Columbus, OH – New reporting from the Ohio Capital Journal uncovered that Bernie Moreno is being backed by a special-interest-funded group that pushed for the closure of the Chillicothe VA. Local veterans and Ohioans who worked to save the VA are calling out Moreno’s “inexcusable” coordination with the group, calling it “absolutely disgraceful and disgusting to veterans in rural America.”

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Ohio Capital Journal: Koch-funded veterans group that backed closing Chillicothe VA working to elect Bernie Moreno
Nick Evans
September 9, 2024

• In June of that year, members of the U.S. Senate Veterans Affairs Committee refused to approve nominees to implement the AIR Commission report, effectively killing the idea [of closing the Chillicothe VA]. Many of them cited the impact on services in rural areas of the country.

• But one veterans’ group was furious about it.

• “To say this is disappointing is an understatement,” Concerned Veterans for America’s Darin Selnick said in a press release.

• In Ohio’s current U.S. Senate race, Concerned Veterans for America Action has endorsed Republican Bernie Moreno, and Moreno’s campaign is coordinating door knocking efforts with the group.

• To the people who rallied to save Chillicothe’s VA hospital, Moreno partnering with the organization is a slap in the face.

• Whatever appeal he makes, Jessica Fee sees Moreno working with Concerned Veterans for America as inexcusable.

• “I find it absolutely disgraceful and disgusting to veterans in rural America,” she said.

• Fee works as an organizer with American Federal Government Employees, the union representing employees at the Chillicothe VA. She argued without a VA hospital in Chillicothe, some veterans would go without care. Shifting patients to private providers will only burden a rural health care system struggling to keep up and the drive to other facilities is long and potentially daunting for elderly patients or family members, she said.

• As for Concerned Veterans for America joining forces with Moreno, [reserve Army officer Lisa Parker] argued they don’t understand rural America.