We at DAV wish to thank Dr. David Shulkin for his leadership and service to veterans throughout his tenure both as secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs and as the department’s undersecretary for health.

Under two administrations, Dr. Shulkin has maintained a position in one of the most highly visible, highly scrutinized organizations in Washington, working closely with veterans organizations to implement critical reforms within the department. In particular, he made tremendous strides in areas such as appeals modernization, mental health care access and department-wide oversight and accountability.

We are grateful for his efforts to steer VA toward sensible, lasting transformation of veterans health care and hope to see those plans continue moving forward.

While we look forward to learning more about the qualifications and views of the new nominee, we are extremely concerned about the existing leadership vacuum in VA.  At a time of critical negotiations over the future of veterans health care reform, VA today has no Secretary, no Under Secretary of Health or Benefits, and the named Acting Secretary has no background in health care and no apparent experience working in or with the Department.

We certainly expect the next Secretary to continue the path set by VA, Congress and veterans organizations in recent years to strengthen the VA health care system while ensuring that all enrolled veterans have timely access to quality care, whenever and wherever they need it.

~Commander Delphine Metcalf-Foster