Interview: Congressman Phil Roe, Retiring Ranking Member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs
IROE, DAVID P. (PHIL), a Representative from Tennessee elected as a Republican to the One Hundred Eleventh and to the six succeeding Congresses (January 3, 2009-present); chair, Committee on Veterans' Affairs (One Hundred Fifteenth Congress) and ranking member, Committee on Veteran Affairs (One Hundred Sixteenth Congress), Representative Roe will be retiring at the conclusion of the 116th Congress and NAVAPD President Samuel Spagnolo asked him the following questions about his tenure on the House Veterans Affairs Committee:
1. Your accomplishments as Chairman and then Ranking Member on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
Some of my proudest accomplishments as Chairman and Ranking Member were working to see several massively transformational pieces of legislation become law and begin improving the lives of our nation’s veterans. The MISSION Act, the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, the Forever GI Bill, the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, and the Veteran Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act were the products of true bipartisan collaboration in Congress and a broad coalition of advocates among veteran service organizations and other stakeholders to create a much more veteran-friendly and effective Department of Veterans Affairs.
In the MISSION Act, we put the choice in where to receive care back in the hands of the veteran by marrying the best of VA with the best of the private sector to reduce wait times, expand access to care, and put veterans first. Now, if a veteran needs an exam, they don’t have to trek all the way to VA - whether it’s up the road or across the state – because they have access to care in their own community. Another component of the MISSION Act was the AIR Act, which creates an objective, expert Commission to take a holistic view of the VA healthcare system and recommend where to update and realign VA medical facilities to better care for veteran patients today and in the future.
In the Blue Water Navy Vietnam Veterans Act, we secured long overdue disability compensation benefits to veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange in the off-shore waterways of Vietnam. As a Vietnam-era veteran myself, I know the weight this bill carries and the impact it will have on the lives of thousands of veterans who have waited so long for the benefits they earned.
In the Forever GI Bill, we enabled veterans to use their GI Bill benefits when it suits them and their families best without a time limit dictating that choice. Veterans are powerful drivers of our economy. In addition to being the right thing to do, setting veterans up for success in whatever career they may pursue benefits not just them and their families but all of us.
In the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, we made it easier for VA to hold the few bad apples in the Department’s workforce accountable for poor performance or malfeasance and put mechanisms in place to protect whistleblowers from retaliation. Most VA employees are hardworking professionals who are dedicated to serving veterans. Those who aren’t must be appropriately disciplined and those who come forward to right a wrong by blowing the whistle must be appropriately protected to make sure veterans are well served.
Finally, in the Veterans Appeals Improvement and Modernization Act, we established a more efficient process for veterans to have their appeals for disability compensation adjudicated fairly. For far too long, veterans faced an unnecessarily lengthy and cumbersome appeals process but, thanks to this bill, they now have the benefit of a modernized process to get them and their families their earned benefits faster.
2. Any disappointments you experienced, such as bills you could not get passed while on the Committee?
Every day, 20 servicemembers and veterans die by suicide, most of them without having had any contact with the VA healthcare system before their death. That rate has remained tragically stable for two decades, despite increased funding, staff, attention, and support dedicated to eliminating it. Clearly, we are missing the mark and have to take a different approach to better support those who are struggling and save their lives. I believe one new approach that has a lot of promise is the Improve Act, which is a bipartisan bill introduced in the House by General Jack Bergman and Congresswoman Chrissy Houlahan – two veterans - to support community-based organizations who are working with at-risk veterans and connecting them with the help they need. We still have not been able to send the Improve Act to President Trump’s desk, but I remain optimistic that we will soon. It was included in a bipartisan bill - S. 785, as amended, the Commander John Scott Hannon Veterans Mental Health Care Improvement Act of 2019 – that recently passed the Senate with the full support of the veteran service organization community, the Administration, and lawmakers from both sides of the aisle and I am committed to seeing it passed out of the House as soon as possible.
3. Your recommendations for future issues HVAC or Congress may need to address regarding veterans?
Moving forward, the Committee is going to need to continue assessing how VA can best meet the needs of the veterans it exists to serve. The veteran population is changing and the civilian world they enter when they take off their uniforms is too. VA has to evolve as well and remain nimble in providing the services that veterans require to successfully transition out of the military and live full, meaningful post-service lives. That is why I recently introduced a bill to create a bipartisan Commission to recommend how to modernize eligibility for care in the VA healthcare system for the first time in more than two decades. That is also why the AIR Act is so important – because it will help us to pinpoint where veterans are being underserved so that VA can target growth in those communities.
Of course, the Committee will also need to stay laser-focused on helping veterans through the public health and economic crisis caused by COVID-19. I recently introduced a bill – H.R. 7111, the Veterans Economic Recovery Act of 2020 - to create a rapid retraining program for veterans who lost their jobs due to the pandemic. My bill would help them get back on their feet and on the path to success in the post-COVID economy. I hope to see it signed into law before my departure but, if not, I hope that my fellow Committee Members will see it through.
I also think the Committee will need to continue to closely monitor to ongoing Electronic Health Record Modernization project. This is the largest electronic health records modernization effort to date and it is critical for veterans and taxpayers that VA gets it right. Last Congress, I created a new Subcommittee – the Subcommittee on Technology Modernization – to oversee this project and their work will be more and more important as it progresses.
4. Will you stay involved with Veterans Administration issues?
My immediate retirement plans include returning home to Tennessee and spending some quality time with my loved ones, which include my family and my guitar. That said, my passion for serving veterans and military families is a life-long commitment that will not end here. I plan on staying involved as I can and will be supporting the great work that the Elizabeth Dole Foundation is doing to support veterans and their caregivers, who are really unsung heroes.
