Op-Ed: Sen. Tommy Tuberville: The VA is broken, and Doug Collins can fix it

"Doug Collins’s time in Congress, at the pulpit, and in the Air Force gives me great confidence that he will right the ship at the VA," Sen. Tommy Tuberville writes in his latest op-ed.

As the son of a World War II veteran, one of the main reasons I ran for U.S. Senate was to ensure the federal government was fulfilling its obligation to provide our great veterans with the timely, quality care earned through their service to this great country.

Unlike other countries, the U.S. military is, proudly, an all-volunteer force. Throughout our history, millions of Americans have chosen to put their lives on the line so that we may walk, talk, and live freely. It is important that we honor the bravery and legacy of this fighting force once they return home from battle and settle into civilian life.

After the Civil War, President Abraham Lincoln, in an effort to unify a fractured nation, committed the country to care for the men and women who fought in battle — as well as their spouses and children.

This is the promise on which the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) was founded.

Over the last four years, that promise has been undermined by the progressive ideology that has defined President Joe Biden’s entire administration. Using the VA to facilitate abortions directly contradicts U.S. law, yet the VA did it anyways. Restricting access to community care violates the MISSION Act and drives up wait times for veterans, yet the VA is doing it anyways. Processing health care payments for illegal aliens in Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) detention has nothing to do with our veterans, yet the VA continues to process these payments.

There is clearly a substantial amount of rightsizing that needs to be conducted at the VA, and it’s going to require a secretary who is willing to drive change within the agency.

Luckily, President Donald Trump has tapped an experienced civil servant to fix the mess the Biden administration is leaving at the VA. Doug Collins is a former U.S. Congressman, long-time pastor, and current Air Force Reserve Chaplain. He’s an Iraq War veteran and continues his work at home as Chaplain at the Air Force Reserve Command. He has the work ethic and compassion to identify and meet the needs of each and every veteran.

Collins served two years as a Navy Chaplain before dedicating his life to ministry as a pastor. Following the horrific 9/11 attacks, Collins enlisted in the Air Force to serve as a Chaplain; he has since been promoted to Colonel. Collins answered the duty to serve. He chose to step away from his family, his community, and his life to join his fellow servicemembers in defending our nation’s sovereignty. This is the kind of character and leadership that the VA needs.

Collins has also spent years as a lawmaker and as a fierce defender of the Constitution both in Georgia’s State House and in the U.S. House of Representatives. Collins kept veterans’ best interests top of mind as a lawmaker, supporting passage of both the 2014 Choice Act and the 2018 MISSION Act, which permits veterans enrolled in VA health care to see providers outside of the traditional health care system and within their communities, known as the “Community Care Network.” Community care is vital for rural veterans across the country, and Doug Collins established himself as an advocate for the thousands of veterans who rely on this critical care.

I had the chance to sit down with Congressman Collins recently. We discussed the importance of returning the VA to its original mission to provide timely and quality care, and to ensure access to that care. He told me that, should he be confirmed, his sole focus will be ensuring that VA resources are used to deliver care and benefits for our great veterans, not pushing a political agenda. What a welcomed change from the last four years.

Collins’s time in Congress, at the pulpit, and in the Air Force gives me great confidence that he will right the ship at the VA. He is the kind of leader who will help the VA rid itself of the self-destructive policies that have caused distress and frustration for veterans and their families.

A lot is at stake for the upcoming administration. President Trump has hand-selected the smartest men and women to take back the country and overhaul the bureaucratic system dominating Washington right now.

Doug Collins will be a leader worth following — one with conviction and resolve. Collins will make history as the first chaplain to ever hold the position of Secretary of the VA. He has my full trust, and I look forward to working with him to improve the VA.

The VA is broken, and Doug Collins can fix it.