I reported on Tuesday how Martha Robertson (Dem challenger NY-23) inaccurately blames VA scandal on underfunding.
The short version is that Robertson, challenging Tom Reed in my home district NY-23, repeated already discredited talking points about the VA scandal supposedly being the result of underfunding. A simple Google search would have revealed a boatload of stories discrediting the claim, including by Politifact.
WETM News has picked up the story after the Reed campaign pointed out Robertson’s inaccuracy.
The VA scandal continues to cause controversy locally with a back and forth of accusations between Rep. Tom Reed and Martha Robertson.Reed and Robertson continue to hit each other over the VA scandal.It began after comments Robertson made at a rally Sunday in Seneca Falls. “We see that it’s not a matter of the care that they get once they get access to the care,” said Robertson Sunday. “There’s no question that they are getting quality care and responsive care once they’re in the system. This is a problem of decades of underfunding the system altogether.”Congressman Reed says that calling the system underfunded isn’t accurate. A Politifact article agrees.“The VA is fully funded,” said Reed in Corning Wednesday. “They’re actually up 256% in their funding levels. Their staffing levels are up 52%. Last year they ended the year with $450 million left in the bank at the end of the year.”Reed says he feels the VA scandal paints a troubling picture if the country adopts a single-payer health care system,which Robertson has said she supports. “I think this is the canary in the coal mine, the VA situation, that says that’s the wrong path, the wrong future for America,” said Reed.
Noticeably missing from Robertson’s response was any explanation for her inaccuracy.
Instead, Robertson attacked with irrelevant and inaccurate claims that Reed hates veterans, or something.
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