Another blog post on how low people will stoop to deny veterans excellent care.

Courtesy of Veterans Affairs

The Veterans Health Administration (VHA) has taken a lot of heat lately about using money to purchase art for its hospitals and other facilities. Last week, Gail Collins, in a column in the New York Times, joined in the pile-on. While Collins defended the VHA and opposed its privatization, writing that veterans “are satisfied” with its services and that “the care is in many cases excellent,” she couldn’t resist a jab at the VHA for spending $670,000 on two sculptures that were placed in a blind rehabilitation center. Her conclusion? “Veterans healthcare for everybody! But maybe with less art.”

The issue of spending on art first emerged last year when Congressman Jeff Miller (R. FLA) , Chairman of the House Veterans Affairs, a staunch advocate of VHA privatization, lambasted the VHA for spending $483,000 for a sculpture in a hospital courtyard. For Miller, whom Donald Trump has promised to appoint to the post of Secretary of Veterans Affairs should he be elected, the issue was not the quality of the art used at VHA facilities but the fact that the VHA was using taxpayer money to spend on art, period. Miller called such spending “wanton and abusive.” 

Read More