Subject: John, thank you
From: Ann Kirkpatrick <[email-masked]>
To: John Podesta <[email-masked]>
Date: Fri, 1 Aug 2014 20:42:05 +0000

Dear John,

This summer has been busy and productive! I'm proud to report that the much-needed VA reform bill compromise that I helped negotiate has overwhelmingly passed both the House and Senate. This is important news for the thousands of veterans in AZ01 and across the nation who have been harmed by the toxic culture and lack of accountability throughout the system.

During my in-district work period over the next five weeks, my team and I will be speaking with veterans and their families about how this agreement is the right first step to fixing the system and no longer burdening rural and tribal veterans' access to care simply because of where they live.

Read on to learn more about VA reform and other updates from the district, including the opening of our latest field office in Casa Grande. Thank you and I hope to see you at one of our many events in AZ01 this month!

VA Reform

I was proud to see two important bills pass this month: my bill honoring the late "Arizona Kid" SSGT. Manuel Mendoza was passed out of the House and the VA reform bill passed both the chambers of Congress by wide margins.

The final VA reform legislation will institute much-needed accountability measures (such as giving the VA Secretary the power to immediately fire senior managers), enable the hiring of more doctors and nurses, and allow veterans to seek care outside the current system if prompt care isn't available or if a VA facility is too far away. This bill also expands a scholarship program for veterans and qualifies all veterans for in-state college tuition.

This enormously important reform is a major step in the right direction to restore trust in the VA and create a veterans-centered system moving forward, but this is only the start of the ongoing efforts to improve the VA and care for our vets properly.

However, there is still much work to do -- which was clear this month during a House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing where my fellow committee members and I listened to whistleblowers describe a toxic culture of retaliation and fear at facilities across the country for any employee who pointed out the dire problems at the VA. In response to those stories, I introduced a VA Whistleblower Protection bill that would create a national hotline and website where employees and patients can report issues anonymously, empower the Inspector General to properly investigate complaints and create other accountability measures.

While we are finally moving in the right direction to bring real reform to the VA, the bullying of patients and employees who report wrongdoing must stop now. Without whistleblowers, the deep and troubling failures of this system never would have come to light. We must do all we can to create a new environment of transparency and accountability at the VA. Our veterans deserve nothing less.

Less than 100 days until Election Day

Yes, you read that right. We are now less than 100 days until Election Day on November 4! Our volunteers and field team having been working hard for months all across AZ01 to reach out to voters and spread our message about creating a strong, diversified economy and helping to build a better Arizona.

That's why we had such a wonderful turnout this week at the opening of our Casa Grande field office -- and even folks like Attorney General candidate Felecia Rotellini and Secretary of State candidate Terry Goddard stopped by to fire up the volunteers!

But that's not all we have planned. We're getting ready to open our new White Mountain office August 5, with more on the way to help us cover every corner of this district. These community hubs help our team launch neighborhood canvasses and phone banks, which are crucial to registering voters and getting our message out. We are seeing an amazing response so far, but there are still thousands of phone calls to make and doors to knock so we can win in November!

Thank you to everyone who came to our Casa Grande office opening and we hope to see you volunteer soon! (If you're interested joining our team, just sign up on our website and we'll be in touch soon.)

Let me say thank you one more time for learning about the progress we've made in fighting for VA reform, investing in our communities and finding real solutions for AZ01.

For news and updates from the campaign trail, please follow @Ann_Kirkpatrick on Twitter and "like" us on Facebook.

Hope to see you over the next month!

Sincerely,

Ann Kirkpatrick

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