As the agency moves to get more health care for veterans in their community under the new plan, it has struggled to increase its network of doctors to meet the popular demand. Mr. Byrne alluded to the emphasis on veterans suicide as a Trump administration priority at his confirmation hearings. Last fall, a senior policy adviser on female veterans issues for the House said she was assaulted at the V.A. Medical Center in Washington, a complaint that was sent to the inspector general, in part at the behest of Representative Mark Takano, Democrat of California and chairman of the Veterans Affairs Committee. In an unusual rebuke of a committee chairman, Mr. Wilkie wrote to Mr. Takano that “the unsubstantiated claims raised by you and your staff could deter our veterans from seeking the care they need and deserve.”

Source: New York Times February 03, 2020 22:52 UTC