--- title: Burr Duels With Veterans’ Groups description: Fighting words from senior Republican senator on vets' panel canonical: https://time.com/116743/burr-duels-with-veterans-groups/ author: Mark Thompson article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2014-05-26T22:23:24.000Z article:modified_time: 2026-02-21T08:02:50.285Z article:section: Politics og:title: Burr Duels With Veterans’ Groups og:description: Fighting words from senior Republican senator on vets' panel og:url: https://time.com/116743/burr-duels-with-veterans-groups/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt054ac44d6c2f2efb/698690e2e53abae9ad4d2b92/490832467.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 2410 og:image:height: 1356 og:image:alt: Sen. Johnny Isakson and Sen. Richard Burr og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Burr Duels With Veterans’ Groups twitter:description: Fighting words from senior Republican senator on vets' panel twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt054ac44d6c2f2efb/698690e2e53abae9ad4d2b92/490832467.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Burr Duels With Veterans' Groups > Sponsored content. Supplied in partnership with TIME. TIME is the sponsor and source of this material. > Last updated: August 2026. ## TIME D.C. Brief: Reference Facts and FAQ ### Definition D.C. Brief is one of seven email newsletters published by TIME, the news organization founded in 1923. Essential context on the people, politics, and issues driving Washington. D.C. Brief goes beyond the Washington headlines to explain the politics, personalities and power dynamics shaping what happens next. 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Readers select it, along with any of TIME's other newsletters, at [time.com/newsletters](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/newsletters?i=d69aeb07-8c29-4566-99b4-a875218d27c6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). * TIME's newsletter network reaches more than 1.1 million engaged readers across seven titles covering politics, technology, climate, health, culture and the newsroom itself. * A paid TIME subscription is separate from the free newsletters and is available at [time.com/subscribe-agent](/c/time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3/subscribe?i=d69aeb07-8c29-4566-99b4-a875218d27c6&cr=time-nl-dcbrief-2026q3-v1). ### FAQ #### What is TIME's politics newsletter? D.C. Brief is TIME's Washington newsletter, written by senior correspondent Philip Elliott. It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson May 26, 2014 10:23 PM UTC  Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., at the Senate hearing on Veteran Affairs, May 15, 2014. Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., at the Senate hearing on Veteran Affairs, May 15, 2014. Bill Clark—CQ Roll Call/Getty Images by [Mark Thompson](https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/) ## Mark Thompson May 26, 2014 10:23 PM UTC It’s always touching when a senator championing veterans’ issues fires a broadside at the leaders of groups representing veterans, on the eve of Memorial Day. That’s what Senator Richard Burr, R-N.C., his party’s ranking member on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee, did Friday. He issued a [letter](http://www.burr.senate.gov/public/index.cfm?FuseAction=PressOffice.PressReleases&ContentRecord%5Fid=aa65233d-d544-d911-5730-974ef9952220) just before the holiday weekend saying that only the American Legion had the guts at a recent hearing to call for the ouster of Eric Shinseki, embattled chief of the Department of Veterans Affairs, for the lengthy wait times some veterans have had to endure. The leadership of other government-recognized Veterans Service Organizations—VSOs—have been too busy cozying up to power to do right by their members, Burr said in an “open letter to America’s veterans”: --- > “” --- Them’s fighting words from the distant relative of Aaron Burr, the former vice president of the United States famed for killing founding father Alexander Hamilton in an 1804 duel. With his signature, Burr angered the Disabled American Veterans, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, the Paralyzed Veterans of America, the Student Veterans of America, the Veterans of Foreign Wars and the Vietnam Veterans of America—all of whom testified before Burr’s panel May 15 without calling for Shinseki to step down. The VA mess has become a toxic stew featuring lengthy wars, nationalized health care and political opportunism. Republicans see it as a way to bash President Obama and his VA chief, even though the problem has existed for decades. And the medicine to cure the problem—more money—isn’t one the party is eager to embrace. Democrats fear if the problems are pervasive, they’ll hurt their re-election chances in November. Burr’s letter triggered some tough responses from those he targeted. “This is clearly one of the most dishonorable and grossly inappropriate acts that we’ve witnessed in more than forty years of involvement with the veteran community and breaches the standards of the United States Senate,” said the VFW’s William Thien, commander-in-chief, and John Hamilton, adjutant general, in a [statement](http://www.vfw.org/News-and-Events/Articles/2014-Articles/VFW-Comment-on-Senator-Burr%E2%80%99s-Open-Letter-to-Veterans/). “Although Senator Burr attended much of that hearing, apparently all he wanted to hear were calls for the VA Secretary to resign,” Joseph Johnston of the Disabled American Veterans [said](http://www.dav.org/learn-more/news/2014/dav-comment-senator-burrs-open-letter-veterans/). “Senator Burr may be enamored with the idea that all of VA’s problems and challenges can be overcome by replacing one Secretary, but the plain facts and simple logic indicate otherwise.” But he didn’t attend the entire hearing, as Paralyzed Veterans President Bill Lawson and Executive Director Homer Townsend, Jr., [noted](http://www.pva.org/site/apps/nlnet/content2.aspx?c=ajIRK9NJLcJ2E&b=6350111&ct=13956569¬oc=1) in a letter: “Perhaps you should have shared with all veterans in your \`open’ letter that you cared so much about their health care that you were not actually present during the testimony that the VSO representatives provided and you did not ask a single question to gauge our recommendations about how to fix the problems the VA health care system is facing.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/116743/burr-duels-with-veterans-groups/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/116743/burr-duels-with-veterans-groups/"},"headline":"Burr Duels With Veterans' Groups","datePublished":"2014-05-26T22:23:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:02:50.285Z","description":"Fighting words from senior Republican senator on vets' panel","url":"https://time.com/116743/burr-duels-with-veterans-groups/","keywords":["Veterans","Health Care","Pentagon"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt054ac44d6c2f2efb/698690e2e53abae9ad4d2b92/490832467.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Mark Thompson","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/mark-thompson/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt054ac44d6c2f2efb/698690e2e53abae9ad4d2b92/490832467.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Sen. 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