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Also see: Veteran's Administration;
Undated: Timothy James Walz (born April 6, 1964) is an American politician who is the 41st and current governor of Minnesota. A member of the Democratic Farmer-Labor Party, he served as the U.S. Representative for Minnesota's 1st congressional district from 2007 to 2019.[2] The district comprises the state's southern end, running along the entire border with Iowa; it includes Rochester, Austin, Winona and Mankato.
Walz is a retired Master Sergeant in the Army National Guard. He was first elected in 2006, defeating six-term Republican incumbent Gil Gutknecht. He was reelected five times and served on the Agriculture Committee, Armed Services Committee and Veterans' Affairs Committee. Walz also served on the Congressional-Executive Commission on China.
In March 2017, Walz announced that he would not run for reelection to Congress and instead run for Governor of Minnesota. On November 6, 2018, Walz was elected to the governorship, defeating the Republican nominee, Hennepin County Commissioner Jeff Johnson, who was also the nominee in 2014.[3]
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tim_Walz
-- 2018 --
July 24: Wilkie overwhelmingly confirmed as VA Secretary. The Senate voted Monday evening to confirm Robert Wilkie as VA secretary in an 86-9 vote, filling the vacancy left when David Shulkin was fired in March after a struggle with political appointees whom he accused of plotting to privatize the VA's health system.
Wilkie’s confirmation drew criticism from elsewhere on the Hill. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz said in a release that he was “deeply skeptical of Robert Wilkie’s leadership experience and ability to lead VA successfully.”
Walz called Wilkie the “chief architect of President Trump’s ban on transgender individuals serving in the military,” demonstrating “that he was capable of carrying out controversial and partisan policy directives. It is fair to say VA privatization is next on his list."
https://www.politico.com/newsletters/morning-ehealth/2018/07/24/wilkie-overwhelmingly-confirmed-as-va-secretary-295130
July 24: For New Veterans Affairs Chief, That Was the Easy Part
Robert Wilkie may have made it through the Senate, but the second-largest federal agency still has vacancies, other woes
His confirmation Monday drew scrutiny and nine dissenters. Now Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie must face the real challenge: repairing the sprawling agency that serves the nation’s veterans, including 9 million who receive health care benefits through the department.
The second-largest federal agency is embarking on two major initiatives — a reorganization of its private medical care options and a $15.8 billion electronic health records project — at the same time that it seeks to fill key positions overseeing them.
https://www.rollcall.com/news/politics/veterans-affairs-head-steps-into-crucible
August 9: Lawmakers in both chambers of Congress are looking to shine a light on the individuals who, according to a recent report, have played a covert, yet significant, role in policy-making decisions at the Veterans Affairs Department.
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the top Democrat on the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, wrote a letter to VA Secretary Robert Wilkie saying he was “deeply concerned” that three men with no official connection to the department were involved in daily decision making. Their involvement first came to light in a ProPublica report that examined internal emails and documents, as well as accounts from former officials, that demonstrated the deeply entrenched roles the three individuals have enjoyed.
https://www.govexec.com/oversight/2018/08/lawmakers-call-broad-changes-va-after-report-mar-lago-members-influence/150421/
October 9: Ranking Member Walz: Unacceptable for VA to Stonewall Congressional Inquiry into Mar-a-Lago Shadow Rulers
In a letter, Walz pressed VA to comply with Congressional inquiry into alleged shadow rulers Ike Perlmutter, Bruce Moskowitz, and Marc Sherman
Today, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN), released the following statement after he sent a letter to Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie urging the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to comply with an August 8 request to provide the Committee any and all communications between VA officials and Ike Perlmutter, Bruce Moskowitz, and Marc Sherman as well as travel records to and from Mar-a-Lago.
The August 8 request followed news reports that the three men, all members of President Trump’s private Palm Beach, Florida club Mar-a-Lago, had been secretly exerting sweeping influence over VA and the administration’s approach to veterans policy. Today’s letter was sent in response to VA’s refusal to comply with the August 8 request, which was conveyed to the committee in a letter received from Secretary Wilkie on September 28.
“VA’s refusal to cooperate with this inquiry is absolutely unacceptable,” said Ranking Member Walz. “When the story of VA shadow rulers at Mar-a-Lago first broke, my office immediately reached out to VA requesting information pertaining to the three individuals’ influence over the Department. Since then, we have received nothing from VA except excuses. The reports of corruption and cronyism are serious and we cannot allow VA to sweep this under the rug. This issue will remain a top concern of the Committee until all our questions have been answered.”
https://democrats-veterans.house.gov/news/press-releases/ranking-member-walz-unacceptable-va-stonewall-congressional-inquiry-mar-lago
October 10: Wilkie won’t share documents that could reveal extent of Mar-a-Lago influence on VA
Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie has yet to share documentation that some lawmakers suspect could link agency officials to three members of President Donald Trump’s club in Palm Beach, Fla., who were reported to have major influence over veterans policies.
Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the ranking Democrat on the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, requested the information following a ProPublica investigation in August that revealed a trio of wealthy Mar-a-Lago members with no U.S. military experience were effectively running the VA in secret. The report prompted widespread outcry from Democrats and veterans organizations.
https://www.stripes.com/news/wilkie-won-t-share-documents-that-could-reveal-extent-of-mar-a-lago-influence-on-va-1.551222
October 12: Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie has refused to provide U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, with copies of emails and other internal communications between Department of Veterans Affairs officials and three members of President Donald Trump’s Mar-a-Lago country club who allegedly influenced VA policies and executive hiring and firing decisions for at least a year.
Wilkie told Walz in a Sept. 14 letter that the documents the Minnesota congressman seeks are “the subject of ongoing litigation alleging violations of the Federal Advisory Committee Act and, therefore, not appropriate for release at this time.”
“It’s stonewalling, plain and simple,” Walz said in an interview last week, adding, “This just reeks of corruption. It’s cronyism.”
Hours later Walz’s office sent a second letter to Wilkie. This one set a new deadline of Oct. 31 for the VA to release all documents showing VA interactions with billionaire Ike Perlmutter, Palm Beach physician Bruce Moskowitz and lawyer Marc Sherman, all Mar-a-Lago members who teamed to influence personnel decisions and to shape policy at VA after Trump became president.
https://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/military/article219858565.html
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