Senator Murray Reacts to VA Secretary’s Misuse of Funds: “An Insult to Taxpayers, But More Importantly to Our Nation’s Veterans”

VA Investigator General concludes in new report that, among other things, VA senior staff member altered document detailing Secretary Shulkin’s trip to Europe, resulting in misuse of taxpayer funds

(Washington, D.C.)  – U.S. Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), a senior member of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, released a statement after Department of Veterans Affairs’ investigators concluded VA Secretary David Shulkin misused funds on a trip to Europe in July 2017. As part of the report, VA’s Inspector General Michael Missal concluded, among other things, that Secretary Shulkin’s chief of staff altered a document with details of the trip.

“The report is deeply concerning, and adds to a very troubling pattern among the highest-ranking officials in President Trump’s Administration who operate as though they are above the rules and that somehow ethical standards do not apply to them. This revelation about misused funds and an altered document is an insult to taxpayers, but more importantly to our nation’s veterans, who deserve a Secretary who is 100 percent committed to accountability, transparency, and their well-being.”