Kaine: Bipartisan push for VA reforms is encouraging
Sen. Tim Kaine said Friday he’s encouraged by the bipartisan push Congress is making to bring about much-needed reform at the scandal-rocked U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
“I’m very strongly supportive of it and look forward to working with them to make it happen,” he said.
Kaine, D-Va., was a co-sponsor on a bill submitted this week that seeks to expand VA facilities, reduce wait times for medical care and make it easier to axe poorly performing department higher-ups.
The proposals are moving ahead under a new bipartisan agreement announced Thursday by Sens. Bernie Sanders, I-Vt., and John McCain, R-Ariz., which Kaine said he was glad to see.
“The worst thing we could do is make VA reform a partisan issue,” he said, adding he felt the bill had a good chance of passing and would create significant improvements at the VA, which is responsible for providing benefits to millions of U.S. veterans.
On Friday, Kaine was at the National D-Day Memorial in Bedford to address a crowd of thousands — including hundreds of veterans — who gathered to remember the 70th anniversary of the invasion of Normandy.
In an interview, Kaine shared his thoughts on the VA, the controversial rescue of Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl and proposed cuts to military spending.
In his remarks to the anniversary event, Kaine thanked those who came out to honor “the valor, the fidelity and the sacrifices” of those who fought at D-Day.
U.S. history is deeply tied to the nation’s belief in the gift of freedom, he noted.
“The veterans of the D-Day landing gave a gift to their people — paid for hedgerow by hedgerow, mile by mile and village by village,” Kaine said.
“The National D-Day Memorial is a visible reminder of the need each of us has, in the here and now, to honor all of those who have sacrificed, who are sacrificing and who will sacrifice to preserve the liberty we enjoy.”
In an interview, Kaine said he felt a sense of “real discouragement” over the revelations about wait times at the VA, which affect not only those seeking care but those trying to qualify for benefits.
He said he was glad the department was undergoing a leadership change. Kaine and others had been calling for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign, which he did last week.
“Part of making a change is, not just a change in policies, but having confidence that the leadership can implement the improvements,” Kaine said. “I think the leadership change was necessary to do that.”
On the Obama administration’s recent decision to free five Taliban commanders in exchange for Sgt. Bowe Bergdahl — a U.S. soldier held by the Taliban in Afghanistan since 2009 — Kaine said the country had a “solemn obligation” to bring its service people home.
Some have accused Bergdahl of being a deserter. Kaine said Bergdahl’s status will be determined through an appropriate investigation, but that did not negate the country’s responsibility to rescue him.
“Those who serve in the military and their families, it’s important they have a bedrock confidence that America will not leave service members behind,” he said, adding Senate members had been pressing President Obama for years to bring Bergdahl home.
Kaine said he had questions about the circumstances of the deal made, the five who were released and the conditions of Bergdahl’s captivity.
He was given a classified briefing on the decision Wednesday and said he’s urging the administration to declassify some information “because I think they would be helpful facts for the American public to have.
“I will say that a number of my questions I had walking in were answered satisfactorily,” he said, adding other questions remain.
Kaine said he wants to learn more about the five people released and what Qatar, which agreed to take the group for at least a year, is doing to monitor them.
He added he is looking for more details about the administration’s assertions that the situation had reached an urgent point requiring quick action.
“I’m continuing to dig into that,” he said.
Two weeks ago, the Senate Armed Services Committee, which Kaine sits on, passed a defense budget that rejects many of the deep cuts proposed by the Department of Defense, which is trying to comply with congressionally imposed spending caps.
Kaine said he particularly was pleased the committee plan would not decommission an aircraft carrier, an idea that was on the table.
“It’s very, very positive for Virginia,” he said, adding cutting a carrier would have impacted the entire state, including the Lynchburg area.
The House of Representatives passed a budget that also preserves the carrier program. Negotiations must be started to reconcile differences between the Senate and House bill, but Kaine said he felt the carriers were safe.
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