Veterans Affairs News
The Daily Signal provides coverage of how America serves its veterans, including reporting on reforms, challenges, and success stories within the VA system.
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Trump Talks VA Reforms: ‘Get Out of Here, You’re Fired’
President Donald Trump regaled a large crowd in Minnesota Wednesday with tales of his achievements, a major one being reforms of the Department of Veteran Affairs. The president signed the Veteran Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act into law in late June 2017, correcting long-standing accountability issues and ensuring that those incompetent individuals who failed to adequately…Ryan Pickrell -
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2,000 Veterans, Relatives Back Education Savings Accounts for Military Families
More than 2,000 military veterans, spouses, and other family members have signed a letter in support of a bill creating federally funded education savings accounts for military families to provide more choices and flexibility in schooling the children of those in the armed forces. The signers “are writing to express our strong support for the…Rachel del Guidice -
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Trump Fires Shulkin at VA, Taps White House Physician
President Donald Trump has decided to name his White House physician, Navy Rear Adm. Ronny Jackson, to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs as he ousts the scandal-plagued VA secretary, David Shulkin. The president announced the change at 5:31 p.m. Wednesday on Twitter. I am pleased to announce that I intend to nominate highly respected…Fred Lucas -
- Opinion
Keeping an Obama Holdover at VA Is Proving Disastrous
Will the VA scandal never end? While the Department of Veterans Affairs secretary lives high on the hog and his lying chief of staff resigns in disgrace while escaping any punishment, legions of vets every day in this country are denied the medical care they earned. President Donald Trump was supposed to drain the swamp….Michelle Malkin -
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Veterans Affairs Chief Alleges Hack of Email, but Agency Says No Evidence of It
In an interview, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin detailed new claims that his agency was hacked or spoofed, but the VA released a statement within the hour saying it could find no evidence of compromised emails. “It was a request to wire money out of the VA to somewhere else,” Shulkin said of one…Luke Rosiak -
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The NFL Nixes Veterans’ #PleaseStand Ad for the Super Bowl. The Veterans Are Now Fighting Back.
The NFL has rejected a Super Bowl magazine advertisement from AMVETS urging people to stand for the national anthem, but the veterans organization isn’t sitting still for that. The veterans group’s advertisement prominently features the words #PleaseStand, a hashtag deemed “too political” by the National Football League for its game-day program. The NFL reportedly asked…Chrissy Clark -
- Opinion
This Man Gave Free Haircuts to Veterans and Got Clobbered by Regulators
Few things could be more American than volunteering to help others. So it’s a shame when our altruism is thwarted by another, far more lamentable American trait: big government. Juan Carlos Montes de Oca knows firsthand. A cosmetology student from Tucson, Montes de Oca felt inspired when he heard about a barber in London who…Ed Feulner -
- Opinion
We Hear You: God, Faith, Prayer, Veterans, Columbus, and Originalist Judges
Editor's note: We picked some sentiments and perspectives from The Daily Signal's audience that seem to suit Thanksgiving weekend and what we celebrate, reflect upon, and give thanks for. You can write us at [email protected].—Ken McIntyre Dear Daily Signal: Regarding Katrina Trinko’s commentary, if there is no God, as many have been taught in our…Ken McIntyre -
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The Real Value in Veterans That Hollywood Doesn’t Show You
Nov. 11 is the day we celebrate Veterans Day. For many of us who have served, it is an important day; to large parts of Middle America, it is a time to celebrate; and to others, they couldn’t care less. What should this day mean to every American? Are we properly serving our veterans? Are…Steven Bucci -
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Veterans Sacrificed Their Freedom So That We Can Enjoy It
Our veterans deserve more than an official holiday and special sales at Walmart and Kohl’s. They warrant our thanks for putting themselves in harm’s way to protect us from our enemies, particularly since 9/11. As the most recent terrorist attack in New York City demonstrated, radical jihadists have not abandoned their goal of a global…Lee Edwards -
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You’re Fired: Trump’s VA Terminates 548, Suspends 200 for Misconduct
Five hundred and forty-eight Department of Veterans Affairs employees have been terminated since President Donald Trump took office, indicating that his campaign pledge to clean up “probably the most incompetently run agency in the United States” by relentlessly putting his TV catchphrase “you’re fired” into action was more than just empty rhetoric. Another 200 VA workers were suspended…Luke Rosiak -
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Jeff Flake Says No Pay for VA Union Leaders Who Skip Work While Vets Wait
Veterans have waited months for medical appointments while the Department of Veterans Affairs union said that it needs more employees, but 1,606 employees—including many nurses—let veterans wait while they collected a taxpayer check to work on union business instead of what they were hired to do, according to VA data obtained by The Daily Caller News Foundation….Luke Rosiak -
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What a Wounded Veteran Thinks of Trump’s VA Reform
Sgt. Mike Verardo’s military career ended seven years ago because of an improvised explosive device in Afghanistan, but he said the worst part of his injuries was dealing with a “broken VA” when he returned home. He had to go to the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital weekly, wait 57 days for a prosthetic leg, make…Fred Lucas -
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VA Secretary Says This Bureaucratic Fix Could Help Prevent Veteran Suicides
The Department of Veterans Affairs and Defense Department soon will have the same medical data, ending a turf battle between the agencies to achieve what Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said will be “seamless” information sharing on veterans’ health. Shulkin said having an electronic health record, or EHR, that follows a veteran from the time he…Fred Lucas -
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Making the VA Accountable Again
In 2014, the public learned from whistleblowers that government employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, kept “secret waiting lists” to hide long waits for care at their facilities. Dozens of veterans died waiting for care as a result. Since that watershed, there has been a torrent of revelations about misconduct…Sen. Mike Lee -
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VA Chief Says Senate Must Act So He Can Fire ‘Terrible Managers’
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Wednesday the civil service appeals process prevents the agency from firing “terrible managers,” and that the Senate must act to reduce the impact of the Merit Systems Protection Board and excessive government employee union-backed due process requirements. “Just last week we were forced to take back an…Luke Rosiak -
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Veterans Claim They Were Duped Into Lobbying for Saudis
With all the worry about Russian influence over U.S. elections it’s easy to overlook the many foreign interests working to impact U.S. policy every day–through paid lobbying. American lobbyists have made billions working for foreign entities. Who’s paying whom for what is subject to federal disclosure laws. But the system may not always work as…Sharyl Attkisson -
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VA Asks for Meeting With Whistleblowers to Find Out How They Face Retaliation
The Department of Veterans Affairs is reaching out to whistleblowers for a meeting on the challenges they’ve faced when exposing wrongdoing at their facilities, following the establishment of an office to protect whistleblowers. Whistleblowers Kuauhtemoc Rodriguez from the Phoenix VA and Sean Higgins from the Memphis VA have been contacted by the Central Whistleblower Office for a conference…Jonah Bennett -
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Obama Appointees Still Running the Show at Trump’s VA
Obama-era appointees remain in top posts at the Department of Veterans Affairs three months into Donald Trump’s presidency. This includes Allison Hickey, disgraced former undersecretary for benefits, who is now helping choose her successor, The Daily Caller News Foundation’s Investigative Group has learned. Then-candidate Trump called the VA the “most corrupt” and “most incompetently run” agency and…Luke Rosiak -
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Trump to Announce ‘Tremendous Things’ for Veterans Health Care
Some veterans organizations don’t think a bill President Donald Trump signed Wednesday expanding private care options for veterans goes far enough. “The veterans have poured out their sweat and blood and tears for this country for so long,” @POTUS says. Trump seemed to agree, which is why he said more announcements are coming next week…Fred Lucas