Press Releases

"The VA has systemic failures that promote a culture of mediocrity and discourage transparency and accountability, which has resulted in a backlog of Veterans' claims coupled with excessive and outrageous wait times to receive care," Bilirakis said. "Part of this stems from the VA's inability to provide timely access to quality care for veterans. Unfortunately, it has taken the preventable deaths of dozens of Veterans to spur the VA to change.

"The federal government can adopt policies that create an environment in which private industry can succeed, and health care is no exception. Through the proper economic incentives, Congress can boost investment in areas that lack effective and accessible treatments," Bilirakis said. "This will provide Americans across the country with the ability to obtain affordable medications they may not have otherwise received."

"The wait times Veterans are forced to deal with are beyond unacceptable. It is an outrage," said Bilirakis. "These brave women and men served courageously and some suffered mental and physical wounds for the freedoms we all enjoy every day. They deserve proper care for that sacrifice," Bilirakis said.

"The excessive wait times at the VA are outrageous, and Veterans deserve an alternative when they are subjected to an unreasonable delay in access to care. This is about providing the Veteran with choice. This bill provides deserving heroes with that choice, if the VA doesn't meet the standards for timely access to care. This legislation is a step in the right direction to ensure our nation's heroes receive that care at a level of quality they expect and deserve," said Bilirakis.

"I have spent the past several months participating in oversight hearings in Washington regarding the failures of the VA throughout the country. Having spent a great deal of time at facilities in our community over the last several years, I know that there are many wonderful public servants working at our local VA offices. However, I need to hear directly from those who matter most, our Veterans and their families, in order to get the clear picture regarding how these systemic national problems may be impacting my constituents.

"The Obama Administration's proposed greenhouse gas regulation for existing fossil fuel power plants, particularly coal-generated plants, not only threatens our fragile economy and our energy independence, but promises to make it harder for Americans to make ends meet. When it comes to regulations, there must be an appropriate balance between necessity and burden. The EPA proposal to cut emissions by thirty percent will cause households to potentially lose thousands in disposable income.

"I have spent the past several months participating in oversight hearings in Washington regarding the failures of the VA throughout the country. Having spent a great deal of time at facilities in our community over the last several years, I know that there are many wonderful public servants working at our local VA offices. However, I need to hear directly from those who matter most, our Veterans and their families, in order to get the clear picture regarding how these systemic national problems may be impacting my constituents.

"Secretary Shinseki has honorably served this nation, but given the recent revelations about the VA's lack of care – such as examples of secret wait lists and excessive delays in care for Veterans – I believe it is appropriate for the Secretary to resign.