Fort Report: 21st Century Care for Veterans

This young man left a lasting impression on me. I met him in the rehabilitation room of Walter Reed Army  Medical Center. The room was filled with wounded troops – some missing multiple limbs – all working to retrain the body with the capacity they had left. But in the midst of all this pain, the room was very much alive – alive with determination. Even with such great loss, there were small triumphs occurring all around: a few steps here, a little more strength gained there. Then I met a young officer.

He was probably in his mid-twenties, handsome and well built. One side of his face had been hit pretty badly. He was scarred; his eye and one arm were gone, and he was doing a simple exercise – throwing a little ball back and forth with his rehabilitation specialist, regaining his hand-eye coordination. He was upbeat, grateful, and considerate. He was a proud soldier and leader. He showed the best of America.

After the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln remarked, “[Let us] bind up the nation’s wounds, to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow and his orphan.” From these sentiments flow the current system of providing care for those who have served in our armed forces. In 1930, Congress formally authorized the creation of the Veterans Administration (VA). The modern VA system includes more than 1,700 facilities dedicated to providing care for our veterans.

Regrettably, the VA system continues to be in the news due to several problems. Medical record delays from active duty personal transitioning to veteran status have plagued the system. While this back log problem is being aggressively addressed by Congress – and fortunately Nebraska’s local VA system ranks the highest in terms of claims processing quality control – new accusations of secret waiting lists for care and prioritization of certain veterans have surfaced within other parts of the VA system.

Another major concern is the aging VA facilities across the country. The Omaha VA Medical Center serves more than 54,000 veterans across Nebraska and neighboring areas. The Center is on a long list of facilities that are scheduled to be replaced. Typically money is set aside specifically for construction. This can take years or even decades, placing further stress on service delivery. 

In order to address this problem, we must think critically and creatively. In Congress, I serve on the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction and Veterans Affairs. In this year’s bill, I added language that instructs the VA to explore the possibility of new funding mechanisms for hospital facilities, including public-private partnerships similar to those which help build military housing and smaller medical clinics. We need a financing model that would help us get new facilities built quickly without giving the federal government long-term budgetary exposure.

Congressman Lee Terry and I spoke before the House of Representatives about the problems facing Omaha’s VA hospital. I invite you to watch our exchange below. Hopefully this new initiative can expedite the care for our veterans with modern innovation and budgetary discipline.