Sen. Tammy Baldwin Lawyers Up After Three Deaths Are Linked To A VA Report She Sat On For Months

TownHall ^ | February 22, 2015 | By Matt Vespa

[Brad from Tennessee]

Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-WI), the first openly gay member of the U.S. Senate, may have landed herself in some trouble after it was reported her office did little to address the rather high rate of opiate prescriptions coming out of the Veterans Affairs center in Tomah, Wisconsin. As a result, Baldwin's office fired a top aide, offered her a severance package, and a confidentiality agreement. The aide, Marquette Baylor, rejected the deal and is filing a sexual discrimination lawsuit against Baldwin. At the same time, Baldwin's office had the Tomah VA report since last summer.

To make matters worse, three deaths are linked to the overmedication problem highlighted in the report on the facility. A congressional hearing is scheduled on the matter (via AP):

A congressional hearing prompted by three deaths and reports of overmedication at a Veterans Affairs medical center in Tomah will be held locally, officials said Thursday.

U.S. Sen. Tammy Baldwin, who said last month she accepts responsibility for not acting sooner, is now being advised by a Democratic political lawyer, and the Republican Party of Wisconsin has filed an ethics complaint against her related to how her office handled the matter.

Several members of Congress had asked for a hearing into allegations of overprescribed medication at the medical center as well as retaliatory practices against employees who spoke about it. The chairman of the U.S. House Committee on Veterans Affairs, Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, said the hearing will be in Tomah. But the date and details have not yet been set.

The center, which came under scrutiny last month when former employees and the families of former patients alleged that doctors overprescribed narcotics, is already under investigation by the VA’s Office of the Inspector General . . .

[Old Sarge]

Let’s see here...

Leftist;
Homosexual;
Female;
Senator-For-Life;

She’ll walk.

[KC_Conspirator]

But she’s gay, so she must be innocent because thats the new sainthood of the left.

[smoothsailing]

Another communist bites the dust?

Maybe Scott Walker will get a chance to appoint a Republican replacement! LOL!

[Tax-chick]

It seems clear that the Senator is a typical Democrat sleazoid, and the sexual harassment suit from the staffer is hysterical. However, I’m a little puzzled about the underlying issue.

The VA is an executive branch agency with its own chain of command. Why do we expect an individual U.S. Senator to deal with local issues of mismanagement of the VA, and what authority does a Senator have to take any kind of action?

[Paladin2]

Oversight and as Senators are popularly elected, constituent services to get the bureaucracy straightened out using specific grievances.

[eartick]

Yeah Ol buddy and you left out that the nutless GOPe would do nothing to “it” anyway.

Do not want to piss off the whopping 3% of the queer faggots in America and lose the next election.

[SunkenCiv]

• Trooper Shines Much-Needed Spotlight on Iraq Vets and Uranium Poisoning [2009 released]

[Gaffer]

It could be that since this VA location was right in her own back yard and was likely made aware of wrongdoing there intentionally chose to do nothing, or worse, cover it up. I guess within the realm of legality, she may be culpable in some manner even if only to the point of not reporting the wrongdoing as a government official.

[Behind Liberal Lines]

I am sure she’s a useless piece of crud but why would a member of the legislative branch have any legal liability over defects in the operations of the executive branch?

[Tax-chick]

The center, which came under scrutiny last month when former employees and the families of former patients alleged that doctors overprescribed narcotics, is already under investigation by the VA’s Office of the Inspector General

The VA was already investigating it. Without the authority to walk in and fire the doctors, what's she going to do other than grandstand?

[Gaffer]

Well, might be hard to say, granted. The one thing I’ll tell you is that you don’t “lawyer-up” as a Democrat for nothing. I suspect there is some information missing here about what she actually did.

[Brad from Tennessee]

[Why do we expect an individual U.S. Senator to deal with local issues of mismanagement of the VA, and what authority does a Senator have to take any kind of action?]

I doubt any legal liability can be laid on the senator. The problem may be that she colluded with VA management to conceal wrongdoing.

[Paladin2]

Increased pressure and public awareness.

[Tax-chick]

I suspect there is some information missing here

That's entirely possible.

[Tax-chick]

The aide who was supposed to take the fall is black. Presumably the sexual harassment complaint would have some legs, if Sen. Baldwin weren’t homosexual.

[Brad from Tennessee]

[The report by the VA inspector general, a copy of which was obtained by USA TODAY, noted that two practitioners at the center were among the highest prescribers of opiates in a multistate region — at “considerable variance” compared with most opioid prescribers. That, the report said, raised “potentially serious concerns.”]

This is speculation but the suspect physicians may have been over-prescribing narcotics as part of a for-profit, criminal scheme.

[Tax-chick]

Could be.

[Eagles6]

No doubt. The Republicans surely won’t do anything.

[kevslisababy]

I think this is the woman who took the position while a US Rep (prior to her run for senate) that we shouldn’t try to save our wounded troops.