Tough Questions on Character and Vision for Top VA Benefits and Health Nominees at Confirmation Hearing

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In the coming 12 months, the Veterans Rewards Administration must tackle a backlog of more than 200,000 disability claims and all set itself for extra apps as extra veterans turn out to be eligible beneath future legislative proposals.

At the Veterans Wellness Administration, a new undersecretary will facial area scrutiny from a fee researching the Section of Veterans Affairs‘ health and fitness method and will oversee the maturation of the Mission Act — the laws that lets veterans go to personal vendors and needs the office to make sure well timed obtain to treatment.

Facing the body weight of what Sen. Jerry Moran, R-Kan., described as “amid the most critical appointed positions” in the federal governing administration, Dr. Shereef Elnahal, the VA’s nominee for undersecretary for wellbeing, and Ray Jefferson, nominated as undersecretary for added benefits, fielded tricky concerns all through a affirmation listening to that touched on appointment wait times, clinical marijuana, hospital closures and the incapacity statements backlog and bundled queries on their character and working experience.

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“My personal journey as a disabled veteran and an amputee has supplied me a firsthand understanding and appreciation for the desires that our veterans have and the difficulties they may working experience as they seek solutions from VA,” Jefferson, a previous Army Ranger who shed five fingers to a grenade in a teaching accident in 1999, told members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.

“I consider VA is a national treasure, and that this is accurate due to the fact of its persons,” Elnahal said in his opening statement. “I consider VHA can be the very best health and fitness treatment program in the country.”

Jefferson, a 1988 graduate of the U.S. Armed service Academy who holds two graduate levels from Harvard, held leadership positions in the Army, in federal and state government and in the personal sector ahead of he was appointed in 2009 by President Barack Obama to lead the Veterans Work and Schooling Company at the Office of Labor.

In that position, he arranged a partnership with the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and labored with corporations to enable start the Choosing Our Heroes initiative, ensuing in the hiring of 617,000 veterans and armed forces spouses, and he led the energy to overhaul the Protection Department’s Transition Guidance Method.

But he remaining the situation under a cloud, acquiring been accused by subordinates of a procurement deal impropriety, to consist of steering a valuable consulting agreement to a previous colleague — an allegation that was substantiated by an inspector general’s investigation. Eight years later on, nevertheless, the Office of Labor’s inspector normal reversed the conclusion, concluding that none of the fees really should have been substantiated and Jefferson really should not have been requested to resign.

On Wednesday, he responded to issues expressed by Republican senators on the panel about the allegations, indicating that he expended his entire financial savings to very clear his identify and that the unique investigators had been unaware that two of the informants experienced lied to larger-ups in preceding investigations.

Jefferson said he spent the dollars on a legal workforce “for two primary causes: one particular, due to the fact I benefit my integrity as a veteran, and secondly, simply because I have hoped to a single working day have the privilege of serving our nation once more.”

Jefferson reported as undersecretary, he would prioritize reducing the backlog of far more than 200,000 claims boost applications for veterans on transition, training and work and improve efficiency between the VA workforce by means of instruction and technological know-how.

“My life’s function is to support people in corporations to dream major, conquer their worries and reach their prospective,” stated Jefferson, who at this time potential customers a Singapore-based mostly management consultancy group.

Elnahal, a graduate of Johns Hopkins College who gained a joint professional medical diploma and MBA from Harvard, has led College Clinic in Newark, New Jersey, given that 2019. He formerly served as assistant deputy undersecretary for overall health for excellent, security and value at the VA from 2016 to 2018.

If verified, he would be the initial long lasting holder of the posture in 5 years, because it was vacated by Dr. David Shulkin, who was promoted to VA secretary.

Elnahal has also worked as New Jersey’s health commissioner, and cited his practical experience, as very well as his encounters with veterans and armed forces physicians, as reasons he respects and wishes to return to community workplace.

In accordance to Elnahal, doing work in a hospital where Army Reserve clinicians deployed to aid with the individual load and along with National Guard associates in area hospitals, he has been reminded “what these heroes in uniform do for us each individual working day.”

“If verified, this chance would be my own way of shelling out that support forward to veterans throughout the country,” Elnahal explained.

He pledged to make sure that the VHA has a “lifestyle of regard and accountability” comparable to one particular instilled at his existing work vowed to be a lot more transparent with appointment wait around time facts boost oversight of health practitioner qualifications and handle concerns these as complications with the department’s new electronic well being information system and entry to psychological health and fitness remedy.

In his job as New Jersey wellbeing commissioner, he expanded access to health-related cannabis to patients with specific disorders, such as veterans, and claimed he would do the job underneath federal law to examine furthering investigate on cannabis for selected wellbeing disorders at the VA.

“I did serve as an advocate for the method throughout the board for all patients who are qualified for particular ailments,” Elnahal reported. “But the intersection with federal legislation was not something I had to contend with, so that would be a layer of problems I would have to handle if confirmed.”

Senators did not suggest how they would vote on the two nominations, but even with issues around Jefferson’s investigation, they praised him for his military services and sacrifice for his fellow troopers.

They also praised Elnahal for his in depth working experience working a general public health method and turning about an ailing health care center.

“Quite a few members have explained thank you for your willingness to serve. I want to thank you and the committee members for the considerate dialogue right now,” said Committee Chairman Sen. Jon Tester, D-Montana.

A vote on the nominations has still to be scheduled in the Senate.

— Patricia Kime can be attained at Patricia.Kime@Armed service.com. Abide by her on Twitter @patriciakime.

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