Former U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley called for requiring members of Congress to get their health care from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), saying it would prompt them to fix that broken system.
“My way of fixing this is I think every member of Congress should have to get their health care from the VA,” said Haley, who is running for the GOP presidential nomination in 2024, at a CNN town hall in Iowa on June 4.
“I’m telling you, Jake, that would fix it right away because no one else would put up with what these veterans are having to put up with,” the former South Carolina governor told Jake Tapper, moderator and CNN anchor. “And they deserve better than what they’re getting.”
Haley lamented the state of the Veterans Affairs, citing that, on average, it takes veterans 29 days to get an appointment at the VA, which in turn reschedules with patients on the 29th day in order to reset the clock as, starting on the 30th day, veterans can go wherever they want to get health care.
Haley also decried both the lack of telehealth to provide mental health services and addiction centers.
“The fact that we’re treating our best in this way is a travesty,” said Haley, referring to veterans.
Around 33,000 veterans are homeless, according to the VA and the Department of Housing and Urban Development.
According to the VA, “at some point in their life, 7 out of every 100 veterans (or 7 percent) will have PTSD.”
Additionally, as of 2020, an average of around 17 veterans take their own lives every day, according to the VA.
Haley’s husband, Michael Haley, a major in the South Carolina Army National Guard, is set to deploy to Africa soon for a year.
During the town hall, regarding her husband’s deployment, Nikki Haley said, “It’s not our first rodeo. He did this when I was governor.” She joked that “he seems to find really interesting times [to be deployed].”
“Deployments are never convenient,” she added. “But they’re necessary.”
Haley also said it is a blessing that America has military personnel to defend the country.
She had a message to military spouses dealing with their significant other being deployed: “We can do this.”
The CNN town hall with Haley, which consisted of topics ranging from abortion to the Russia-Ukraine war, provided a contrast from the network’s town hall with former President Donald Trump last month, which was contentious.
The Haley town hall consisted of the moderator and Republican candidate having a normal conversation, not a debate. It also consisted of softball questions, whereas the Trump town hall, moderated by anchor Kaitlan Collins, consisted of none.
The town hall with Haley came as CNN Chairman and CEO Chris Licht has come under fire for the Trump town hall and how he has handled the network overall.
From The Epoch Times