Jennifer Jacobs

jejacobs@dmreg.com

Over a two-year period, Democratic U.S. Rep. Bruce Braley missed 75 percent of meetings for a committee that provides oversight over the Veterans Administration, including one meeting on a day he attended three fundraisers for his 2012 campaign.

A few months later, news reports exposed systemic problems in patient care that have since resulted in the resignation head of the federal department of veterans affairs.

Republicans argue that Braley, who missed 15 of the 20 Veterans' Affairs Committee meetings in 2011 and 2012, has shown a lack of commitment to conditions within the health care system for veterans.

Democrats who back Braley, a trial lawyer and seven-year congressman who is now running for U.S. Senate, say he has been an outspoken voice for veterans and it's wrong for his GOP rival, Joni Ernst, to "try to inject partisan politics into veterans issues." He missed the veterans affairs meeting on the day of the three fundraisers because he went to another congressional hearing, his aides said.

Braley and Ernst are neck-and-neck in an aggressive battle for the seat retiring Democratic U.S. Sen. Tom Harkin leaves open this winter. The balance of power in the U.S. Senate hinges on the outcome of the Iowa race and those in several other states.

Veterans affairs have been in public floodlight because of news reports about sometimes-fatal delays for veterans waiting for care at VA hospitals, and fraudulent record-keeping meant to cover up the delays. The House Committee on Veterans Affairs, of which Braley was a member for two years, is responsible for oversight over the operations at the VA.

At 10:19 a.m. on Sept. 20, 2012, the committee held a hearing on a backlog of disability claims and reports of problems with mental health care and stewardship of VA funding, congressional records show. The roll call shows Braley didn't attend.

Braley's aides said he skipped it to attend a 9:36 a.m. Oversight and Government Reform Committee meeting on the "Fast and Furious" gun trafficking scandal. The congressional record marked Braley "present," but reveals that he offered no testimony during the three-hour hearing, which ran until 12:45 p.m.

Video caught no sight of Braley. His seat isn't always visible, but the multiple times it's within camera view during the window the Veterans Affairs committee was in session (10:19 a.m. to 11:54 a.m.), Braley wasn't seated, a Register review of C-SPAN 3 and committee footage found.

Members of Congress can check in as "present" at a hearing, stay for a brief time – sometimes to ask a question – and then leave. Braley didn't ask a question, the transcript shows.

On the same day, Braley had three fundraisers on his schedule for his re-election to the U.S. House, records from the nonpartisan Sunlight Foundation show. He attended all three, campaign aides confirmed to The Des Moines Register.

The one from 8:30 a.m. to 9:30 a.m. was a $2,500 breakfast at Johnny's Half Shell, which serves seafood fresh from the Chesapeake Bay and has a view of the Capitol dome.

At noon, Braley went to the D.C. law firm of DLA Piper for a $1,000 per person fundraiser.

The third event, from 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. was a $2,500 per person reception on K Street, the epicenter of the lobbying industry.

Iowa Republican strategist David Kochel, who backs Ernst for U.S. Senate, told the Register he thinks Braley's priorities are wrong. He made time for "swanky fundraisers" but "he couldn't find time to attend what was sure to be the most important meeting of the day if you cared about the backlog at the VA."

Ron Healey, a U.S. Army veteran of the Vietnam War from Dubuque County and a member of Veterans for Braley, responded in a statement released by the Braley campaign: "To suggest that Bruce has done anything but fight for Iowa veterans is misleading and dishonest."

Healey said Braley "fought the Pentagon to get back-pay that was denied to hundreds of Iowa National Guard members, fought across party lines to improve veterans' disability benefits, and passed tax cuts for small businesses to hire veterans."

Braley campaign spokesman Jeff Giertz said fundraisers Braley scheduled on Sept. 20 didn't conflict with the VA hearings.

In fact, at 2:30 p.m. on Sept. 20, a subcommittee on economic opportunities for veterans met and Braley attended most of the hearing. He left early to attend a 3 p.m. classified briefing for U.S. House members with then-U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton on the attack on the American embassy in Benghazi.

Asked why Braley missed 75 percent of his Veterans Affairs Committee meetings in 2011 and 2012, Giertz said that in many cases, "there were conflicting hearings, classified briefings, or other responsibilities that drew Bruce away."

The Republican Party of Iowa on Monday issued a statement criticizing Braley for missing so many committee meetings, pointing out that one he skipped on Oct. 12, 2011 was described as a window into national problems at the VA because it exposed trouble at the Miami Veterans Affairs Medical Center.

Braley's spokesman said he's not sure why the congressman missed that hearing, but said it "was not a markup hearing where votes were taken on legislation." Giertz also noted that Braley attended 14 of 16 hearings of economic opportunities subcommittee and was the highest-ranking Democrat.

Here are the transcripts of the 15 Veterans Affairs Committee meetings Braley missed while he was on the committee in 2011-2012:

Feb. 9, 2011

April 5, 2011

May 3, 2011

July 15, 2011

Oct. 12, 2011

Nov. 15, 2011

Feb 1, 2012

Feb. 15, 2012

March 27, 2012

May 31, 2012

June 6, 2012

June 19, 2012

Sept. 20, 2012

Oct. 3, 2012

Nov. 28, 2012

And here are the transcripts for the five he attended:

Feb. 17, 2011

June 1, 2011

Feb. 28, 2012

April 18, 2012

May 8, 2012