Obviously, not all government programs succeed in doing what they are intended to do, and others accomplish their task inefficiently and could achieve the same goals at less cost. But it seems pretty lame to cap your Senate career by blocking a bill that spends a modest $22 million trying to lower the incidence of military veteran suicides.
But that’s what Senator Tom Coburn of Oklahoma has done.
He earned the moniker “Dr. No” for creating the Tea Party tactic of filibustering everything on God’s Green Earth. A few years later, Mitch McConnell adopted the strategy for the entire Republican Party. It’s hard to remember that Coburn stood out when he began this dysfunction, but he’s just another senator these days.
I guess he wanted to remind us that before there was a Party of No, there was just one lonely doctor.
Saw excerpts of Senator Coburn’s speech on the Rachel Maddow Show tonight. The man was incoherent when discussing his opposition, “but he’s just another Republican senator these days.”
“The bill would require the Pentagon and Veterans Affairs Department to submit to independent reviews of their suicide prevention programs. It also would establish a website to provide information on mental health services available to veterans, offer financial incentives to psychiatrists who agree to work for the VA and create a pilot program to assist veterans transitioning from active duty to veteran status.”
Now look… this is exactly the bureaucratic BS that seems like it is doing something but actually doesn’t. It’s a gift (albeit a rather small one) to the contractors who will provide those reviews, build the website, and run the pilot program.
And we ought to be paying the mental health professionals what is required to service the need irrespective of this bill.
Maybe this is the only way shit gets done in government… I don’t know. But it is one of those dumb things that get dreamed up every year, funded, and forgotten the next.
I know how to prevent veteran suicides and it won’t cost a thing. Actually, it will save billions! Shut down the pentagon and fire all the warmongering idiots who work there.
Here’s how all this actually works:
There was a review started in September 2012 on unfilled requests for consultations. It was, allegedly, a “multi-phased review” whatever that is.
It appeared to be successful in May 2014 in reducing the number of unresolved consultations. Yippee!
But then congress wanted to review the review. And so the inspector general (OIG) did a review. They found some issues. Likely they just closed out those requests without considering if a consult was actually done! Of course that’s what they did.
So, of course, the OIG recommends some interim under-secretary do a review of the review too! This is known, apparently, as a systematic assessment (as opposed to a multi-phased review).
Some time next year… probably 3 years after the initial review, we’ll likely have another review of the review. This time I’m sure someone will get fired.
Here it is in all its glory. Surely this all cost at least $22 million. Good grief.
http://www.va.gov/oig/publications/report-summary.asp?id=3256
“OIG evaluated Veterans Health Administration’s (VHA’s) review of “unresolved” consults and the accuracy of VA’s summary, the National Consult Delay Review Fact Sheet (Fact Sheet), as requested by the Chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee (HVAC). Unresolved consults are requests for consultations that are open or active in patients’ electronic health records. In September 2012, VHA initiated a multi-phased review of consults that were unresolved for more than 90 days. By May 2014, the number of unresolved consults had decreased considerably. However, because VHA did not implement appropriate controls, we found it lacks reasonable assurance that facilities appropriately reviewed and resolved consults; closed consults only after ensuring veterans had received the requested services, when appropriate; and, where consult delays contributed to patient harm, notified patients as required by VHA policy. Our review of the Fact Sheet found several key statements related to the scope and results of VHA’s review of unresolved consults were misleading or incorrect. These statements were repeated by VHA leaders at meetings with congressional staff and during media events. In July 2014, VHA issued a letter to the Chairman of the HVAC that included information intended to clarify statements in the Fact Sheet. We recommended that the Interim Under Secretary for Health (1) conduct a systematic assessment of the processes each VA medical facility used to address unresolved consults during VHA’s system-wide consult review; (2) ensure that if a medical facility’s processes are found to have been inconsistent with VHA guidance on addressing unresolved consults, action is taken to confirm that patients have received appropriate care; and (3) after reviewing the circumstances of any inappropriate resolution of consults, confer with the Office of Human Resources and the Office of General Counsel or other relevant agency to determine the appropriate administrative action to take, if any.”
The OIG review was after the 2013 VA report that included actions taken and to be implemented.
If the VA needs more resources to meet the suicide prevention consult guidelines, then fund that. Shouldn’t the VA be allowed more than two years to see how its plan is working?
The VA should hire more doctors, not contract out to some company to skim a profit for hiring more doctors. The FedGov as a whole should have a professional, sworn, permanent team of regular employees to develop and maintain websites for the agencies. Perhaps we need a cabinet level Department of Communications or an agency, the Federal Internet Development Agency. Some PR guy can come up with a better name.
True enough. But the general public doesn’t like government employees except LEOs and soldiers. They believe that the private sector can do it better, faster, and cheaper.
They’re wrong.
And before him there was Senator No (Jesse Helms) blocking appointments in order to extort some policy change or benefit. As I remember, that’s how we got Ban Ki-Moon at the United Nations and Mahommed al-Baradei out at IAEA when Jesse Helms was chair of the Foreign Relations Committee.
he’s always been phucking evil
Jim Wright, Navy veteran and author of the Stonekettle Station blog, eviscerates Coburn on his Facebook page:
https://www.facebook.com/Stonekettle/posts/766909196677819
Enjoy!
Good rant by Jim. But essentially isn’t different from what others are saying: 1) Veterans deserve the provisions in the bill 2) It only costs $22 million over several years; such a drop in the bucket that passing it should be no big deal.
But do wonder how many of Coburn’s critics (and members of Congress as well) bothered to read HR 5059 and Coburn’s critique of it.
A little Act that tweaks here and a little Act that tweaks there, and a few million here and a few million there, and we end up with such tangled webs of government programs that it’s difficult to see if they are working well or working poorly. Good intentions are necessary but not sufficient for good legislation.