Washington, D.C. – Eastern Washington Congresswoman Cathy McMorris Rodgers (WA-05) today introduced the Town Halls for Veterans Act to require the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to host quarterly town halls for veterans at each VA Medical Center in the nation.

“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,” said Rodgers. “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 legislation will change that once and for all by making sure our nation’s heroes’ voices are heard loud and clear as we continue our work to roll out the red carpet for them.”

This legislation would also require the Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) director to attend the town halls along with each facility’s medical director. If either director is unable to be present, then a designated representative must attend in their absence.

CLICK HERE to read the bill.

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