Posted on 05/26/2017 6:51:03 AM PDT by Kaslin
A few months back, I wrote an article for Townhall.com about the Veterans Administration. In light of Memorial Day, I thought it would be a great idea to revisit the VA and some of the developments that have transpired since then.
At first, I was not a fan of Secretary David Shulkin. One of three Trump appointees that I questioned, I felt he had made it a point to be somewhat of a career politician. I believed what we needed in that position was not an Obama-holdover appointee, but a businessman who specialized in turning around organizations.
I have to admit—my original assessment of Secretary Shulkin has been proven wrong.
I had written that the VA would never be fixed without the ability to fire some employees and hold deplorable ones accountable. Without such tools, it’s always difficult to turn around any organization, a primary reason for the ineffectiveness and inefficiency of so many government agencies.
In my opinion, the VA was the most disturbing of all such agencies because it is dealing with life-and-death situations—and, more importantly, the life and standard of living of veterans who have served our country so faithfully.
Order with Consequences
A few weeks ago, President Trump issued an executive order that established an office of accountability and whistleblower protection within the VA. This order was not only a necessary part of turning around the Veterans Administration, it was the fulfillment of a campaign promise to veterans.
The executive order simply states: “The Office will help the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to discipline or terminate VA managers or employees who fail to carry out their duties in helping our veterans. The Office will also identify barriers to the Secretary’s authority to put the well-being of our veterans first.”
It was as if the president read several of my articles indicating that, without the ability to terminate employees, no success would ever come to the VA. This executive order didn’t get the press coverage it deserved. As a veteran, this was an incredibly significant executive order and will have huge impact in turning around the VA.
Effective Management
Remember, when President Trump came into office, there was a hiring freeze on federal employees, which has since been lifted. Recently, in the president’s blueprint for a budget, he called for a 6 percent increase for the VA, the second-largest federal agency with more than 365,000 employees.
While that is a nice gesture, it will not solve the VA’s problems. Back in the days of continued bloated government programs, 6 percent would hardly be considered enough to operate an agency of this size. However, based on Secretary Shulkin’s effective management, 6 percent could look like a windfall.
After all, the VA is seeking to close nearly 1,100 facilities nationwide and has identified more than 430 vacant buildings and 735 that are described as “underutilized.” All this currently costs the government about $25 million a year.
The Secretary simply said to the House appropriations committee, according to PBS Newshour, “We want to stop supporting our use of maintenance of buildings we don’t need, and we want to reinvest that in buildings we know have capital needs.”
That certainly does not sound like a career politician by any stretch of the imagination. It sounds like a businessman who wants to immediately be about the business of turning around the VA and utilizing dollars where they are best needed.
Improving Veterans’ Care
It gets better. Even though the hiring freeze has been lifted, the VA announced hiring restrictions on roughly 4,000 positions. This, of course, will open the door to workforce reductions that could likely save taxpayers hundreds of millions of dollars, while at the same time taking the quality and efficiency of care for our veterans to new heights.
It looks like Memorial Day 2017 could be the time that we stop talking about what the Veterans Administration needs and start doing what is necessary to create efficiency and effectiveness, and if accountability comes to the second-largest federal government agency as it starts on a path of recovery, the results will be unprecedented—and something seldom seen in government.
It would appear that Secretary Shulkin and President Trump are well on their way to being a team that our veterans have been waiting on for a very long time.
Don't flatter yourself. Any good businessman knows that the ability to take out the trash is of utmost importance to any business or organization.
Encouraging
How is a veteran’s heart attack different from a civilian’s? Do veteran’s get cancer differently from the general population? Then why are there separate veteran’s hospitals? Other than some specialized medical problems that affect veterans more, like amputations, brain injuries or PTSD, I think most treatments should be handled by the local hospitals with the VA paying generously (not paying below cost like Medicaid does).
....Don’t flatter yourself....
I thought the very same thing. I don’t like writers or news people heaping praise on themselves. That’s one more problem with today’s “journalism,”
Good article though.
My guess that is bullet shrapnel and other military wounds and the stress of war is more suitable to specialists at the VA than they are at your local hospital.
I tend to agree with you. Why is there a separate group of hospitals just for veterans? In my opinion, it’s to support a bureaucracy that need not be. I can understand field hospitals in a war zone but once our veterans come stateside, they should be treated in regular hospitals like everybody else. Actually, that is probably better for the veterans.
A veteran's heart attack likely has roots in an overly strenuous career or from PTSD related stress. Their weakened joints are usually from overuse, or abuse from combat. I was a runner for 37 years. I don't run now unless my life is threatened and something I cant kill is chasing me. Why? Because I was required to run and do pushups and sit-ups to remain in shape for my job. My body has aches and pains beyond what a 61 year old should have.
Was it my choice? Yes. Did I give a blank check to my fellow citizens to use my life for their security needs for most of my adult life? Yes.
Now, make no mistake. I am not a leftist by any stretch. I am a realist beyond being a conservative. We have a medical system that is inherited from the past. Eliminating it might look appealing, but what is the replacement? Obamacare is decimating private healthcare. Until we reform that to a more robust free market system, dumping veterans into a creaky system would be a disaster for everyone.
Agree. This writer obviously does not use the VA. Yes, the VA is free for CAT 1 vets plus even CAT 7 and 8’s have very low payments for meds. The VA has gone along with the opioid scare and many vets have been either cut off or had doses lowered to where they do not help much. The VA in Nashville has closed the front parking lot that had the most handicapped parking, so; the only such parking is a few spaces on each floor of the parking garage. What PO’s me is most hospitals have courtesy parking. The VA does not. At present a seriously disabled Vet, who cannot walk much and has no driver may not be able to get to the ER or any other appointments in the Nashville VA.
I know of damn few retired officers who use the VA. In fact I know none. All the officers in the SOA who retired use their Tricare at private MD’s and hospitals.
Promise made, promise being kept.
Thank you President Trump.
Your entire post was exceptionally well said.
Heartfelt thanks for your service to our country this Memorial Day weekend.
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