HYDE-SMITH MEETS NEW VA SEC. ROBERT WILKIE
Senator Commits to Helping Secretary Wilkie Improve VA Services for Veterans
PHOTO: VA Secretary Robert Wilkie and Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith discuss veterans care, Mississippi links.
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Senator Cindy Hyde-Smith (R-Miss.) today said she looks forward to working with Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert Wilkie, who she met with only a day after he was sworn into office.
Hyde-Smith supported Wilkie’s confirmation to head the VA, the second largest federal department after the Defense Department. Wilkie, an Air Force reserve officer, most recently served as Under Secretary of Defense for Personnel and Readiness.
“Veterans in Mississippi are well aware of where the VA excels and where improvements can be made. I am among those who are confident Secretary Wilkie will be able to improve the VA. He’ll need cooperation in Congress to get that done,” Hyde-Smith said. “I look forward to working with him and the department to see that we honor our commitments to our veterans.”
Wilkie, who also served as counsel and legislative aide to former Majority Leader Trent Lott, discussed his plans for the VA and his family’s roots in the Mississippi Delta.
Hyde-Smith has worked to support veterans’ issues, including passage of the VA MISSION Act, a law that consolidates seven programs into a single, streamlined Veterans Community Care Program to provide veterans with access to health care and services in their own communities.
As a member of the Senate Appropriations Committee, Hyde-Smith worked for committee and Senate approval of the FY2019 Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Bill. This measure provides record-level funding for the VA to improve the delivery of medical treatment and healthcare services to veterans and their dependents.
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