With the return of Republican control of the U.S. House of Representatives in the upcoming 118th Congress, their constitutionally empowered oversight function will bring much needed transparency to the Biden administration's activity.

Already, much is being made by House members about targeted investigations of significant issues of nasty ineptitude during President Biden's first two years in office, along with the specific behavior of some members of his Executive Branch team and his family members.

To be fair, not all of it is likely to be President Biden's doing.  Some permanent "D.C. swamp" political predators within the Executive Branch existed well before the Biden era.  The politicized FBI is just one horrible example.

Congressional interest in representing their constituents and holding the Executive Branch accountable goes back to very early days of American history.

Military ineptitude is one such issue.  St. Clair's Defeat was the first recorded incidence of a congressional investigation, on Nov. 4 ,1791:

St. Clair's Defeat: The First Congressional Investigation of the Executive Branch On November 4, 1791, a U.S. military contingent under the command of General Arthur St. Clair (who was also the governor of the Northwest Territory) was defeated in battle by a coalition of local American Indian tribes near what is now the Ohio-Indiana border. This battle, commonly referred to as St. Clair's Defeat, is notable because it was the subject of what is generally considered to be the first formal investigation by Congress.

With the return of Republicans enforcing "regular order," congressional committees will be focused with intensity on their specific areas of oversight, such as military (national security) readiness, foreign affairs, veterans' affairs, the Department of Justice (including the FBI), and all other functions of U.S. government.

Consequently, aside from the big headline-grabbing hearings being planned now, such as the loss of control of our borders, the Afghanistan debacle, the alleged criminality of Hunter Biden, and the behavior of many in the American Intelligence Community, all committees, including those focused on less well known problems, will serve America well.

Years ago, I was the first assistant secretary of congressional and public affairs, during which time the Department of Veterans Affairs was elevated to Cabinet status.  After that, I was the professional staff member on the House Committee on Rules, with oversight over the DOD and DVA, so I follow veterans' affairs closely.  Now, with a GOP-led Congress coming in, I have great hope for the House Veterans Affairs committee doing tremendous non-partisan good for America's veterans.

Many veteran issues will come into play in the first session of 118th.  Some that I think are important are timely action in giving veterans the benefit of the doubt for service connected to combat disability claims; asking hard questions about any whether there have been any adverse health effects on veterans from mandatory COVID vaccinations; and  asking about the stripping of disability benefits for those veterans held without being charged, by just their presence, at the Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.  And it is extremely important to do an in-depth look at the tragic epidemic of veteran suicide to see if the ineptitude of the DVA's stagnant benefit bureaucracy plays a triggering role.

Just because the mainstream media (protecting the Biden administration) have not focused on veterans' issues, it does not mean they do not exist nationwide.

Take just one specific, horrific, waiting-list issue: that it took the Veteran Board of Appeals (BVA) more than a year to issue guidance to revisit a combat disability claim after the DVA lost its case in the Federal Court for Veterans.  Talk about inept sore losers!

Of course, once the BVA's remand guidance is issued, the pain does not end, because, again in a specific remanded case, it has taken the Roanoke Virginia Regional Office 590 days and counting to act in giving the benefit of doubt to the combat veteran who seeks benefits.  Congress gives them 30 days, so just in this one of many specific cases, the V.A. still has broken parts.

Long-term studies of the service connection of environmental exposure and serious veteran health issues one of my proudest accomplishments at DVA.  During my tour, we established the Desert Storm Registry, similar to the Agent Orange Registry, which tracks environmental issues affecting veterans in combat.

The Desert Storm registry has since became the Gulf War Registry.

Gulf War Registry Health Exam for Veterans

VA's Gulf War Registry Health Exam alerts Veterans to possible long-term health problems that may be related to environmental exposures during their military service. The registry data helps VA understand and respond to these health problems more effectively.

Exposure to toxic burn pits was just brought to the fore in various news stories.  To bring focus to adverse health effects of those troops exposed, and given that that was quite real for many, was a very good thing.

Consequently, for potential new "environmental" health-adverse effects in service, it is now time for DVA and Congress to ask public health experts to begin to track any adverse health consequences from the mandatory requirement for service members getting the COVID shot.  Those who didn't were thrown out.

Veteran suicides is tragic in so many ways, and the V.A. has established help and counseling lines, and that is a good idea.  But so is finding out if the DVA programmatically, with carelessness or ineptitude, has contributed to a veteran feeling abandoned or royally jerked around when he needs help the most.  Such an important life-and-death analysis is best left to mental health professionals, but it is also a question for the congressional oversight committees that is worth asking.

All in all, the upcoming work by a Republican-led veterans' congressional committee will be of tremendous non-partisan lasting benefit for all of America's deserving veterans.  I hope to see it done.

Image: VA government logo, fair use.