Walz: How we care for our veterans sends clear message

In the eyes of U.S. Rep Tim Walz, taking care of the nation’s veterans isn’t just a responsibility. How those veterans are cared for sends a loud and clear message.

“The commitment to our veterans is a statement to our youth, and it’s a statement to everyone else around the world (about) what we value and how strongly we’re going to stand,” Walz told Legion family members on Feb. 23 during the Washington Conference. “And if we ever waiver – and whether our citizens, our young people or those around the world think that we are not going to honor those who sacrifice – that show of weakness will resonate. It will make a difference.”

A member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the House Armed Services Committee, Walz said the nation must strive for perfection when caring for its veterans.

“If one veteran falls through the cracks, if one veteran waits too long for care … if one veteran sleeps on the street, then I think our job is not done,” he said. “’We may never get to that point, but I think setting the bar anywhere less than that sends the signal that it really doesn’t matter, and we’ll settle for less.”

When it comes to VA reform, Walz said, the examples of successful health-care systems should be followed and combined with what VA already is doing well. “There are health-care systems out there that are delivering accountability, delivering results, that are improving lives, and doing it in a cost-effective manner,” he said. “We need to bring the best from those institutions and meld it with the best of the VA to provide a world-class health-care system … for those warriors that deserve nothing less. And that can be done.”

Planning for the care of veterans shouldn’t happen after a war starts, Walz said. It’s part of going to war. “There is no one in this world that wishes and prays more that this nation never goes to war again,” he said. “But it is irresponsible and wrong if we don’t plan for the care of those warriors.”

Walz, like the Legion, believes VA is a system worth saving. But trust needs to be restored in the health-care system. “Nothing angers people more than a breach of trust,” he said. “With all those thousands of employees who are doing good work every day, when there are those who are not, they need to be removed immediately. If there are barriers to giving people in charge the ability to do that, we need to look at those.”

Switching to national security, Walz said the world is a dangerous place with unpredictable enemies. Because of that, “there is no middle ground when it comes to the defense of this nation,” Walz said. “It is the first responsibility in this job that I hold. We owe it to provide every one of our warriors the best possible technology when we send them into battle. But, the key – and the foundational piece – from the beginning of this nation until today and into the future are those individual warriors that we send into battle.”

Walz said that whenever the Pentagon decides it wants to save money, "they come after the warriors. They come after retirement. They come after benefits. I am unwilling to undermine anything we do for our warriors and the trust we have.”