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DeFazio Speaks Out About VA Bureaucracy

http://defazio.house.gov/

Oregon Congressman Peter DeFazio spoke out Friday about the problems plaguing the Veterans Administration, including struggles in his home state.

On the same day the head of the VA, General Eric Shinseki resigned, democratic Representative Peter DeFazio spoke on the floor of the U.S. House. He says he's battled the bureaucracy of the VA for years; including staffing and service levels at the Roseburg hospital, securing money for a new facility in Eugene, and intervening on behalf of individual vets who were denied care. DeFazio says, come to find out, it was a systemic problem. DeFazio said Shinseki did the right thing by resigning.

DeFazio: "But that's just the beginning of the house cleaning and the reform we need in the Veterans Administration, to see that they become an organization who is totally oriented toward serving our veterans and getting them the services they have earned and they deserve. Veterans shouldn't have to fight; they shouldn't have to wait in line. We can do better and we must."

With 950 Oregon National Guard troops training for a 9-month deployment to Afghanistan later this summer, there will soon be even more veterans in Oregon needing care and support.

DeFazio's Floor Speech

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