Representative Jim Clyburn (D., S.C.) tried to calm concerns surrounding Obamacare by telling Morning Joe viewers that it’s in hands as competent as those of the people who oversee the backlogged Department of Veteran Affairs.
Clyburn, who also serves as assistant Democratic leader in the House, downplayed polls that showed widespread skepticism that the government could run such a massive program. “Social Security seems to be run pretty well to me; Medicare runs pretty well; the Veterans administration runs pretty well, so the government can, in fact, run big programs,” he responded. Unfortunately, for the sake of Clyburn’s argument, each of those programs are facing issues of financial and structural mismanagement and insolvency. None perhaps more notable than the VA’s.
The VA has been plagued by widespread criticism from veterans awaiting benefits, with the average wait time of more than 300 days for disability claims. While the department has made an effort to address the backlog, including moving from an antiquated, massive paper-filing system to an electronic one, it failed to meet its goal of eliminating all year-old claims in September. There are currently about 401,000 claims on backlog, according to the Center for Investigative Reporting. Additionally, a News21 investigation found that VA employees at some of the department’s most inefficient offices received bonuses despite the massive and increasing backlog.
Clyburn’s definition of a successfully administered government program isn’t as comforting to the general public as he may think.
Comments