Upd8: Strouse says underlying issues remain in Veterans Affairs
Tags: Politics, Kevin Strouse, Montgomery County, Bucks County, The Upd8

By Tom Waring

Wire Staff Writer

Eric Shinseki has resigned as secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, but Democratic congressional candidate Kevin Strouse said underlying issues remain.

Strouse, who is challenging Republican Rep. Mike Fitzpatrick in the 8th Congressional District, emphasized that the underlying problem is the failure of Congress to properly fund the VA.

“Between 2003 and 2012, the VA’s medical care budget barely kept pace with health-care inflation, even as some 7.5 million Vietnam veterans reached retirement age, and the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan created roughly 6.2 million new veterans, many of whom require VA services,” he said. “Republicans in the House and Senate, including Congressman Fitzpatrick, have repeatedly voted against properly funding the VA. Moreover, as the Bush administration and the Republican Congress made plans to go to war, they failed to plan to treat returning soldiers who would need VA services after years in combat.

“Members of Congress need to take a hard look in the mirror and consider whether they’ve done everything they could to support our veterans and the VA. I think they’ll find that answer is no.”

Strouse is a former Army Ranger and a veteran of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

The 8th Congressional District includes all of Bucks County and a portion of Montgomery County.

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The National Republican Congressional Committee will be watching to see how Strouse handles the Obama administration’s proposed plan to combat global warming.

Under Obama’s proposal, announced by Environmental Protection Agency administrator Gina McCarthy, the amount of allowed emissions from power producers would be capped and they would be required to reduce their emissions by 30 percent below 2005 levels. If a company releases more than the allowed emissions, it could be forced to purchase emissions credits or install upgrades or other carbon-reducing measures.

According to a report released by the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Obama’s proposed regulations will increase electricity costs in the United States by $17 billion each year through 2030 and lead to the loss of 224,200 jobs per year.

“Unfortunately for Pennsylvania families, the Democrats’ new cap-and-trade scheme will take more money from their pockets,” said NRCC communications director Andrea Bozek. “Instead of ensuring Pennsylvania families have more fiscal stability, Kevin Strouse will fall in line along with his Democratic allies, as he is in the political fight for his life this November.”

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Fitzpatrick last week spoke to residents of the Village of Buckingham Springs, a 55-plus living community located on Durham Road in New Hope that is home to about 1,000 people.

The congressman covered a number of topics during the event, including questions about the rising national debt, efforts to restore American jobs through manufacturing and what can be done to address the unfolding Department of Veterans Affairs scandal.

“As the representative of tens of thousands of veterans in Bucks and Montgomery counties — and an American taxpayer — the situation developing within the VA is unacceptable. While the agency certainly needs a change of leadership, simply making personnel changes won’t address the systemic problems,” Fitzpatrick said. “There is serious bipartisan momentum in Congress to find ways to hold the VA accountable while also working to ensure we’re addressing the growing backlog with the 21st Century Healthcare for Heroes Act.”

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Americans for Limited Government praised Fitzpatrick for voting in favor of an amendment to prohibit funds from being used by the National Telecommunications and Information Administration to relinquish Internet responsibilities.

Wisconsin Republican Rep. Sean Duffy offered the amendment, arguing that the U.S. should not give up stewardship of the Internet to the United Nations or countries like China, Iran or Russia. Those countries, Duffy said, do not hold free speech in the same regard as the U.S.

“We applaud Rep. Fitzpatrick who stood up to pressure from international interests to defund all efforts from the Obama administration to give away control of the Internet,” said Nathan Mehrens, president of ALG. “This example of the House of Representatives utilizing the power of the purse to rein in the out-of-control Obama administration sets an important precedent for the next three years.

“We call on Rep. Fitzpatrick to urge Speaker Boehner to hold firm on the House’s commitment to defund the Obama Internet giveaway to unknown, unaccountable international stakeholders when he negotiates the final funding package for the Commerce Department with the United States Senate.”

The amendment passed, 229–178.

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Fitzpatrick is calling on the Obama administration to reverse a decision ending the monthly publication of Obamacare enrollment data.

The congressman wrote a letter to Obama that read, in part, “Whether individuals support or oppose the Affordable Care Act, there is a consensus among them that this law has a significant effect on the economy and many other facets of American society. If you are going to continue to ask individuals, businesses, and healthcare providers to comply with this law and patiently await its future positive outcomes, you have a responsibility to keep them apprised of its impact. Again, I ask that you reevaluate your decision and remain accountable to the American people.”

Fitzpatrick is serving his third term in the House.