Ocasio-Cortez Comes out Against VA Reform: ‘If It Ain’t Broke, Don’t Fix It’

OCASIO-CORTEZ: "There are some things that we're hearing today. There are some themes that we got coming out now and especially when it comes to V.A. All I can think of is that classic refrain that my parents always taught me growing up, which is that if it ain't broke, don't fix it. I mean, exactly. And that's what — that is the entire open and that is the opening approach we have seen when it comes to privatization, is the idea that this thing that isn't broken, this thing that provides some of the highest quality care to our veterans somehow needs to be fixed, optimized, tinkered with, until we don't even recognize it anymore. And that's the thing.  They are trying to fix it. But who are they trying to fix it for? It's the question we have to ask. And this is who they're trying to fix it for. They're trying to fix the V.A. for pharmaceutical companies. They're trying to fix the V.A. for insurance corporations. And ultimately they're trying to fix the V.A. for for-profit healthcare industry that does not put people or veterans first. So we have a responsibility to protect them. Because if there is any community that deserves having a first-class healthcare in the United States of America, it is our military service."