{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141010033612/http://coffman.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/va-under-scrutiny-even-when-congress-is-out", "VA Under Scrutiny Even When Congress is Out", "2014-10-06", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Mike Coffman", "C001077", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Congress is out of town in preparation for the November elections, but that hasn\u2019t stopped lawmakers\u2019 scrutiny of the Veterans Affairs operations in Washington, D.C.\nThe department continues to take near daily criticism from elected officials and outside advocates over access and accountability issues. As re-election campaigns heat up, many are giving a national platform to local VA headaches, and promising changes throughout the system.\nEarlier this week, House Veterans Affairs oversight subcommittee chairman Rep. Mike Coffman, R-Colo., demanded immediate action from top VA officials after reports that the department\u2019s deputy chief procurement officer gave unfair financial advantages to an outside federal contractor with whom she was having an affair.\nIn a letter to VA Secretary Bob McDonald, Coffman said the incident is just the latest example of \u201cthe morally bankrupt and ethically impaired culture that exists within the department.\u201d\nFellow committee member Rep. Jackie Walorski, R-Ind., petitioned the same federal officials this week to intervene in the case of an Indiana veteran who suffered a life-threatening blood clot after waiting months for a thorough medical appointment. Rep. Doug Lamborn, R-Colo., has stated that VA leadership promises for an independent audit of health care operations is taking too long.\nHouse Veterans Affairs Chairman Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., has said he wants investigators looking into data manipulation and fraud cases at VA regional facilities to also focus their attention on the department\u2019s leadership, to see whether other top officials covered up systemic problems.\nNearly all of the most senior VA officials have left since former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned from his post in May. But Miller and others have complained that those resignations may not have gone far enough to root out problem employees at the agency.\nAlso this week, officials from Concerned Veterans of America launched their newest oversight effort, a \u201cFixing Veterans Health Care\u201d task force designed to scrutinize not just current care problems but also examine alternative plans to overhaul the VA\u2019s operations.\nThe effort will be led by former Republican Senate Majority Leader William Frist, former Georgia Democratic congressman Jim Marshall, and former Undersecretary of Veterans Affairs for Health Mike Kussman. In a statement, Frist said VA\u2019s \u201ccurrent inefficiencies and lack of transparency\u201d are stopping veterans from getting the care they deserve.\nPete Hegseth, chief executive officer for CVA, said the effort isn\u2019t tied to any pre-election campaigning, but is designed to keep focus on reforming the department. He\u2019s also hopeful the final report to be released in December can help influence next year\u2019s incoming Congress.\n\u201cWe\u2019re not excluding any ideas,\u201d he said. \u201cOur only litmus test is whether it improves veteran\u2019s access to quality and timely care.\u201d\nMcDonald has promised a host of reforms and retaining throughout the department by Veterans Day in November, but has also publicly pledged to work with critics on find ways to fix operations and rebuild the department\u2019s reputation.", 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://web.archive.org/web/20141010033612/http://coffman.house.gov//media-center/in-the-news/va-under-scrutiny-even-when-congress-is-out"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.7491732724010944, "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"}