U.S. Congressman Scott Peters (CA-52), a member of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, released the following statement in response to the firing of Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin:

“I want to thank Dr. Shulkin for his service to our country—he was supported by many of us in Congress and veterans across the country—and we accomplished a lot together from the Forever GI Bill to modernizing the appeals process. I was extremely disappointed by his misuse of taxpayer funds, but his work on behalf of our nation’s veterans was one of the few positive contributions of Trump’s Administration.

The chaos and high turnover of this administration has been a disservice to the country, and now it will affect the VA and our veterans who deserve our respect and the care we promised to them in return for their service to this great nation. I have serious concerns that this firing signals misguided efforts to privatize the VA or force veterans into a for-profit health care system.

Most important, I want San Diego veterans to know I will continue working to improve the quality and ease of access to care that they have earned and that I will remain vigilant in my work on their behalf to ensure that a change in leadership does not undermine these goals. While we need to expand options for veterans, privatization is not the answer. President Trump’s nominee, Adm. Jackson, must uphold our promise to veterans and show he is committed to protecting the veterans in San Diego and across the country who rely on the VA for care.”