The Department of Veterans Affairs has completely lost sight of its sole mission: Serving veterans. The total lack of accountability around the disastrous rollout of the electronic health record system made that abundantly clear.

It’s time for the VA to drastically change its approach by putting the veteran at the forefront of every decision they make. That starts with actually showing up and listening to their concerns, which the VA has avoided for far too long.

This week, I introduced legislation to change that once and for all. It’s called the Town Halls for Veterans Act, and it requires the VA to host quarterly town halls for veterans at each VA Medical Center in Eastern Washington and across the nation. It also requires that the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) director and each facility’s medical director be in attendance.

My hope is that this bill can make a real difference by ensuring our nation’s heroes’ voices are heard loud and clear as we continue our work to roll out the red carpet for them.

CLICK HERE to read the bill.