U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson (R-GA) says improving the lives of veterans has always been among his top priorities. And as his retirement from the U.S. Senate draws near, Isakson — a veteran himself — took a few minutes to look back on the accomplishments of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
He has served as Chairman of the Committee for the past five years, and last month a video was released featuring Isakson’s colleagues discussing his efforts to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
“It has been an honor of a lifetime to represent our veterans in the United States Senate over the past five years,” said Isakson. “During this time, we have fundamentally changed the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to be more responsive to the veterans it serves. I am proud of how far we have come, and I hope the committee will continue this progress to ensure veterans continue to receive the care and benefits they deserve.”
According to Isakson, the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs has passed 63 pieces of legislation in the past five years that improve accountability at the VA, expand VA education benefits, modernize the process for veterans’ appeals of benefit determinations, and overhaul the VA’s community care programs. Isakson added that 57 of these have been signed into law.
Possibly thought of as Isakson’s landmark legislation, the VA MISSION Act improves the way the VA delivers health care. It was signed into law in 2018, and Isakson said this legislation “put the choice of care in the hands of veterans and their doctors instead of bureaucrats.”
During Isakson’s tenure on the Senate Committee on Veterans Affairs, the committee held 85 hearings. Many of these included oversight hearings the VA MISSION Act implementation, veteran suicide prevention and modernizing information technology at the VA.
Another piece of legislation driven by Isakson was the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. This bill became law in 2017 and was designed to improve accountability and significantly reduce the amount of time it takes to remove, demote or suspend VA employees at all levels based on performance or misconduct.
As a result of this legislation, VA medical center directors are now able to improve the quality of care they provide veterans through transparency and accountability.
Isakson also pointed to legislation that updated the benefits claims appeals process for the first time in more than 20 years, and another that helped service members transition to civilian life by making lasting reforms to the post-9/11 G.I. Bill, as key victories for veterans.
“While my time in the Senate is coming to a close, I want to thank every single one of my colleagues on the VA Committee for working together in a bipartisan manner to ensure veterans receive the benefits they rightfully deserve. I hope the committee will carry on this tradition of bipartisanship to continue transforming the VA into a department worthy of our veterans,” Isakson said.
