Mitchell outraged at VA's careless "care" of veterans

Ya know, I like Congressman Harry Mitchell, I respect him greatly, and I wholeheartedly wish he were more liberal than he is. There are certain issues where I've strongly disagreed with his votes.

However, speaking as someone whose father spent decades utilizing the VA as his primary provider of medical care, I've got absolutely no problems with the work he has been doing for America's veterans.

As chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Veterans Affairs Committee since 2007, he has been tirelessly holding the VA accountable for the quality of the care (or lack thereof) it provides.

Tuesday was no different.

From the LeafChronicle (TN/KY) -

House lawmakers blasted Veterans Affairs officials on Tuesday after hearing testimony the VA still wasn't following procedures for handling endoscopes, months after discovering that improperly cleaned endoscopes may have exposed veterans to hepatitis and HIV.

"I'm outraged that any of our nation's heroes were potentially infected or that they even have to worry about the possibility," Rep. Harry Mitchell, D-Ariz., chairman of the Veterans Affairs subcommittee on oversight and investigations, said.

A video clip from the hearing, courtesy USA Today, here.

Tuesday's hearing became necessary when, earlier this year, it came to light that some VA facilities were improperly cleaning (or not cleaning at all) medical equipment, exposing their patients to diseases like HIV and hepatitis. A number of patients were later found to be infected with HIV or hepatitis, but thus far the cause of those infections has not be officially determined.

Mitchell's entire opening statement is here; the prepared statements of the witnesses can be found here (click on the name of the witness). That page should eventually have a video of the entire hearing, but I'm not sure what the timeframe is on that.

Later...