Policy expert: Issues at Veterans Affairs ‘not a money problem’

The seemingly endless stream of scandals pouring out of President Obama’s Veterans Affairs department — a recent one being the secret quality rating system applied to the different VA medical facilities — isn’t a lack of financial resources but a personnel problem that needs to be addressed head-on by the new administration, policy expert Betsy McCaughey says in a recent column.

The New York Post has the commentary:

It’s not a money problem. Congress appropriated a record $163 billion to the VA in 2016, more than the department requested.

The real problem is a lack of discipline at all levels. Consider the alarming increase in central-line infections — a key indicator of hospital quality. These lethal infections are totally preventable when medical staff rigorously follow protocols. Some civilian hospitals have reduced them to zero. The VA has no excuse.

Whoever Trump appoints as VA secretary will face a hostile and legally entrenched bureaucracy determined to protect its own cushy jobs, instead of serving vets.

Our veterans deserve top-notch care, not careless bureaucrats who retain their jobs despite malpractice. Click here to help Tea Party Patriots encourage lawmakers to fix big-government problems — like the incompetence at the VA! — facing our nation!