Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s statement on David Shulkin’s confirmation

U.S. Senator and former Assistant Secretary for Public and Intergovernmental Affairs for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, Tammy Duckworth (D-Chicago) issued the following statement after she voted to confirm Dr. David Shulkin as the next VA Secretary:

“I have been impressed with Dr. Shulkin’s leadership of the Veterans Health Administration as well as with his breadth of experience across the healthcare field. Dr. Shulkin’s expertise helped him guide VA through one of its most difficult periods, and I am confident that we will be able to continue working together to improve VA services from mental health care to toxic exposure treatments.

“Ever since I recovered at Walter Reed, I’ve made fighting for and protecting veterans and veteran families my life’s work. I will never stop working for those who have risked everything to defend our nation, and I will hold Dr. Shulkin accountable for improving and increasing access to VA care. I also look forward to pushing back with him against any attempts to privatize VA so that our nation fully delivers on the promises it has made to our veterans.”

This story was originally published February 13, 2017 at 9:49 PM with the headline "Sen. Tammy Duckworth’s statement on David Shulkin’s confirmation."