In Short: Have you seen the latest Outside ad attacking Mark Begich and saying he doesn’t care about veterans? Yet again, Dan Sullivan and his Outside friends got called out for twisting the facts about Mark’s record. Mark saw the problem coming with wait times for health care at the Alaska VA three years ago. He did something about it right away. He got the VA to allow Alaska veterans to get health care at other hospitals and clinics. What happened in Arizona is a tragedy. But Mark Begich prevented that from happening here in Alaska. And now he’s fighting to make sure it doesn’t happen anywhere else.”

The Facts:

Outside Groups Caught Lying about Begich Record Again

Crossroads GPS Misused Begich WSJ Quote By Conflating Two Separate VA Management Problems And Insinuating Begich Did Not Take VA Controversy Seriously. “Crossroads GPS misuses a quote from Sen. Mark Begich and conflates two separate management problems at the Veterans Administration to insinuate in a TV ad that Begich doesn’t take the current VA scandal seriously. The conservative group attempts to link Begich – who sits on the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee – to news reports that some veterans died while waiting for VA medical appointments. The ad quotes Begich as saying, ‘If there’s a problem, they need to fix it,’ and then asks incredulously, ‘if there is a problem?’ to suggest that Begich doesn’t believe there is one. But three weeks before he made that remark, Begich condemned reports of mismanagement at the VA as a ‘disgrace’ and called for an immediate investigation and a national policy to allow veterans to get care at non-VA health facilities. The ad also suggests that Begich should have known about the current problems at the VA because “four years ago the VA inspector general failed the Anchorage VA office in 13 of 14 areas.” But that report concerned the processing of disability claims and was unrelated to the scandal. And Begich did press former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to fix the claims backlog at the time.” [FactCheck.org, 6/4/14]

Crossroads GPS Ad Repeated Misconstrued Quote Used In Sullivan Op-Ed One Week Earlier. “Crossroads GPS misuses a quote from Sen. Mark Begich and conflates two separate management problems at the Veterans Administration to insinuate in a TV ad that Begich doesn’t take the current VA scandal seriously. […] The leading GOP candidate in the Alaska race, Dan Sullivan, also used that quote in an opinion piece that was published in the Anchorage Daily News on May 20. Sullivan wrote: ‘Incredibly, Senator Mark Begich, has barely acknowledged that there is a problem. He seems to view himself as a bystander to the crisis facing America’s veterans. ‘If there’s a problem,’ Senator Begich said, ‘they [the Obama Administration] need to fix it.’ The quote comes from a May 15 Wall Street Journal story, which said: ‘Sen. Mark Begich, a Democrat facing re-election this year in conservative-leaning Alaska, said that after the HealthCare.gov issues, the administration should be vigilant to correct any problems. ‘They should have learned from that — if there’s a problem, they need to fix it,’ he said.’” [FactCheck.org,6/4/14]

Begich’s Response To The VA Controversy Was Stronger Than WSJ Quote. “But Begich’s ‘response’ to the VA scandal was much stronger than that. The day after that CNN story, which originally was published April 23, Begich called for an ‘immediate hearing to investigate’ and a national policy to allow veterans to get care at non-VA health facilities. In his April 24 press release, Begich had much stronger words than the May 15 quote in the Wall Street Journal: Begich, April 24 press release: ‘Reports of these ‘secret lists’ are disgraceful and have led to the deaths of our former service men and women,’ said Begich. ‘As a government, we should be ashamed of the poor administration of care for our sick veterans who sacrificed – putting their own lives on the line – for our country. I am calling for an immediate hearing to investigate these practices and make sure that no veteran ever has to endure a life-threatening wait like those in Arizona have. Our veteran community and their families deserve justice.’” [FactCheck.org, 6/4/14]

Begich Letter To VA Secretary Urged The Department To Follow Alaska’s Example Of Partnering With Local Care Providers And Native Tribes To Reduce Wait Times And Provide More Convenient Care In Rural Areas. “Begich also wrote letters to Shinseki, who has since resigned, and Sen. Bernie Sanders, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee. He highlighted a policy in Alaska of the VA partnering with local care providers and Alaskan tribes to reduce wait times and provide more convenient care in rural areas. In his letter to Shinseki, Begich said: ‘I urge a similar policy nationwide … I urge you to act swiftly to implement additional [Memorandums of Understanding] with other health care systems so veterans can receive effective health care as soon as possible. The MOU implementation in Alaska serves as a great example of helping veterans and health care practitioners alike, and I believe it would improve the quality of life and care in urban areas that experience a high demand of VA health care.’” [FactCheck.org, 6/4/14]

Headline: Alaska Dispatch: “Koch brothers-funded attack ad on Obamacare features ‘Alaskan’ East Coast actress.” [Alaska Dispatch, 11/20/13]

AFP Attack Ad Featured Actress From Maryland Pretending To Be An Alaskan. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in November 2013, “The Alaska ad features a woman who talks about Begich as if he is her senator but who in reality is an actress from Maryland. Messages for the woman, Connie Bowman, weren’t returned Wednesday but she told the New York Times she was ‘just an actress’ doing her job. . . . ‘I trusted the president and Sen. Begich. Lots of promises were made to pass Obamacare,’ says the woman, who with her perfectly styled hair and makeup and granite-counter kitchen doesn’t seem like a typical Alaskan. ‘Now millions are losing their health care. … Sen. Begich didn’t listen. How can I ever trust him again?’” [Anchorage Daily News, 11/20/13]

Politifact Rated AFP Carbon Tax Claim “False.” According to a February 2014 fact check by Politifact, “Americans for Prosperity exaggerated in saying that Begich is ‘on record’ supporting a carbon tax. So we rate the claim Mostly False.” [Politifact, 2/25/14]

FactCheck.org: AFP Ad “Not True.” According to a February 2014 analysis from FactCheck.org, “The conservative Americans for Prosperity claims Democratic Sen. Mark Begich “is on record supporting a carbon tax … that will cost the average family over $2,000 annually.” Not true. Begich hasn’t backed a carbon tax proposal, and the $2,000 figure is based on general assumptions, not any specific plan or piece of legislation.” [FactCheck.org, 2/28/14]

Headline: FactCheck.org: “AFP Distorts Begich’s Carbon Tax Stance.” [FactCheck.org, 2/28/14]

Begich Identified Alaska VA Problem and Pushed New Partnerships to Ensure Alaska Veterans Were Not Stuck on Waitlists for Care

2008: Begich Proposed Providing Veterans Quicker Access To Health Care By Establishing A Heroes Card To Access Health Care Anywhere, Anytime.In an August 2008 Anchorage Daily News candidate questionnaire, Begich was asked, How good a job is the military and the Veterans Administration doing in providing ongoing care to soldiers and ex-soldiers who served in the war? What specifically would you do to improve services?” Begich responded, “The VA is woefully underfunded. All veterans deserve far better care. We must fully fund the VA, provide Alaska veterans quicker access to health care, finally build a veterans hospital in Alaska, and provide a “heroes access card” to access care anywhere, anytime. We also need more VA doctors whose specialty is helping veterans with PTSD and other mental health injuries. I also support and as mayor offered land for a Veterans Home in Alaska.” [Anchorage Daily News, 8/21/08]

Begich Touted Alaska Heroes Card That Has Helped Reduce VA Backlog In Alaska. “Fortunately for Alaska’s 77,000 veterans, Begich said, programs like the Alaska Heroes Card have recently been put in place that have reduced the state’s VA backlog. ‘900-plus were waiting to receive primary care, your first entry into the VA system,’ Begich said, referencing Alaska’s backlog before any programs were introduced to bring down its numbers. ‘Within about a year, that dropped to 600 and some. The good news is today, there are a little over 50 on the waiting list, which is great.’” [KTVA, 5/17/14]

2013: Begich Called Senate VA Committee Meeting To Discuss The Health Care Backlog – Soon After, Anchorage VA Partnered With Local Medical Providers To Pay For Veterans’ Care. “Begich said in a prepared statement that he called a committee meeting in the Senate to discuss the backlog. Soon after, the state’s VA started partnering with local medical providers, paying the facilities for veterans’ care. It had already signed an agreement with tribal health programs in 2012 to provide care to veterans in rural Alaska. ‘I’m glad to see that the VA found a reasonable and workable solution to deal with the immediate crisis at hand until they are able to recruit more doctors to serve Alaska’s growing veteran population,’ Begich said.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

• Begich’s Senate Office Said It Had Fielded Daily Complaints From Veterans Because Alaska’s VA Healthcare System Was “Overrun.” “The overrun Alaska VA Healthcare System sends about 25 new patients to the Midtown health clinic each week, a routine that started March 17, officials said. […] Last year, the Alaska VA Healthcare System was backed up. Its electronic waiting list of veterans who wanted to enroll in VA health care neared 900, Hudson said. The offices of both of Sen. Mark Begich and Sen. Lisa Murkowski fielded complaints daily from veterans waiting to see doctors, representatives of the senators said.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

Anchorage Daily News Editorial: “Using Non-VA Providers Is Another Way The Department Can Keep Promises Made To Veterans.” Wrote the editorial board of the Anchorage Daily News in June 2011, “In fits and starts, the VA has tried to shake off the burden of bureaucracy and backlogs that have hobbled delivery of help to Alaskans and veterans throughout the nation. Shinseki spoke of telemedicine, and smaller, mobile clinics. Using non-VA providers is another way the department can keep promises made to veterans. After all, when the VA encourages soldiers and veterans to make sure to sign up for the VA system, it’s not for the sake of its own facilities but to deliver services. The VA keeps its promises just as well if a vet gets the care he or she needs from a non-VA provider. The point is the care, not the system. Procedure should never trump purpose.” [Editorial, Anchorage Daily News, 6/1/11]

Wait List Times Dramatically Declining in Alaska

Headline: KTVA: “VA Wait Times And Backlog In Alaska Are Declining.” [KTVA, 5/17/14]

2013: Electronic Waiting List For Alaska Veterans Enrollment In VA Care Neared 900. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in March 2014, “Last year, the Alaska VA Healthcare System was backed up. Its electronic waiting list of veterans who wanted to enroll in VA health care neared 900, Hudson said.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

2014: Alaska VA Healthcare System Spokesman Said There Was No Longer A Wait List For Veterans Seeking Primary Care. “Over at the Alaska VA, the administration is struggling with a shortage of physicians, one factor behind the new partnership, said Samuel Hudson, spokesman of the Alaska VA Healthcare System. […] Hudson said there is no longer a wait list for veterans seeking primary care. Once veterans enroll in VA health care, they are either assigned to a doctor at the Alaska VA Healthcare System or at one of the system’s partners, a decision based on the individual’s health needs, Hudson said.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

Begich: Average AK VA Wait Time Had Been Reduced To 17 Days For Medical Appointments, While In The Lower 48 It Could Be “Hundreds Of Days.” “Also, while some veterans in the Lower 48 are literally waiting hundreds of days for medical appointments through the VA, Begich says Alaska’s VA wait time has been reduced to an average of 17 days.” [KTVA, 5/17/14]

Begich: AK VA Had Cut Wait List From 900 Veterans To Just Over 50. Reported KTVA in May 2014, “‘900-plus were waiting to receive primary care, your first entry into the VA system,’ Begich said, referencing Alaska’s backlog before any programs were introduced to bring down its numbers. ‘Within about a year, that dropped to 600 and some. The good news is today, there are a little over 50 on the waiting list, which is great.’” [KTVA,5/17/14]

March 2014: Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center Began Accepting Veterans Referred From VA Healthcare System. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in March 2014, “Veterans began filtering into the Anchorage Neighborhood Health Center this month as part of a recent deal with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs to ease medical access. The overrun Alaska VA Healthcare System sends about 25 new patients to the Midtown health clinic each week, a routine that started March 17, officials said.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

Alaska VA Reduced Its Waiting List To 10 Veterans With Wait Times Of 8 Days In 2014. “Begich said in 2009, Alaska’s VA facility had one thousand veterans on a waiting list of 90-120 days. Now the list has dwindled to 10 and the wait time for new veterans is about 8 days. Susan Yeager is the director of VA services for Alaska, she confirmed the streamlined process and said the Alaska VA budget has gone from $150 million to $206 million this year.” [APRN, 5/29/14]

Headline: Anchorage Daily News: “VA partners with Anchorage health clinic for veterans’ care.”[Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

ANHC Served As Primary Health Care Provider For Veterans, Anticipated Nearly 2,000 Veteran Patients Over Next Year. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in March 2014, “The clinic is prepping for nearly 2,000 veterans during the next year, said Kimberly Cohen, the executive director of the health clinic. “We’re fine because we have the physical capacity to expand,” she said. The clinic, on C Street, currently has about 14,700 active patients and will serve as the primary care provider for the veterans, in place of the Alaska VA Healthcare System. For now, two main doctors, who specialize in family medicine, and a physician’s assistant will handle the new case load, referring veterans out for specialty care, Cohen said.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

Alaska Veterans Were Also Able To Receive Care At Providence Alaska Medical Center And Southcentral Foundation. Reported the Anchorage Daily News in March 2014, “The VA is actively recruiting doctors, Hudson said. Until more are hired, partnerships will fill the gap, he said. The VA already has contracts with Providence Alaska Medical Center and the Southcentral Foundation. About 350 veterans have been treated at Providence since last year, said Ginger Houghton, a hospital spokeswoman.” [Anchorage Daily News, 3/30/14]

Begich Lead Calls to Hold VA Accountable for AZ Waitlist Scandal

Begich Called For Senate Investigation Of News Reports That Arizona VA Office Kept Two Sets Of Records To Keep Long Wait Times Off The Official Books. “Thousands of veterans have been kept waiting for care, according to a story first reported in the Arizona Republic, and later on CNN, which also said that VA workers in the Phoenix office used two sets of records to keep the long wait times off the official books. […] And Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who also called for a Senate investigation, said ‘reports of these ‘secret lists’ are disgraceful.’” [Los Angeles Times, 4/24/14]

Begich Said Reports Of VA Clinics Keeping “Secret Lists” Were “Disgraceful.” “Thousands of veterans have been kept waiting for care, according to a story first reported in the Arizona Republic, and later on CNN, which also said that VA workers in the Phoenix office used two sets of records to keep the long wait times off the official books. […] And Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska), who also called for a Senate investigation, said ‘reports of these ‘secret lists’ are disgraceful.’” [Los Angeles Times,4/24/14]

Esquire: At Hearing On VA Secret Waiting List Scandal, Begich Was One Of The Two “Toughest” Senators Wanting To Know Why VA Secretary Shinseki Had Not Taken Action Yet. “Secretary Of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki, a decorated and honorable soldier in his previous life, came before the Senate’s Veterans Affairs committee, and he did not fare very well. At issue, is the blossoming scandal within the Veterans Administration in which various whistleblowers have told a series of horror stories, the worst of which is the allegation that 40 veterans in Arizona died while awaiting treatment and that, in response, officials of the VA maintained a secret waiting list, and then destroyed and doctored records in order to cover up what had gone on. […]He said he was ‘mad as hell.’ He stubbornly referred the members of the committee, over and over again, to a new review that he has ordered in response to the new revelations, to the point at which several senators on the panel became visibly frustrated at what they believed was Shinseki’s disregard for what we already know. The two toughest on this point were both Democratic senators — Richard Blumenthal of Connecticut and Mark Begich of Alaska. Both of them wanted to know why Shinseki apparently hasn’t moved yet.” [Esquire, 5/15/14]

Begich Insisted That VA Secretary Shinseki Should Be Firing Workers Who Manipulated VA Records: “I’d Be Firing Them. They’d Be Gone.” “For his part, Begich asked, over and over, why nobody has been fired yet. ‘Have you ever fired anyone on this issue, when you find out that they have manipulated the records? I’d be firing them. They’d be gone.’ ‘Manipulation of data of the truth is serious,’ Shinseki replied. He refused not only to say if he’d fired anyone, but also refused to say whether he would or not, even when Begich came back at him. ‘There is a process here, Senator. Let me not get out ahead of it.’” [Esquire, 5/15/14]

Begich Said The VA Must Be Held Accountable At The Agency Level And The Individual Level.“Most Democrats sought to voice their outrage as well, though none called for Shinseki’s head. ‘Our nation’s veterans have stepped up and offered their service, and in some cases, their lives,’ Sen. Mark Begich (D-Alaska) told Shinseki during the hearing. ‘We, as a nation, are responsible for providing these veterans with the best care available. Let me be perfectly clear; if the VA has failed in its obligations to provide health services, it must be held accountable at the agency level and at the individual level.’” [The Hill, 5/15/14]

Begich Told VA Secretary Shinseki That “You Got To Have Some Heads Roll” To Fix VA System. In May 2014 Defense One column on VA backlog scandal, Stephanie Gaskell wrote, “Shinseki said he has removed some 6,000 workers from the VA in the last 2 years, many of them senior staff. Those workers either were terminated, transferred or forced to retire, he said. At last week’s Senate hearing, Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, questioned the wisdom of transferring bad employees. ‘If you transfer them to another part of government you just perpetuate what they have done,’ he said. ‘Sometimes you got to have some heads roll in order to get the system to shape up.’” [Gaskell, Defense One,5/20/14]

Desjardins: Begich Pressed VA Secretary On Why He Has Not Fired Anyone Following VA Records Scandal. In May 2014 CNN op-ed, Lisa Desjardins wrote, “‘Have you ever fired anyone on this issue?’ Sen. Mark Begich, D-Alaska, questioned Shinseki. Shinseki replied that he needed to look through the agencies records to check. But would he fire someone because of the scandal? ‘I will do everything I can,’ Shinseki demurred. ‘That’s not the question,’ replied Begich. ‘There is a process here,’ Shinseki summarize, ‘let me not get out ahead of it.’” [Desjardins, CNN, 5/21/14]