Graves Issues Statement on VA Secretary’s Disneyland Comparison

WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Representative Sam Graves issued the following statement in response to Veteran Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald's comparison of wait times at VA hospitals to those at Disneyland. Graves, a member of the House Armed Services Committee, responded after Secretary McDonald today refused to apologize for his original comments.

"Comparing people waiting in line at a theme park to veterans being forced to wait for medical care shows how out of touch Secretary McDonald is," Rep. Graves said. "It also unfortunately shows that he's still not taking the situation seriously. These wait times are a matter of life and death for people who've risked their lives to serve this country, and the lack of respect for veterans coming out of this administration is disgraceful."

In 2014, a whistleblower at a Phoenix, Arizona VA facility sparked a national controversy when he claimed that up to 40 veterans died while waiting for medical appointments. In response, Congress passed a law allowing veterans to seek medical care outside of the VA network if they faced appointment delays.

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