Thoughts on the Department of Veteran's Affairs reform.

The VA (Department of Veterans Affairs) as it stands is a cabinet level position. In this roll it would appear to have too much political stake with an expounded bureaucracy, and I do not see why it needs to be. Prior to 1989, the VA was the Veterans Administration, and little has come to light on how this change has benefited Veterans directly.

I support the idea of having the VA more like an executive agency with direct access to the President and an independent budget, similar to that of NASA or the CIA. I like the idea of making it more of an executive agency like NASA or CIA, rather than a department. The agency should be led by a "non-political" expert -- like the new nominee, Dr. James Peake, a retired officer, combat veteran, medical doctor and senior hospital administrator -- and should serve in a capacity that makes the agency more immune to politics by serving a fixed year term like the FBI director and Chairman of the Federal Reserve. In addition, after discussing with many veterans, I support working to find a way that allows veterans to choose their care, offering the ability to use any medical facility rather than only ones run by the VA which may be too far away or not able to offer some of the same treatment options.

Please make comments to this idea bellow or send me an e-mail.