Corrine Brown Remains Top Democrat on VA Committee

U.S. Rep. Corrine Brown, D-Fla., will stay as the ranking Democrat on the House Committee of Veterans Affairs despite drawing fire from veterans groups. With the support of U.S. House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif., Brown dispatched a challenge from U.S. Rep. Tim Waltz, D-Minn.

I am humbled and honored by the opportunity to serve as the ranking member of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs for the 114th Congress, and I wholeheartedly appreciate the support of my Democratic colleagues, Brown said after being selected on Wednesday. I am very much looking forward to serving our nations veterans in this new position and working to make sure these men and women get the care and benefits they earned through their service to our nation.

During the upcoming session, some of the key issues I plan to address in committee include fully implementing the Veterans Access, Care and Affordability Act, and ensuring that our nations brave, returning soldiers have all the resources they need to transition to civilian life, Brown added. I will also continue my advocacy to get all of the VA Medical Centers opened as soon as possible.

I look forward to working with our veteran stakeholders to ensure that the VA has the resources necessary to provide superior health care to our veterans, and in particular resources for our nations rapidly increasing population of women veterans, Brown said in conclusion, promising to work with her chairman, U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla. I also look forward to continuing to work with Chairman Miller and the rest of the committee in the upcoming 114th Congress. I am certain that the hard-working committee members will work hard to move meaningful legislation that will benefit our nations veterans.

Browns retention drew the fire of Concerned Veterans for America. Pete Hegseth, the CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, labeled Brown as an apologist for the status quo at the VA, and at worst totally detached from reality as the VA deals with the aftermath of reports of altered waiting lists at medical facilities across the nation. In Phoenix, at least 40 veterans who were impacted by altered waiting lists died while waiting for treatment.

Rep. Brown has consistently dismissed the pervasive problems at the VA in the face of overwhelming evidence of the departments cultural and structural issues, including asserting immediately after the VA scandal that were doing fine in Florida, when clinics in her district have some of the worst wait times in the nation, insisted Hegseth.