Mr. President, I spoke yesterday on the Senate floor about my concerns with the nature of the way the Department of Veterans Affairs is being operated. Much of my concern occurred as a result of conversations I have had with veterans back home in Kansas and their experiences both on the benefit and medical side — some real concerns with individual examples of what has happened in some of our VA facilities in our State, and this growing sense that the Department of Veterans Affairs has become unable, unwilling, to provide the necessary services in a cost-effective, efficient, timely manner that our veterans so deserve.

As I indicated yesterday, there is no group of people I hold in higher regard than those who have served our country and believe that the benefits that were promised our veterans must be provided to them, and I am concerned that is no longer the case.

As I indicated yesterday that I have served on the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee for now 18 years. I was the chairman of the health care subcommittee, I have worked with nine secretaries of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and during that time I always had the sense, until the last few years, that things were always getting better for our veterans. Today, the frustration that I bring to share with my colleagues is the belief that many veterans no longer have hope that the Department of Veterans Affairs is there to meet their needs and to care for them.

In preparing for those remarks yesterday — but really in studying this issue over the last several years — there is a real shocking development, which is the number of times we hear stories, incidents, facts about what is going on with our veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the services that are being provided. Just to highlight to my colleagues, based upon inspector general reports that are then, in part, based upon press reports, here are some things we have seen and heard about the Department of Veterans Affairs and their efforts to care for America's veterans.

The one that is in the news at the moment — there is an additional IG report that is being anticipated — the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Hospital administration apparently developed a secret waiting list of up to 1,600 sick veterans who were forced to wait months to see a doctor. It is believed that at least 40 U.S. veterans died waiting for their appointment as a result of being placed on the secret waiting list. Again, this is being investigated, a report is expected, and we will see what that report says. But, clearly, this is one of huge concern, resulting in potentially the death of veterans.

There is a wait time cover-up. According to the GAO — the Government Accountability Office — last year, quoting them:

“It’s unclear how long an appointment has been delayed because no one can really give you accurate information ..... It is so bad that [GAO staff] have found evidence that VA hospitals tried to cover up wait times, fudged numbers, and backdated delayed appointments in an effort to make things appear better than they are. In addition, the GAO states that ‘nothing has been implemented that we know of at this point’ despite the fact that the GAO and the VA Inspector General reported similar findings for over a decade.”

Reports of falsifying records were stored in the VA clinic at Fort Collins, CO, where the VA’s Office of Medical Inspector found that “clerks were instructed on how to falsify appointment records so it appeared the small staff of doctors was seeing patients within the agency’s goal of 14 days.” In fact, the investigation determined that clerical staff at the Colorado clinic were punished if they allowed records to reflect that a veteran waited longer than 14 days. Let me say that again. In fact, the investigators determined that clinical staff at the Colorado clinic were punished if they allowed records to reflect that a veteran waited longer than 14 days.

No oversight in quality of care. In December, the GAO reported on VA hospitals finding that patients were not being protected from doctors who have historically provided substandard treatment. None of the hospitals examined by the GAO in Dallas, Nashville, Seattle, and Augusta, ME, adhered to all of the requirements to review and adequately identify providers who are able to deliver safe, quality patient care.

In Los Angeles in 2012, more than 40,000 requests for diagnoses were “administratively closed” and essentially purged from the books so reported wait times would be dropped. In Dallas in 2012 another 13,000 appointments were canceled. According to the Washington Examiner, the VA canceled more than 1.5 million medical orders with no guarantee that the patients actually received the treatment or that the tests that were required by those orders were given.

By the VA’s own admission in an April of 2014 fact sheet, cancer screening delays accounted for the deaths of at least 23 patients in VA facilities nationwide, and another 53 patients suffered from some type of harm due to improper care.

Reports have also linked poor patient care, maintenance issues, and unsanitary practices to at least six preventable deaths in Columbia, SC, five in Pittsburgh, four in Atlanta, and three each in Memphis and Augusta, GA.

Other reports:

More than 1,800 veteran patients in the St. Louis VA Medical Center may have been exposed to HIV and hepatitis as a result of unsanitary dental equipment. The facility has remained under fire for patient deaths, persistent patient safety issues, and critical reports. Despite the problems at the medical center, the facilities director from 2000 to 2013 received nearly $25,000 in bonuses during her tenure there.

CNN reported that after they obtained VA internal documents that deal with patients diagnosed with cancer in 2010 and 2011, at least 19 veterans died because of delays in simple medical screenings such as colonoscopies or endoscopies at various VA hospitals or clinics. Let me say that again. In 2010 and 2011, 19 veterans died because of delays in getting simple medical screenings related to cancer. The veterans were part of 82 vets who have died or are dying or have suffered serious injuries as a result of delayed diagnoses or treatment.

Loopholes in VA performance. An Iraq and Afghanistan combat vet, who is also a former mental health administrator at the VA Medical Center in Manchester, NH, said in April 2012 that VA hospital managers across the country regularly sought loopholes to get around meeting performance requirements. He explained that “meeting a performance target, rather than meeting the needs of the veteran, becomes the overriding priority in providing care.” He went on to say that “offering bonuses to managers to make sure they met performance requirements creates a perverse administrative incentive to find and exploit loopholes... that will allow the facility to meet its numbers without actually providing the services or meeting the expectation the measures dictate.”

Finally, this one. It is not from the inspector general’s report. But in a hearing before the House Veterans' Affairs Committee on April 9 — about a month ago — the deputy for the VA inspector general for health care inspections stated:

I believe that the VA has lost its focus on the importance of providing quality medical care as its primary mission. ... There is no good explanation for these events. They are not consistent with good medical practices, they're not consistent with common sense and they're not consistent with VA policies that exist.

It is amazing to me — it is so troubling to me — we have these reports over a long period of time across the country — not isolated incidents. It is even more troubling to me — despite these reports, these inspections, these criticisms of the VA — it is hard to find any evidence the VA is doing anything to improve its record, its performance, or to better care for the veterans of our country. We should demand more, and we need leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs that will do so.

As I indicated yesterday, I do not believe this is a matter of money. There has been a 60-percent increase in VA spending since 2009 — normal increases of two, three, or four percent each year over the last several years. As I indicated yesterday, the President himself talked about how successful the administration has been in providing the necessary resources for the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Our veterans deserve better care and treatment. These are the folks we ought to honor and esteem. These are the people who we must live up to with our commitments to provide the benefits and health care they deserve and have earned.

If these were isolated instances, they would be a terrible thing. But because they are so pervasive, because they are so widespread, and because there appears to be no effort to correct the problems, it is important — it is critical — that Congress and the American people demand better service, care, and treatment for our Nation's heroes.

On May 6, 2014, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, demanded accountability from VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and called for his resignation if he is unwilling to enforce the change needed to the VA system and culture.

Mr. President, there is no group of Americans whom I hold in higher regard than our Nation's veterans. Their service and sacrifice have allowed us to live in the strongest, freest, greatest country in the world.

American veterans have fought tyrants and terrorists to keep our country safe and secure. Yet even after they return from war, veterans today continue to fight tough, tough battles here at home. Many veterans find themselves struggling to find a job, they face difficulties accessing quality health care services — especially in rural areas like mine at home in Kansas — and all too many veterans must wait long, long periods of time for benefit claims to be processed by the VA.

As of April 2014 the backlog stood at 596,061 outstanding claims, and 53 percent of those have been waiting longer than 125 days for an answer from the VA. It takes approximately 266 days for most new claims to receive an answer.

If a veteran is unhappy with the outcome of their claim, they can file an appeal. The backlog for appeals is more than 272,000 — in backlogs alone. Some have waited more than 1,500 days — more than four years — to get a response on their appeal.

These numbers represent real people. They are not just statistics. They are not just average, everyday Americans. They are our veterans whom we claim we hold in the highest regard and esteem.

Americans who served our country are waiting to receive the benefits they earned. At a time when more and more troops are transitioning out of the military — and the needs are clear for our aging veterans — I am especially concerned that we are not keeping our promise to those who served our country.

I travel across Kansas and meet veterans in their communities across our state, I hear the stories about their VA claims process — from systemic issues with the back-and-forth of how the claims are handled, to absurd waiting times in Washington. I hear from veterans organizations that come from Kansas — the American Legion, Disabled Veterans of America, Concerned Veterans of America, and Veterans of Foreign Wars — and they bring their stories of other veterans to me, outlining the problems the veterans back home are facing. The reality is that our veterans are losing hope that the VA will care for them.

Americans recently heard the story about a whistleblower in Phoenix, Arizona, at the VA in which there was a secret waiting list of veterans who had waited more than seven months to see a doctor in order to avoid VA policies on reporting extended delays. The VA hospital figured out how to hide those claims for seven months so that they weren’t reported.

Incidents of mismanagement and even death caused by the failures of the VA are far more numerous than we see in the news. Reports continue to pop up across the country, from Atlanta to Memphis, from St. Louis to Florida. The claims backlog, medical malpractice, mismanagement of a case, lack of oversight, and unethical environment all contribute to the VA's failure.

It has become abundantly clear that the dysfunction within the VA extends from the top to the bottom — at the highest headquarters and at each VISN and down to the local level in some medical facilities. Community-based outpatient clinics and regional benefit offices are part of the problem. The VA suffers from a culture that accepts mediocrity, leaving too many veterans without the care they need. Our veterans deserve better, and they deserve the best our Nation knows how to offer.

I highlight today the broken VA system and challenge the Department of Veterans Affairs to change. We need accountability and transformation within the VA system and its culture, top to bottom, all across the country. We must break the cycle of dysfunction today and take the steps necessary to make certain our veterans are no longer victims of their own government's bureaucracy.

Here are some examples from across our state:

Jack Cobos, a Kansan who sought medical attention at the Topeka VA hospital emergency room, is told his chest pains are related to muscles around his heart. He is sent home. A week later he returns and is transported to another emergency room. Ultimately, Jack dies of a heart attack — he never recovers — and we now pay tribute to that veteran who failed to receive the care he needed in a timely fashion.

One year later the same Topeka emergency room closed its doors to veterans seeking emergency treatment. And I am still waiting on a response from the VA to explain the closure of an emergency room at the VA hospital in Topeka, Kansas.

An outpatient clinic in Liberal has been without a primary care provider for more than three years. While others try to fill in the gap, there is nothing to date that the VA has done to solve the underlying problems. There is still no primary care provider.

I recently spoke about claims backlogs with a Kansas veteran involved in the American Legion named Dave Thomas from Leavenworth. He has waited since he filed his claim in 1970 and only this past year received an answer. He received a 90-percent disability rating from the VA, but it took 44 years for him to receive that answer.

A veteran with Parkinson’s disease was told recently — he filed his claim in March of last year. He was told this past week that it will now be processed only because his claim is now over a year old. You have to wait a year before you are in line in order for you to receive the process of your claim that you deserved more than one year ago. How can the VA establish a wait time benchmark of one year for veterans’ claims to get the attention they deserve?

It is so disappointing to hear these stories. I know that it is unacceptable. Whether a veteran served in 1941, 1951, 1971, 1991, 2001, 2011, or is currently serving, we owe the nation's veterans our absolute best after their military service is complete. Unfortunately, the VA system continues on a glidepath of dysfunction and is only, at best, plays defense.

The VA’s failure is not a matter of resources. That is always the easy answer: more money. But just last week President Obama himself said:

“We've resourced the Veterans Affairs office more in terms of increases than any other department or agency in my government.”

VA funding levels have increased well more than 60 percent since 2009. Each year there have been incremental increases of three, four, or five percent, and this year the request from the President's budget is for a 6.5-percent increase over last year’s spending. Yet our veterans continue to struggle and are not getting the treatment they earned and deserve, and they are not getting their benefits.

Republicans and Democrats have agreed on fully funding the VA to serve year after year, but this increase in spending results in no better service from the Department. To date, these increases have not in any way increased the service or support our veterans deserve and need. This is a problem with leadership and a lack of will to change.

I have been a member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee for 18 years, both in the House and Senate. I chaired the Health Subcommittee in the House. I have worked with nine VA Secretaries. This is an issue on which I always thought we were making progress. Today it is so disappointing to report to my colleagues in the Senate that this Department is dysfunctional, and the services get worse, not better.

We need accountability at the VA. The 44-year-old claims process of Dave Thomas and the untimely passing of Jack Cobos should not be forgotten, and the Department needs to make meaningful changes so that these cases and cases like these will never happen again.

While we continue to push legislative action, it is time to hold people accountable in order to enforce meaningful change. GAO reports, inspector general reports, and VA whistleblowers all call for action. A list I find now of eight press and IG reports — from CNN, to FOX News, to military.com, to our IG, to the Washington Examiner — all report what we would not believe could ever happen within the VA in the United States of America.

Veterans are waiting for action. Yet the VA continues to operate in the same old bureaucratic fashion, settling for mediocrity and continued disservice to our nation’s heroes.

It is clear that accountability at VA is absent. Oversight doesn’t mean much. And I sincerely and seriously question whether the leadership of the VA is capable and willing to enforce change. There is a difference between wanting change and leading it to happen.

Today I am demanding accountability and true transformation within the VA system and its culture, from top to bottom, and all across the country. Secretary Shinseki seemingly is unwilling or unable to do so, and change must be made at the top. I ask the Secretary to submit his resignation, and I ask President Obama to accept that resignation.

We must never forget that our nation has responsibility to its veterans. That means receiving the care and support they earned.

God bless our veterans and all those serving at home and abroad and all their families. We need a Department of Veterans Affairs that is worthy of your sacrifice.

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, U.S. Senator Moran (R-Kan.) released the following statement after the United States Senate confirmed the Honorable Nancy Moritz of Topeka, Kan., to serve as a federal judge for the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals:

“Justice Moritz joins the Tenth U.S. Circuit Court well prepared as the result of a distinguished legal career both in private and public practice, with 10 years of experience as a judge, including more than three as a justice on the Kansas Supreme Court,” Sen. Moran said. “In addition to her legal experience, Nancy was raised in the close-knit Kansas town of Tipton. I know the people of Tipton well, and I am confident Nancy’s service on the Tenth Circuit will be guided by the values we hold in Kansas, including empathy for others and respect for the rule of law.”

After today’s confirmation by the United States Senate, Moritz will join the Tenth Circuit with a lifetime appointment. The Denver-based Tenth Circuit Court reviews cases from Kansas, Colorado, New Mexico, Oklahoma, Utah and Wyoming.

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