent studies have been conducted to estimate the cost of such a merger or to assess its implications for quality of care.\u00a0 Moreover, national veterans service organizations, which collectively represent the interests of tens of millions of American veterans, have not been asked to provide input or recommendations as part of the decision-making process.\u00a0 In fact, our best information about the substance of your proposal has come to light only as a result of media reporting on closed door deliberations within the Administration.\u00a0 That\u2019s certainly not the way that policy changes affecting millions of veterans should be considered.\u00a0\nFinally, as strong supporters of high quality veterans\u2019 health care and as advocates for the VA\u2019s role as a direct provider of care to veterans, we believe this proposal represents a misguided step in the direction of privatization. \u00a0Again, given its potential consequences for our veterans and for the integrity of the VA health care system, we request that you reconsider your support for this merger and urge you to fully and transparently engage with key stakeholders, including Congress and veterans organizations, on this issue moving forwards.\u00a0 \u00a0 \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\nSincerely, \u00a0\n\u00a0\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://rubengallego.house.gov/media-center/press-releases/democratic-veterans-congress-decry-trump-administration-s-va-tricare"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.7929238490760326, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}