Veterans

Congressman Jodey Arrington (TX-19) today released the following statement after the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) announced immediate actions they will take to improve the timeliness of payments to community providers. “The folks who served and sacrificed for our freedom deserve the very best care, and the only way they are going to get the best care is to have more choice… Read more »

Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs held a hearing to discuss the new version of a program launched last year by the VA which was intended to streamline the way the VA’s medical centers buy supplies for treating veterans. A study released Monday by the Government Accountability Office (GAO) states that “as with any organizational transformation, the… Read more »

Stars and Stripes In one of the most disturbing recent audits of VA health care, a new Government Accountability Office report criticizes medical leaders at all levels of the Department of Veterans Affairs for failing to follow their own policies for reporting incompetent and unprofessional health care providers to state licensing boards and a National Practitioner Data Bank, routine… Read more »

The Department of Veterans Affairs insisted Wednesday that it was already addressing problems reported by a government watchdog about the agency’s failure to alert other hospitals of potentially unsafe doctors. The department is trying to improve oversight and more timely reporting of poor-performing doctors to state medical boards, said Gerard Cox, the acting leader of VA’s… Read more »

Lawmakers ripped into Department of Veterans Affairs officials Wednesday for failing for years to ensure potentially dangerous VA medical workers are reported to authorities who could stop them from endangering patients elsewhere. House VA Committee Chairman Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., called it “astonishing,” Rep. Jodey Arrington, R-Texas, said it was… Read more »

By: The Fayetteville Observer Legislation to increase access to apprenticeships for veterans landed on President Donald Trump’s desk earlier this month. The Veteran Apprenticeship and Labor Opportunity Reform, or VALOR, Act was unanimously passed by the U.S. Senate two weeks ago, according to Sen. Thom Tillis. Tillis, a North Carolina Republican, introduced the Senate version of… Read more »

U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington hosted a Veterans Affairs subcommittee meeting in Lubbock on Friday to hear from people at Texas Tech on how universities and federal programs can better help veterans transitioning to civilian life after service. Why at Tech? Because, Arrington said, the university is consistently ranked one of the top institutions for advancing veterans’ educational and… Read more »

Over 200 people attended the Night of Courage banquet at the MCM Elegante Hotel in downtown Lubbock on Friday evening to honor Medal of Honor and Purple Heart recipients. The late Medal of Honor recipient and Texas Tech graduate George O’Brien was honored during the banquet, which also helped launch a fundraising effort for a new memorial to honor area Gold Star Families and Purple… Read more »

The Washington Free Beacon Senators Tom Cotton (R., Ark. ) and Thom Tillis (R., N.C.) introduced the VALOR Act, which will help military veterans have more access to apprenticeship programs. Currently, private apprenticeship training programs in multiple states are required to register with each state's approval agency, which increases the amount of paperwork and review processes they… Read more »

A recent Government Accountability Office report found the Department of Veterans Affairs “is not managing its outgoing mail effectively,” and spending more on mail than most in the federal government, including the Social Security Administration and the Department of Treasury, including the IRS. The VA’s reported spending on mail spiked by over $100 million in Fiscal… Read more »