South Dakota Congresswoman Kristi Noem says she is infuriated by recent reports of negligence within the Office of Veterans Affairs.
Despite reports of long wait-times and inadequate healthcare for veterans in several other parts of the U.S., Noem says many South Dakota vets tell her they are overall satisfied with the health care they are receiving.
“Yeah, I visited with a lot of our veterans in South Dakota and I think they do in general get very good care. Our VA in South Dakota has done a better job than other VAs in other states. However, you know, we do have a backlog and we do have some veterans that still wait a long time for their claims to be processed. I do hear from many of them that times need a little help to get the kind of treatment that they really truly do need and so I do think that there’s always room for improvement,” says Noem.
Noem says a bill is on the House floor today that makes it easier to fire ineffective bureaucrats at the VA that are no longer serving the needs of veterans.