U.S. Rep. Sean Duffy (R-WI) introduced two bills on Tuesday, which are designed to continue the clamp-down on poor services and quality of care to American veterans in facilities and clinics operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Duffy escalated his fight against VA failures following a heated exchange of words with VA officials during a hearing in Tomah, Wisconsin in March.
“Our veterans – and their families — expect the care that they were promised,” Duffy said. “It is bad enough when they don’t receive it, but that American heroes have died while corrupt VA employees continue to receive a taxpayer funded paycheck is criminal.”
The two bills that were presented by Duffy include the Prescription Drug Accountability Act, which requires the VA to use the state-based Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs to share information on the prescriptions submitted by veterans in order to help identify patients who are selling their medication or abusing it; and the Ensuring Veteran Safety Through Accountability Act, which expands the firing authority given to VA Secretary Robert McDonald in the Veterans Choice Act from only senior executives to all health professionals.
“These bills are two steps, of what I hope will be many, toward bringing accountability and transparency to the system and restoring trust for our veterans,” Duffy concluded.