The lines are drawn between the two new congressional Veterans’ Affairs committee chairs—House VA Committee’s Rep. Jeff Miller, and the Senate VA Committee’s Sen. Patty Murray.
Rep. Miller (R-Fla) has already sparked outrage among veterans for vowing to cut spending and Sen Murray (D-Wash) has vowed to fight back as the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA or VA) remains a politcal flashpoint.
The DVA (VA) moved sharply to the pro-benefits side of the spectrum with several major pro-veteran initiatives
- U.S. House Veterans Affairs Chair, Jeff Miller
begun the last two years over the almost universal objection of the GOP and one Democratic senator, Sen. James Webb (D-VA).
Most veterans’ groups remain unsatisfied though generally noting the direction of the progress for veterans and the Presidential initiative supporting military families.
From Kimberly Hefling’s AP piece
WASHINGTON – The GOP chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Rep. Jeff Miller, promised on Thursday a thorough review of spending for veterans’ programs.
His newly appointed counterpart in the Senate, Sen. Patty Murray, said she will be watching Republicans “like a hawk” to ensure veterans get their financial due.
The House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs committees have jurisdiction over the Veterans Affairs Department, one of the largest federal agencies with a $114 billion budget and 300,000 employees. It provides benefits checks and medical services to the nation’s 22 million veterans, including the thousands coming home from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan with mental and physical wounds.
House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Miller, a conservative from the Florida Panhandle, said the VA has had record budget increases in the last decade with little oversight by either party over how the money was spent.
“As we move forward, all areas will have to be reviewed, and that includes looking at the Defense Department, looking at Homeland Security and looking at Veterans Affairs,” Miller said.
Miller said he’s concerned about the billions spent within the VA on contracting, but it’s unclear where the review of veterans’ spending will lead. He said veterans should receive the benefits they’ve earned, but he also thinks veterans understand why fiscal responsibility is necessary.
“I think it’s fair to say the veterans in this country have sacrificed in their service to our nation, but they are willing to do what’s necessary to help get this country’s fiscal house in order,” said Miller, a former real estate broker and deputy sheriff who has a large air base in his district.
Murray, who was named to the top Senate Veterans’ Affairs committee job on Thursday, said she’ll be monitoring what Republicans do.
“Believe me, I’ve been here before, I have heard the promises, `Oh, don’t worry, we haven’t touched them. They’re fine.’ Then come to find out, that no, on the ground, everywhere it’s really important, they’re really impacting services, and I will be watching them like a hawk,” said Murray, who was re-elected last year to a fourth term in Washington state.
Murray, the daughter of a disabled World War II veteran who spent time as a college intern working in the psychiatric ward of a VA hospital, said the Republicans’ “slash everything motive” doesn’t recognize the needs veterans have. She said the VA still doesn’t do enough to be an advocate for veterans.
“We cannot say, `Gee, Sorry,’ to them,” Murray said. “We have to say: ‘our country is there for you.'”.
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