Since my first days in Congress, I have promised to leave no veteran behind and every day I work to fulfill that promise. Our men and women in uniform serve with honor and when they come home, they deserve the best we can offer. Having traveled around western and central Wisconsin and visited Iraq four times and Afghanistan twice, I have heard from a number of Wisconsinites currently serving in our nation’s armed forces. It has become very clear that in these challenging economic times we must do more to provide for the basic needs of our troops and veterans. It is critical that we ensure there is a robust VA medical system available so that Wisconsin’s veterans can get the quality care they earned and deserve.

Last year, serious problems with pain management practices were discovered at the Tomah Veterans Affairs Medical Clinic (VAMC). In March of 2014, the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) concluded an investigation into allegations of misconduct at the Tomah VAMC. Unfortunately, they failed to notify Congress and did not post the results of their report on their website. In order make sure this never happens in the future, I led the Wisconsin delegation in introducing and passing the bipartisan Inspectors General Transparency Act of 2015. This bill increases government transparency by ensuring that all OIG reports are published on the OIG website and submitted to the head of the establishment under investigation, the individual or entity requesting the investigation, and Congress.

Additionally, one of the recommendations from the OIG investigation was to create a collaborative pain management team, similar to the tumor board model, to better coordinate pain management in very complex cases. Based on this recommendation, I introduced the bipartisan Veterans Pain Management Improvement Act, which would establish a pain management oversight board within each Veterans Integrated Service Network comprised of health care professionals, clinical patients and/or family members of a clinical patient. This legislation will give veteran patients and their families a real role in VA oversight and help ensure the VA provides better care for our veterans.

Veterans History Project

I believe we owe an enormous debt to our men and women in uniform. A great way to show our gratitude is to encourage them to share their memories and experiences. This is why I authored legislation creating the Veterans History Project, which allows veterans and their families to record their stories and preserve them for future generations. These recordings are entered into the permanent collection in the Library of Congress, where they will serve as a permanent reminder of the sacrifices these men and women made defending our country.