Press Releases

Today, after VA Office of Inspector General officials confirmed that delays in VA medical care did contribute to veteran deaths and the fact that the possibility that delays caused deaths couldn’t be ruled out, Chairman Jeff Miller released the following statement:

“The confirmation from IG officials today that delays in VA medical care contributed to the deaths of Phoenix-area veterans and IG officials’ admission that they couldn’t rule out the possibility that delays caused deaths changes the entire bottom line of the IG’s Phoenix report. Absent these qualifying statements, the OIG’s previous assertions that it could not ‘conclusively assert’ that delays caused deaths are completely misleading. It’s absolutely inexplicable and outrageous that the IG’s Phoenix report failed to clearly make these distinctions. While I am pleased IG officials finally cleared up these glaring inconsistencies, I regret that they only did so several weeks after the release of the Phoenix report and after hours of intense questioning. Getting the whole story out of inspectors general should not be this difficult.” – Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs