As I prepared to write about the importance of Memorial Day and remember those who fought for our country, I found myself getting madder than hell about the scandal surrounding the Department of Veterans Affair (VA) and allegations that workers had a care list that basically decided which veterans would live and which would die.

The story first surfaced in Phoenix where there were allegations that staff was manipulating waiting times for veterans who needed urgent care and ultimately some of the untreated died. Since then, more allegations of abuses at VA facilities across the country including St. Louis have surfaced. The allegations regarding the VA Hospital in St. Louis suggest that mental health providers are making inefficient use of their time, seeing patients for only a fraction of the workday and in the process creating delays in the provision of mental health services for veterans in need. 

As your congressman, I can tell you that we receive many constituent phone calls, emails and personal meetings from veterans seeking help with a variety of issues relating to the VA. We have been very proactive in working with the VA to upgrade access and quality of mental health services to make sure our veterans receive the care they need and the benefits they deserve. When it comes to veterans, our door is always open and our staff is always ready to listen.

But there is more that can be done and has to be done: the VA has a widespread and systemic lack of accountability for senior executives exacerbating all of its most pressing problems. If you look at the current cases, VA senior executives who presided over negligence and mismanagement are more likely to have received a bonus or glowing performance review than any sort of punishment.

That, my friends, is a national tragedy and I am proud to report the House took steps by overwhelmingly passing the bipartisan VA Management Accountability Act that would give the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs new authority to remove employees of the Senior Executive Service, the high level administrators responsible for day to day management functions.

The ability to remove such an employee is modeled after the same authority that Members of Congress have to remove their professional staff members who work for them. The legislation also has the support of several national veterans groups including The American Legion, AMVETS, Concerned Veterans for America and the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America.

While there are already investigations underway at various levels about the failures at our VA facilities and the deaths that may have resulted from them, I believe this legislation is just a first step toward getting things back on track. I also believe the Administration has been negligent in its handling of the overall situation as more allegations have surfaced. The Administration has failed to hold anyone accountable and ignored letters warning them of what is currently going on in the VA system.

At the end of the day, we need to improve the system on behalf of the millions of veterans who depend on the VA for benefits and services

We have a duty to those who served and put their lives, limbs and minds on the line for our freedom. It has always been the American way and must continue to be so. Those who deserve to be punished should be punished to the fullest extent of the law. Our veterans deserve to know that their nation still cares, and will fight to deliver the care and benefits they deserve as recognition for their service.

Lastly, and possibly most importantly, this Memorial Day, please attend a service in your area or community that honors the sacrifice and dedication of our veterans. To remember a veteran is to honor a veteran.

CONTACT US: As always, for those of you with Internet access, I encourage you to visit my official website. For those without access to the Internet, I encourage you to call my offices in Jefferson City (573-635-7232) Washington, Mo. (636-239-2276), or Wentzville (636-327-7055) with your questions and concerns. If you want even greater access to what I am working on, please visit my YouTube site, Facebook page, and keep up-to-date with Twitter.