February 13, 2017

Manchin Votes to Confirm Secretary of Veterans Affairs Nominee David Shulkin

Washington, D.C. – U.S. Senator Joe Manchin (D-WV) released the following statement on his vote to confirm David Shulkin as the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.

“As a former Governor, I understand how crucial it is for an executive leader to have his team in place. I am proud that West Virginia has one of the highest rates of military service in the nation, and that is why it is essential that the Department of Veterans Affairs has strong leadership. For the past 19 months, I have watched Dr. Shulkin take over the scandal-ridden Veterans Health Administration and work diligently to improve it. While there are still changes that need to be made, I believe his efforts have helped. In both my private meeting with Dr. Shulkin and during his hearing, he committed to ensuring that veterans had access to quality, timely health care and improving the veterans appeals backlog. It is telling to me that he is one of the few nominees to make it out of committee with unanimous support. His previous experience as Under Secretary for Health will allow him to hit the ground running on his first day as Secretary.  Further, I was grateful that Dr. Shulkin accepted my invitation to visit West Virginia, and I look forward to giving him an opportunity to hear directly from West Virginia veterans.”

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