Congresswoman kills vets

Illinois Rep. Tammy Duckworth, who is also running for the Senate this November against Senator Mark Kirk, was campaigning instead of attending to grave issues at the Department of Veterans Affairs while serving as the department’s assistant secretary. Records provided by Kirk’s re-election campaign show while the VA scandal regarding outrageous waiting times and mistreatment for the nation’s combat veterans was unraveling, Duckworth, a veteran herself, traveled extensively to campaign for Democratic leaders in the Senate.

In March 2010, Duckworth mixed official travel with political travel as she campaigned for Senate Democratic Leader Harry Reid’s re-election. Although expenses for Duckworth’s trip totaled $3,955, Reid’s campaign only reimbursed the VA $813.97 initially. In addition, the VA owed Reid’s campaign $105.33, according to the Office of General Counsel Review, causing Duckworth to keep $708.44 of the reimbursement. Reid’s political action committee (PAC)—Searchlight Leadership PAC—donated $3,500 to Duckworth’s House campaign in 2012, and $10,000 to Duckworth’s Senate campaign this year.

A year later, Duckworth traveled to Montana to campaign for Senator John Tester, who won re-election the following year. Tester returned the favor and donated $2,400.40 to Duckworth’s 2012 House campaign. This year, Tester’s PAC—Treasure State Pac—donated $10,000 to Duckworth’s Senate campaign.

As Duckworth collected the dough, problems at her agency were only becoming sticky. In 2009 the VA disclosed that, due to poorly disinfected equipment, at least 10,000 veterans who underwent colonoscopies in Tennessee, Georgia, and Florida were exposed to potential viral diseases. Thirty-seven tested positive for two forms of hepatitis, while six tested positive for HIV. Then-VA Director Eric Shinseki initiated disciplinary actions and required hospital directors to provide written verification of compliance with VA operating procedures. Shinseki resigned in May 2014.

In 2011, as Duckworth campaigned for Tester, nine Ohio veterans tested positive for hepatitis after routine dental work at a VA clinic in the state. A dentist at the VA medical center in Dayton acknowledged not washing his hands or even changing gloves between patients for 18 years. That same year, in Pennsylvania, there was an outbreak of Legionnaires' Disease at the VA hospital in Oakland, according to the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review. Over the next two years, at least five veterans died. Two years later, the newspaper disclosed VA records which showed evidence of widespread contamination of the Oakland facility since 2007.

According to a CNN report, at least 19 veterans died at VA hospitals in 2010 and 2011 due to delayed waiting times for simple medical screenings like endoscopes and colonoscopies. According to a VA internal document acquired by the network, 82 veterans—during that time period—died or were dying or suffering serious injuries because of delayed diagnosis or treatment for those procedures.

The Duckworth campaign did not respond to a request for comment.

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This is disgraceful. If this woman is a vet she sure doesn't have much time or compassion for her fellow vets. If she is a Democrat and campaigning for Democratic candidates then she is campaigning for those that hate the military because they are a bunch of '60's radicals. What she did is shameful and should be investigated.