The VA’s leadership is making things happen for veterans
Tens of thousands of veterans like me receive amazing care from the VA, in my case due to lung damage from a deployment during the first Gulf War.
More than a decade after reports exposed gaping flaws in its ability to serve America’s warfighters, the Department of Veterans Affairs is prioritizing initiatives that are improving veterans’ care. Initiatives like investments in AI have contributed to achieving faster disability claims processing benchmarks, and recent plans to terminate wasteful contracts will redirect $900 million to veterans’ care and services.
It’s all part of what VA Secretary Doug Collins described as a renewed “promise” to ensure the VA can “fulfill its duty to provide veterans, families, caregivers, and survivors the health care and benefits they have earned.”
Tens of thousands of veterans like me receive amazing care from the VA, in my case due to lung damage from a deployment during the first Gulf War. Unfortunately, the agency has been under pressure for years because of backlogs, at least one major case of fraudulent coverups, and financial mismanagement.
That’s why I’m encouraged to see clear-eyed leadership aimed at creating better outcomes for the men and women who bravely served in uniform. Collins said his goal is to create “generational change” that “eliminate[s] waste and bureaucracy” on the way to creating better care for veterans. He seems to understand that the goal isn’t just achieving more than in the past; it’s about setting a standard of transformation where everyone inside the VA embraces a true north beacon of high-quality service for veterans.
I applaud the VA’s use of AI to drive efficiencies and urge Collins and his team to take a scalpel — not a hatchet — to proposed layoffs to ensure that efficiency doesn’t reduce cybersecurity and quality standards.
In addition to what it can do directly, the VA should also work with other leaders in Washington who understand how to take care of veterans. This could look like coordinating with agencies like the Defense Department to ensure active-duty, Reserve, and Guard servicemembers have smooth transitions to retired status, a concern raised by Sen. Angus King (I-Maine) during Collins’ confirmation hearings.
It also means working with Congress to provide rigorous oversight of the VA and to take other steps to protect veterans.
One way Congress can ensure protections is to pass retired U.S. Marine Corps General and Rep. Jack Bergman’s (R-Mich.) H.R. 1656, the PLUS Act, to protect veterans from becoming victims of thieves and empower them to make the transition from the battlefield to the rest of their lives. The bill allows, for the first time, veterans to use fee-based professional services at the beginning of their VA benefits journey. Many veterans make reasonable mistakes when first applying for benefits, resulting in denied care that can take months or years to overcome, often at great expense.
And, of course, where Byzantine meets desperation, there are often unethical actors. The PLUS Act provides much-needed safeguards to stop companies that take fees from veterans to help them navigate the VA — but never provide services. The PLUS Act makes sure these unscrupulous actors face fines and jail for taking advantage of veterans.
For years, the VA has struggled to achieve its important mission. Thankfully, Bergman, Collins and others are offering strong leadership and strategic vision to clean out corruption, improve processes, serve veterans better and save taxpayers money.
It’s only a start. But leadership is the secret sauce to success, from strategic global priorities to matters closer to home and even more important.
Henry Stoever is a principal with the Brentwood Advisory Group, founder and managing principal at Windsor Strategy, and a Marine Corps veteran.
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