For several years now, problems with the Department of Veterans Affairs and its treatment and care of veterans has been a big news item. But, for the second time in as many weeks, Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez has demonstrated her lack of familiarity with the subject, and an apparent unwillingness to learn more.
VA care scandals rose to media prominence during President Obama’s time in office, and again early in Donald Trump‘s presidency when the long-term problems became part of the chorus of issues attributed to the new administration. It was, however, a problem even before that, and was even a major point of the late Sen. John McCain‘s run for the presidency.
But everything is fine and “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,” said Ocasio-Cortez last week, in a clip highlighted by the Free Beacon. To her ignominy, Trump backed up Ocasio-Cortez’s “no problem” assessment in a Tweet… although only inasmuch as he claims that any problems have been resolved by him since taking office.
AOC took heat when she made the claim, and again when Trump dove in, but neither fact deterred her from repeating that same claim this week, as you can see in the clip above from America Rising (via Free Beacon on Twitter.)
She brought up the controversy over her prior comments, saying that she “fielded questions” at a town hall, and “you might have heard Fox News talking about it.” This may have been not just a general dig at FNC but a specific one aimed at Fox & Friends co-host Pete Hegseth, who lost it on the congresswoman last week over the issue.
“There is a myth that all VAs everywhere are broken,” said Ocasio-Cortez in the new video. “Because, the idea that if we can starve our public systems, we’re seeing this with NYCHA, if we can starve them of budgets, and make sure that they can’t do their job, then we can say the whole system should be thrown away.”
The particular policy aim to which the congresswoman has objected is one, previously championed by John McCain as well as other bipartisan efforts, that designs to give veterans more flexibility and choice when it comes to their health, including being able to obtain care from non-VA facilities.
That hugely popular VA reform that passed in Congress last year, the VA MISSION Act, specifically included this popular reform that Ocasio-Cortez is fear-mongering as “privatization” of government. Part of it was re-authorization of the Choice Act. That Choice Act, a direct response to many deaths among American veterans attributed to wait times and inadequate care, was signed into law by President Obama in 2014. It was passed with a near unanimous vote. It was brokered by McCain and, wait for it, Democratic socialist Sen Bernie Sanders.
Maybe Sanders was trying to starve the VA of resources in the hopes of “privatizing” healthcare but… probably no, he wasn’t though.
from Mediaite http://bit.ly/2WeeNsV
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