JOURNALISM AND COMMENTARY
A Government Watchdog Raises Urgent Concerns Over AIR Assessments
Those concerned about the merit of VA Secretary Denis McDonough’s recently released recommendations for facility closures, renovations, and realignments should give a close reading to an overlooked Government Accountability Office (GAO) report released in February.
Inside The AIR Commission's Perilous Work
On March 14, VA Secretary Denis McDonough released recommendations mandated by the VA MISSION Act Asset and Infrastructure Review (AIR) process. Weeks earlier, VHPI had obtained the internal market assessments that informed McDonough’s decisions.
Biden's VA Secretary Proposes Shutting Down Dozens of Facilities
By: Suzanne Gordon, in The American Prospect • VHPI Policy Analyst Suzanne Gordon reports on drastic new recommendations to shutter VA medical centers in rural and urban areas and eliminate much inpatient care elsewhere, including needed inpatient psychiatric beds.
A VA Critic Becomes Virginia’s New Veterans Affairs Chief
By: Suzanne Gordon, in The Washington Monthly • VHPI Policy Analyst Suzanne Gordon examines the work and writing of Daniel Gade, a powerful veterans' official with a deep disdain for the veterans' safety net.
Trump’s VA Legacy: Human Capital Mismanagement
By: Suzanne Gordon, Senior Policy Analyst, in The American Prospect • VHPI Policy Analyst Suzanne Gordon investigates a dysfunctional Trump-era reform that's making it impossible to hire key VA staff amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
Sanders’ Dental Dilemma
Senator Bernie Sanders recently introduced two pieces of overlapping legislation that would positively boost the federal safety net for American veterans in need of dental work.
The VA Is Ripe for Right-Wing Attacks. Here’s How Biden Can Stop Them.
By: Suzanne Gordon and Jasper Craven, Policy Analysts, in The Washington Monthly • VHPI Policy Analysts Suzanne Gordon and Jasper Craven offer a vigorous proposal on the best move to re-invigorate the VA: nominate a permanent Undersecretary of Health
Selnick Peddling Falsehoods to Push Passage of New Legislation
Darin Selnick is at it again. Selnick, a VA privatizer with close ties to the Trump and Koch worlds, has recently helped launch a new anti-VA group called Veterans 4 American First Institute (V4AF).
Legislation Assuring Automatic VA Enrollment is Vital
By: Russell Lemle and Suzanne Gordon, Senior Policy Analysts, in The Hill • VHPI Senior Policy Analysts Russell Lemle and Suzanne Gordon report on the urgent need to pass EVEST Act, which would greatly open the door to veteran patients.
Dems Fight to Make VA Health Care Enrollment Easier for New Veterans
By: Suzanne Gordon, Senior Policy Analyst, in The American Prospect • VHPI Senior Policy Analyst Suzanne Gordon reports on the EVEST Act, which, if passed, would help veterans during their tough transition to civilian life.
Trump Set in Motion a Plan to Privatize the VA. Will Biden Enable It?
By: Suzanne Gordon, VHPI Senior Policy Analyst, in the American Prospect • Suzanne Gordon reported about the threats of the VA's impending Asset and Infrastructure Review Commission
Biden's Infrastructure Plan Would Finally Fund VA's Hospital Upgrades
By: Russell Lemle and Suzanne Gordon, Senior Policy Analysts, for The Hill • Russell Lemle and Suzanne Gordon, two of VHPI's Senior Policy Analysts, wrote an op-ed in The Hill analyzing how President Biden's infrastructure plans could bolster the VA in key ways.
Fact Check: Sec. Wilkie's IMPROVE Claims
Last Wednesday, Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilke published an opinion piece “In Congress, Veteran Suicide Prevention Is a Bipartisan Topic.
Coalition of organizations converge on Capitol Hill to fight VA privatization
Lewis “Skip” Delano deployed to Vietnam in 1968 after growing up farming in Virginia and Maryland.
VHPI Calls on Wilkie to Resign
Over the past week, the most influential veterans’ organizations (and even The New York Times) have called for the firing of Robert Wilkie, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs.
An Encounter with VA Politics
In May 2019, the Department of Veterans Affairs terminated a 10-year-old program that sent healthcare providers to fill temporary staffing needs at VA medical clinics throughout the country.
Remaking the Politics of Veterans' Healthcare
In part I of this conversation with Stephen Trynosky, VHPI discussed how the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC) was traditionally viewed as a backwater in Congress.