Vermont Sen. Bernie Sanders said Tuesday during a Cabinet confirmation hearing the Department of Veterans Affairs has not provided poor healthcare to veterans despite proof that states otherwise.
According to The Washington Free Beacon, Sanders asked President-elect Donald Trump's Department of Interior secretary nominee Ryan Zinke about the state of healthcare for Native Americans. Zinke is a former Navy SEAL and a current Republican member of the House representing Montana.
"As bad as the VA is," Zinke said.
Sanders, who unsuccessfully ran for president last year, then interrupted Zinke and said, "Some of us don't accept that."
The VA has been under the microscope in recent years after it became public that it was falsifying wait lists, which allegedly led to the deaths of dozens of veterans who were waiting to see a doctor. Further examination of VA hospitals discovered unsanitary conditions and practices and other major problems.
In 2014 after the wait list scandal broke, Sanders blamed right-leaning groups for trying to take down the VA.
"There is, right now, as we speak, a concerted effort to undermine the VA," he said. "You have folks out there now — Koch brothers and others — who want to radically change the nature of society, and either make major cuts in all of these institutions, or maybe do away with them entirely."
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