House hopefuls split over ways to reform VA

While both candidates agree that reforms taking place within the Department of Veterans Affairs are needed, the challengers vying to represent Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District — both veterans themselves — disagree on the approach that should be taken.

Democratic state Rep. Mark Takai applauds the effort being undertaken by new Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald and recently enacted legislation to provide $16 billion in additional funding to allow for hiring of more medical professionals needed to reduce waiting times and provide high-quality health care to veterans.

Charles Djou, a Republican who represented the district for seven months in 2010, said throwing money at the problem is no solution. In addition to systemic, administration-wide reforms, he supports giving veterans greater ability to seek health care from private-sector providers.

Their views come as the department embarks on a plan to improve services following a political furor over veterans in need of medical care having to wait months for appointments at VA hospital and clinics. Investigators said efforts to cover up or hide the delays were systemic throughout the agency’s network of nearly 1,000 hospitals and clinics.

McDonald took over the agency in July following the resignation of former Secretary Eric Shinseki, a native of Kauai and former Army chief of staff.

Earlier this month, McDonald unveiled what he called a three-point plan to rebuild trust among veterans, improve service delivery and set a course for the agency’s long-term future. The plan should be implemented by Veterans Day, Nov. 11.

Hawaii’s 1st Congressional District candidates can draw on their own experiences in approaching the issue. Both are veterans of the country’s recent conflicts in the Middle East.

Djou, a major in the U.S. Army Reserve, was deployed to Afghanistan in 2011 as part of Operation Enduring Freedom. Takai, a lieutenant colonel in the Hawaii National Guard, was deployed to Kuwait in 2009 as part of Operation Iraqi Freedom.

Takai said he believes the VA has made tremendous gains over the past few weeks and months, and the additional funding should help.

"From my perspective, we’ve had a significant increase in the number of veterans needing support and health care from the VA because of the 10 years of wars in the Middle East," Takai said. "I do believe that there needs to be some effort focused on streamlining and guaranteeing that efficiencies and best practices are focused.

"Truly we can do a better job in spending money wisely and more efficiently, but because of the significant increase in the number of veterans needing services it was, I believe, prudent on Congress’ part to provide (additional funds)."

Djou called the ongoing VA scandal a "tragedy" and said removing some of the top brass, such as Shinseki, was a good first step.

"But that’s not enough," he said. "Just replacing the leadership … is insufficient and incomplete, because if you just replace the leadership, the same scandal and the same problems we have at the VA can easily reoccur again five or 10 or 15 years from now."

He said he also supports giving veterans greater ability to make their benefits portable — allowing veterans to take the benefits entitled to them but seek care at private-sector facilities.

"It will, I think, induce some competition with the VA and force the VA to get better to provide better care and better services to our veterans," he said. "But No. 2, equally important with that, is right now we are having a flood of veterans coming back from Iraq and Afghanistan. …

"We need to find a way to fix that or address that increase in demand for services from Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, and the way to do it, I believe, is this program, which I’m advocating."

Djou and Takai are seeking to succeed U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa, who gave up the seat for an unsuccessful bid at the U.S. Senate.

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The Associated Press contributed to this report.