PA DEMS STATEMENT ON SECOND LADY KAREN PENCE’S VISIT TO PHILADELPHIA

PENNSYLVANIA — Pennsylvania Democratic Party Chair Nancy Patton Mills today issued a statement in response to Second Lady Karen Pence’s Visit to the Philadelphia VA: 

“Pennsylvania veterans are tired of President Trump’s broken promises and corrupt agenda — and Second Lady Pence’s visit won’t do a thing to change that. Our vets deserve a leader like Joe Biden, who doesn’t think they’re ‘suckers’ or ‘losers,’ and who has a comprehensive plan from day one to restore the VA and ensure that our vets always have the care and attention they need.” 

BACKGROUND: 

  • November 2017: Trump Doesn’t Take Vets Feedback Seriously: “Other announced efforts, such as the posting of VA wait-time data and a new White House complaint hotline, have since been shown to be narrow in scope or have been criticized as ineffective by lawmakers or veterans groups.” [AP 11/10/2017]
  • November 2018: Trump Wealthy Mar-A-Lago Friends Allowed Input In Official Government Work: “Despite misgivings, career VA employees were obligated to waste taxpayer time and resources to respond to the trio of Mar-a-Lago members, purely because of their connections to Trump,” the ethics group CREW said in a news release with the documents. [Politico 8/22/2019
  • December 2018: GAO Highlights Admin’s Failure To Conduct Health Care Outreach: “By not reaching as many vulnerable veterans as it could have, the Veterans Health Administration, the agency’s health-care arm, “may not have exposed as many people in the community, such as veterans at risk for suicide, or their families and friends, to its suicide prevention outreach content,” the report concluded.” [Washington Post 12/18/18]
  • December 2018: Trump Appointee Forced Out After Accepting Pay For No Work: “The Trump administration has forced out a senior White House political appointee at the Department of Veterans Affairs who spent months on the federal payroll doing little to no work.” [Washington Post 12/11/18]
  • May 2019: Trump Continues To Mislead About His Record: “Trump said he passed a private-sector health care program, Veterans Choice, after failed attempts by past presidents for the last “45 years.” That’s not true.” [AP FACT CHECK 5/28/19]

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