Bernie Sanders: We Need To Do Everything We Can To Care Of Our Vets

Bernie Sanders: We Need To Do Everything We Can To Care Of Our Vets

Sen. Bernie Sanders (I-Vt.) spoke to Andrea Mitchell on MSNBC Tuesday about the ongoing investigation into the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Sanders expressed concern about allegations that veterans face long wait times at VA hospitals and are not receiving health care within the two-week standard. Although he called the reports "totally unacceptable," Sanders said the more important matter is ensuring high-quality health care for all veterans.

"If you ask veterans all over the country ... the truth is that once people get into the VA system, the care they are getting is pretty high quality," Sanders said. "Most veterans are pretty happy with the care that they're getting."

He was quick to point out, however, that with the rising number of veterans following the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the VA may not have adequate resources to provide "timely, quality care to all the people who are now in the system."

Sanders continued:

The bottom line here, I would hope that as a country, is that we fully understand the cost of war... I think many people do not. We're not just talking about the thousands of people who died in Iraq and Afghanistan, we're talking about 200,000 men and women who came home with PTSD and TBI, we're talking about people who came home without legs, without arms, without hearing, without eyesight. And if this country stands for anything, what we have got to say is that we are going to provide adequate funding to make sure that every person who is entitled to those healthcare services gets the best healthcare they can and they get it in a timely manner.

Watch a clip of Sanders' interview above.

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