Giffords Calls for Better Oversight of Veterans Affairs

Unspent Funds Leave Critical Gaps in Services

TUCSON - Gabrielle Giffords, Democratic candidate in Arizona’s 8th Congressional District, today criticized the Veterans Affairs Department for its lack of oversight in using funds for its mental health services unit.

“Our troops are coming home from Iraq and Afghanistan and we made them a promise that we would honor their service by making sure they got the health coverage they need,” said Giffords. “When you consider that Congress has voted to cut funding for veterans’ health care, it is incumbent on the Department of Veterans Affairs to spend the funds that they do receive wisely. It is obvious that this is not the case, and this is another reason why we need change in Washington.”

In a recent Government Affairs Office (GAO) report, according to the Arizona Daily Star, government investigators “found that the VA spent only $53 million of the $100 million it planned to use in fiscal 2005 on gaps in care under a mental health strategic plan. It sent $35 million of the $100 million to a VA general fund, where the money could be spent on a variety of programs.

“Congress has repeatedly rubberstamped this Administration’s efforts to cut benefits to the men and women who have served our country. That’s morally wrong. Our commitment to our troops does not end when they return from war.”

We must support our troops and veterans when they come home with tangible benefits that honor and respect their service. Priorities should include plans to:

• extend the military’s health care system, TRICARE, to National Guardsmen and Reserves returning from Iraq and Afghanistan.
• maintain funding for staffing at VA facilities to clear the backlog of disability and benefit claims.
• prevent increases in co-pays for medical services at current levels.

“We owe it to our troops to provide for them in battle and when they return home,” said Giffords. “Having unspent money when this President and this Congress continue to cut benefits is unacceptable and it’s another reason why when I go to Washington I will challenge these wrong priorities.”

Gabrielle Giffords has a record of protecting and defending our veterans throughout her years of public service. She served as co-chair of the Civilian Support Committee for the 162nd Air National Guard, which promotes the reemployment rights of returning Guard and Reserves and making sure that these returning veterans are able to return to the jobs that they left when they were called to duty. While in the legislature, she also worked to help the 161st Air National Guard start its own support chapter in the Phoenix area.

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