Cotton: Pryor Maintains Silence On The VA Scandal As Senate Dems Block VA Accountability Act

Pryor Maintains Silence On The VA Scandal As Senate Dems Block VA Accountability Act Multiple news outlets come up empty trying to get Senator Pryor to address the failures at the VA  Little Rock, Arkansas —   "U.S. Sen. Mark Pryor's staff members did not say whether he thinks Shinseki should resign." - Arkansas Democrat-Gazette, 5/22/14   "A spokesman for Sen. Mark Pryor (D-Ark.) did not immediately return a request for comment." - Huffington Post, 5/22/14   Yes? No? Maybe? How hard should it be to get an answer from a U.S. Senator who sits on the VA Appropriations Subcommittee about whether or not the head of the VA should resign?   In the wake of disturbing allegations that misconduct occurred at 26 VA facilities across the country, the U.S. House of Representatives took action yesterday to address the crisis at the VA. The House passed The VA Management Accountability Act, which gives the Secretary of Veterans Affairs more power to fire or demote VA officials who engage in misconduct or don't do their job. That legislation passed with overwhelming bipartisan support on a vote of 390-33.    It stands to reason that a bill passed with 390 votes in the House would easily sail through the U.S. Senate, right? Not so fast. When Senator Marco Rubio requested consent to take up and pass The VA Management Accountability Act in the Senate, only Democrats objected. Does Senator Pryor agree that The VA Management Accountability Act should have been blocked? If not, then why won't he stand up to Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid and demand a vote before taking a 10-day vacation for Memorial Day?   U.S. Senate candidate Tom Cotton issued the following statement regarding the VA crisis:    "I learned a simple standard for leadership in the Army: you are responsible for everything that your organization does or fails to do. Secretary Shinseki should resign, and President Obama should be held accountable for his failures in leadership. While I am proud that the House took swift action to begin addressing the VA's failures, I'm appalled that Senate Democrats chose to block a vote on a bill that received 390 votes in the House and then leave for a 10-day vacation. The Senate should pass these VA reforms so that the President can sign them into law immediately. The time for studies and reports is over, and this crisis shouldn't take months to address."

About Tom Cotton Tom Cotton is the Congressman for the Fourth District of Arkansas. Tom is a combat veteran of Iraq and Afghanistan, an Army Ranger, and a Bronze Star and Combat Infantryman Badge recipient. Tom is a graduate of Harvard and Harvard Law School and has worked as a business consultant at McKinsey & Co. A sixth-generation Arkansan, Tom lives in Dardanelle, where he grew up on his family's farm. For more information about Tom’s campaign, visit tomcotton.com.