Veterans’ Affairs Committee to get new leader
WASHINGTON — Sen. Jerry Moran said he will be leaning on veterans to help him set the agenda when he becomes chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee in January.
Moran, R-Kansas, will succeed Sen. Johnny Isakson, a Georgia Republican who officially retired this month after two decades on Capitol Hill, including four years chairing the Senate panel which oversees the Department of Veteran Affairs.
Moran, who has served on the committee since he joined the Senate in 2011, said most of the veteransrelated legislation he’s worked on has originated with veterans in Kansas. He’ll take a similar approach as chairman and look to veterans nationally to help set the committee’s agenda.
“Somebody who calls the office, somebody who runs into me on the street, somebody who comes to one of my town hall meetings and they’ve got a story about something’s gone wrong in their lives and they need help. Or something’s gone wrong and they’ve been seeking help from the VA and they haven’t gotten the help that they need,” Moran said. “So our agenda will be driven by what veterans tell us are the things that are causing difficulties in their lives.”
Moran said the top issues on his list are suicide prevention and ensuring that veterans suffering from cancer and other illnesses due to toxic exposure get the care they deserve.
McClatchy reported in October that the rate of cancer treatments among veterans has increased dramatically since 2000, a period during which the U.S. has fought wars in Afghanistan and Iraq. The surge includes a 61% increase in urinary cancer treatments and a 96% spike in liver and pancreatic cancer treatments.
The VA faced a scandal in 2014 when it was revealed that some of its hospitals falsified data to conceal long wait times for appointments. Moran said the situation has improved following reform legislation, but he’s sensitive to the perception from many veterans that it takes too long to process claims or provide care.
“If there’s an attitude or approach of anybody at the VA that says we’re just interested in slowing down the process so that we don’t have to pay a claim, those people should not be working at the Department of Veteran Affairs,” Moran said.