Stephen Labate Calls for the Complete Overhaul of the Veterans Administration
Deer Park, NY - May 30, 2014 - Veterans, at one point in their lives, wrote a blank check made payable to the United States of America for an amount up to and including their lives. This blank check was not written to the Veterans Administration (VA) so that veterans could become casualties of a dysfunctional bureaucracy.
Stephen Labate, Republican candidate for U.S. Congress in New York's Third Congressional District, reacted strongly, saying, "The revelations about the VA's blatant incompetence in carrying out its duty to our veterans are a national disgrace. Those of us who have served in war and in peace time now find ourselves at war with the very agency that is supposed to take care of our sick and wounded veterans. Our nation's veterans were willing to give up their lives in defense of our country. They should not be forced to give up their lives because no one is willing to take on the VA bureaucracy and overhaul the entire agency."
Labate continued, "Our leaders in Washington have failed our veteran community because they have been well aware of the problems at the VA and yet they have not done anything about it. I am calling for the formation of a panel of top private sector experts in the medical community to make recommendations for the complete overhaul of the VA. The only way to fix the VA is to apply free market solutions, like a voucher system, so our veterans can have greater access to the free market healthcare system when it becomes necessary. This is not a radical idea as it is already done, on a limited basis, for specialized medical care not available at VA medical centers. For example, women veterans who are patients of the Northport VA Medical Center get to choose between a number of civilian facilities to obtain mammograms."
"All Americans should be outraged by the fact that prisoners at GITMO receive better medical care than the veterans who fought against these prisoners. The VA scandal shows the serious dangers inherent in a government- run healthcare system and provides a window into what will eventually happen with Obamacare. It's time our leaders in Washington make the treatment of our veterans their top priority, instead of their current priority of pandering to those who have come to this country illegally," said Labate.
The constituents in the Third Congressional District deserve a leader who will go to Washington and take on the bloated, dysfunctional bureaucracy that is evident in every government agency. That leader is Stephen Labate.
The above press release was published on behalf of Stephen Labate, and does not necessarily reflect the view of LongIsland.com.