WASHINGTON – More than one year after the Government Accountability Office (GAO) included the Department of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) on its annual list of “High-Risk” federal agencies, U.S. Senator Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) joined a bipartisan group of eleven senators in writing Under Secretary for Health of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) Dr. David Shulkin to raise their ongoing concerns regarding veterans’ timely access to quality VA health care. The senators urged the agency to take both short and long-term action to address the issues raised in the GAO report.

Sen. Moran and others asked the agency to promptly issue a comprehensive scheduling directive to address immediate wait times and healthcare access issues. The group also requested that the agency streamline operations and map out an aggressive and comprehensive strategy to resolve chronic risks identified by the GAO.

“More than a year has passed since the GAO identified VHA as vulnerable to fraud, waste, abuse, and mismanagement, and in need of transformation, based on five serious, long-standing and well documented deficiencies,” the group wrote. “As a result of these deficiencies, VHA was included on GAO’s list of “High-Risk” federal agencies. This letter sets out the three critical steps you must take to restore our confidence that VHA can resolve the chronic risks identified for veterans’ access to quality VA health care.”

Today’s letter was signed by U.S. Sens. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Johnny Isakson (R-Ga.), Patty Murray (D-Wash.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), Sherrod Brown (D-Ohio), Bill Cassidy (R-La.), Jon Tester (D-Mont.), Mike Rounds (R-S.D.), Mazie Hirono (D-Hawaii) and Joe Manchin (D-W.Va.).

Click here to read the full letter to Under Secretary Shulkin.