Controversy over VA nominee’s past distracts from its real problems

When soldiers train for war, they are taught that they will know very clearly who the enemy is, and what they are fighting for. They spend much of their time on active duty training and ultimately deploying to far-off locations with tactical and operational skills and, most importantly, a mission and a sense of purpose.  

So, what happens when service members return home and, for decades, are forced to deal with a bunker of a bureaucracy that lacks a strategic vision, tactical execution, or a clear sense of mission? Those servicemen and women, our nation’s veterans, then find that they are uncertain who the enemy really is.

{mosads}Sadly, the answer is what we saw yesterday, when 58-year-old veteran John Watts, burned himself in front of the Georgia state capitol building to protest his treatment by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. The state of the VA is, quite literally, a life-threatening problem for many veterans, but unfortunately, partisan name-calling amongst Congress and VA officials has taken precedence in the media over veterans’ health and well-being.  

This is the very definition of a tragedy, and we need to correct course.

For example, today, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs will hold its confirmation on Trump’s current nominee to be the next Secretary to lead the Department — Robert Wilkie. Unfortunately, as with nearly everything that is tangentially related to the Trump Presidency, Wilkie’s nomination has devolved from legitimate questions about his qualifications to blatant character assassination on the part of political rivals who vehemently oppose any action taken by the man who nominated him.   

At one point in time, veterans’ issues were the one policy area that managed to transcend partisan politics, despite attempts by party operatives to disrupt the process.  As noted by Military Times reporter, Leo Shane, “no VA Secretary nominee has ever received an opposition vote in their Senate confirmation.”

It’s important to note that this is not because all prior nominees to the position have had impeccable past performances —  rather, it is concrete evidence that everything is now political at the expense of what was once our most sacred promise, caring for he who has borne the battle, his widow, and his orphan.”

For example, in January 1989, it was revealed that Edwin Derwinski, then the nominee to be the first VA Secretary, had “concealed for more than five years that he had leaked confidential information in 1977 to a South Korean diplomat — a leak that federal investigators say could have cost the life of a Korean intelligence officer who was about to defect to the United States.”

Although it was predicted by the media that “this episode may come back to haunt him,” Derwinski was nonetheless unanimously approved in a 94-0 vote by the Senate.

Similarly, when Togo West was nominated to lead the Department in 1993, issues were raised prior to his confirmation about “the way exceptions were granted for interment of people who would not normally be buried at Arlington National Cemetery . . . [and] suggestions that burial plots were awarded to Democratic Party donors.” Nonetheless, he was also approved unanimously by the Senate.

Turning back to the current state of affairs, rather than address the dire situation that causes veterans — yes, that’s plural — to commit suicide or inflict serious harm on themselves as a direct result of lack of treatment from the VA, yesterday, the Washington Post opted to issue a story regarding Wilkie’s ancestors, who fought on the side of the Confederacy in the Civil War, over 150 years ago.  

In attacking Wilkie, democrats conveniently forget that the Clinton campaign crafted Confederate battle flag pins in 1992, and that Clinton, Jimmy Carter, Lyndon Johnson and Harry Truman all had ancestors who fought for the Confederacy as well.

In addition to being misleading, the Post’s article was also ill-timed, given the sensitive nature of Watts’ act, that pre-dated the story by only several hours (and was not reported on by the Post for several more hours). The Post’s headline reads that Wilkie “built his career serving polarizing figures” yet makes no mention of his previous confirmation by voice vote in the Senate, meaning that just last year, Senators found no issues in his past even worth debating.  

Moreover, in highlighting Wilkie’s past working for “polarizing” politicians, the Post article fails to mention entirely Wilkie’s recent position with Senator Thom Tillis (R-NC), who is largely regarded as one of the most moderate members of the Senate.  

Indeed, when asked on his desire to encourage bipartisanship, Tillis stated “We need to build relationships with people who are not likely, or 90 percent of the time not likely, to support our political positions. The way you do that is connect at a personal level . . . If you become insular and if you only hang out with people who fundamentally have the same views, you are not going to grow or get things done.”

Similarly, according to Sarah Verardo, executive director of the Independence Fund, a North Carolina-based veterans organization that has worked closely with Wilkie over the past several years:

“The Washington Post implies that Robert Wilkie’s ‘working shoulder to shoulder with polarizing figures’ over three decades is somehow a blemish on his record. A quick glance at a very partisan Congress in 2018 suggests that his ‘get it done’ tenacity might in fact be a skill that plays to his advantage.

As a Caregiver to a catastrophically wounded Veteran, I know Mr. Wilkie personally understands what we go through in the VA system. This issue hits home for both of us. The Vietnam War ended for his father – and the war in Afghanistan for my husband – when they both came home for life-saving treatment at Walter Reed. That’s when a different fight began for both of our families.”

The most important thing we can do to improve the lives of veterans is to focus on the future of the Department, not get caught up in the distant past of a political appointee ancestors.  Only by focusing on the future can we prevent more veterans from succumbing to the desperation that Watts resorted to yesterday.

Rory E. Riley-Topping served as a litigation staff attorney for the National Veterans Legal Services Program (NVLSP), where she represented veterans and their survivors before the U.S. Court of Appeals for Veterans Claims. She also served as the staff director and counsel for the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs for former Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.). You can find her on Twitter: @RileyTopping.