Freshman Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-N.Y., is making headlines this week for praising the efficacy of the still-chronically dysfunctional Department of Veterans Affairs.

And by the VA, I mean the people-have-died-waiting-in-line VA. You know, the one that was subject to recent national scandals involving everything from frivolous purchases to pill mills, to employee theft of tens of thousands of dollars, to disease outbreaks, to making veterans wait for doctors' appointments. The one whose acting secretary resigned in disgrace in 2014 amid the mismanagement scandals.

Even more astonishing than her praise is that it came in the context of her arguing against reforming the federal agency.

“[T]here’s some things that we’re hearing today, there’s some themes we’ve got coming out, and especially when it comes to the VA, all I can think of is that classic refrain that my parents always told me growing up. Which is that, ‘if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it,'” she said last week in little-noticed comments made during a town hall event in New York City.

She continued, saying (emphasis mine), “And — exactly, don’t fix it. And ... that is their opening approach that we have seen when it comes to privatization, is the idea that this thing that isn’t broken, this thing that provides the highest quality care to our veterans somehow needs to be fixed, optimized, tinkered with, until — until we don’t even recognize it anymore.”

I have no idea what she is talking about with these remarks. The VA is still struggling with dysfunction and general mismanagement. And we are not talking about fixing minor clerical errors or wasted taxpayer dollars. We are talking about an agency that is still reeling from a scandal wherein ailing veterans died waiting to get the healthcare that was promised to them when the joined the armed forces.

As many as 307,000 veterans died awaiting medical attention, according to a 2015 VA’s inspector general report. The revelations of graft, abuse, and scamming were so shocking, in fact, that Congress eventually banded together to do something about it. But even then, the problems persist. When the Government Accountability Office flagged the VA as a "High Risk" agency in 2019 for how it mishandles its business, few considered it a surprise. After all, the VA was flagged for the same problems in both 2018 and 2017. Some of the VA works well, of course, and veterans are getting the care they need in certain parts of the country. But there is still a lot of work to be done.

But try telling that to Ocasio-Cortez, who may or may not have actually heard about any of this, judging by her comments last week.

“And here’s the thing, they are trying to fix it. But who are they trying to fix it for is the question we’ve got to ask. And this is who they’re trying to fix it for. They’re trying to fix the VA for pharmaceutical companies,” the congresswoman said.

She added, “They’re trying to fix the VA for insurance corporations. And they’re trying to fix the VA for a for-profit healthcare industry that does not put people or veterans first. And so, we have a responsibility to protect it, because if there is any community that deserves Cadillac, first-class healthcare in the United States of America, it is our military servicemen.”

So these are those "alternative facts" I keep hearing so much about.