Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers meets with local veterans

Cathy McMorris Rodgers sits with John Davis, who serves as her Veterans and Military Outreach Liasion, Tuesday, July 26, at Umpqua Bank in Colfax. McMorris Rodgers led a discussion with veterans and their families on what services and support they need more of from the Veterans Administration of Spokane.

Gazette intern reporter

Although there was confusion about the starting time of the meeting with Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers Tuesday, local veterans waited patiently at Umpqua Bank to visit with the congresswoman. Most who came voiced hardships and bad experiences they have had with the Veterans Administration, such as not receiving needed services and medical supplies vital to their lives.

“We're here to help, and that's number one,” said McMorris Rodgers. “We can help.”

She spoke about her experience interacting with different VA offices throughout Washington state and negative encounters while trying to get help, including her “shocking” trip to the Seattle VA office where paperwork of veterans was strewn throughout the office building.

“I walked the hallways and saw paper file folders of records of veterans in filing cabinets, on top of filing cabinets and for me it looked disorganized,” she said.“So now I understand why they say paperwork gets lost or can't find a file.”

The representative made a point to express to the veterans and their families present that one of her top priorities, if re-elected, is to ensure that they will receive the health benefits and care that they need.

“When I think about our veterans, it has been my extreme honor to represent this district in Congress,” McMorris Rodgers continued. “It's also a responsibility I take very seriously.”

The VA has been known in various cases for denying and not providing veterans with the health care and services that they need, such as the case two years ago in Phoenix, Ariz., where at least 40 veterans who waited to receive care died before ever seeing a healthcare provider. Veterans present at Tuesday's meeting told their stories, which included being denied hearing aids because they had saved too much money for their retirements after being in the service or because their loss of hearing was supposedly unable to be proved as a side effect of being in a war.

“There's nothing more important than our veterans, those who have served, get the care that they need,” said McMorris Rodgers. “You think about priorities.

Additionally, McMorris Rodgers said she is committed to pushing the VA in areas including scheduling appointments and restructuring the agency entirely. Currently, there are 32,000 employees who are schedulers for the VA, yet in the last year the waiting list for veterans to see health care providers has increased by 50 percent.

McMorris Rodgers said she also is in the process of creating a piece of legislation with Congressman Seth Moulton, Mass., to require the VA to do some demonstration projects on self-registration.

“It shouldn't take legislation to do it,” she added

For the second half of the meeting McMorris Rodgers opened up the floor for those in attendance to introduce themselves. She listened to accounts of veterans not receiving care because of confusing legislation with the Choice Program or having services delayed for no reason among other things.

“I do believe that for veterans that would like to go to a local provider, they should have that choice to do so,” she said. “I also believe we need the VA. I guess I would like to see the VA be the best in the service-related injuries.”

McMorris Rodgers announced at the end of the session she will be at the Fairchild Air Force Base in Spokane Aug. 18 to lead a military family summit.