ANCHORAGE — False and disgraceful attacks by U.S. Senate candidate Dan Sullivan and his supporters continue to politicize the tragic death of veterans in Arizona despite being proven false by both independent fact check organizations and Alaska veterans.

Last week the U.S. Senate passed significant legislation to improve the care provided to veterans nationwide. The legislation includes an effort to facilitate agreements between the VA and local clinics to provide veterans closer to home. The practice was pioneered in Alaska at the behest of Mark Begich.

Reports have shown that wait times at the Alaska VA have declined dramatically and that veterans are receiving care at a much faster rate than in the past.

“Dan Sullivan and his Outside supporters continue to wage attacks called out by independent fact check groups in an attempt to distort Mark Begich’s record of going to bat for Alaska’s veterans,” said Max Croes, Alaskans for Begich Communications Director.

Read about Begich’s record of fighting for Alaska veterans here.

Fact Check:

Claim: Dan Sullivan claims Mark Begich barely acknowledged the problem at the Arizona VA.

Fact: An independent fact check organization has found that Dan Sullivan and his supporters are “twisting” Begich’s response to the tragic death of veterans in Alaska. Begich responded within 24 hours to the Arizona VA scandal. Begich demanded action, answers and proposed a solution when the news broke.

Claim: Outside Groups supporting Dan Sullivan are implying Mark Begich isn’t fighting for Alaska’s veterans.

Fact: Veterans are standing up for Mark Begich’s record of fighting for them, including Alaska resident and Afghanistan war veteran Bryan Box.

Fact: Mark Begich heard from Alaska veterans and saw a problem at the Alaska VA. He went to work to fix it with innovative agreements to allow Alaska veterans to receive local care. As a result, VA wait times in Alaska are declining.

Claim: Mark Begich hasn’t used his seat on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Fact: Mark Begich sits on the Veterans Affairs Committee and has been aggressive in working to fix problems with the unacceptable backlog at the VA as well as reducing wait times in Alaska and across the country. He was recently named to the Conference Committee to spearhead bipartisan talks and bring serious reform to problems at the VA. He led on legislation to allow veterans to receive care closer to home, an idea that has been implemented in Alaska and helped reduce wait times. Begich is pushing to implement the proposal on a national level.

###