������Ƶ

There is no single issue more identified with Tulsi Gabbard than our nation’s treatment of military veterans. But when she had the chance to speak about it in her own backyard this week she was nowhere to be found.

Hawaii’s 2nd District congresswoman is an officer in the Hawaii Army National Guard and has served two tours of combat duty in the Middle East.

She was awarded the Meritorious Service Medal during Operation Iraqi Freedom, “was the first female Distinguished Honor Graduate at Fort McClellan’s Officer Candidate School, and was the first woman to ever receive an award of appreciation from the Kuwaiti military on her second overseas tour,” .

Gabbard has actively demonstrated her concern for veterans during her first term in Congress.

Though only a freshman lawmaker, she pushed through the  that improves airport security screening processes for wounded and severely disabled service members and veterans.

As woes at Veterans Affairs care facilities ���𲵲����������쾱�Բ�����𲹻�����Ա�� in May, Gabbard said, “No veteran should ever suffer or die as they wait to see a doctor, especially as a result of deliberate misconduct.”

In June she of Wayne Pfeffer, director of the VA Pacific Islands Health Care System.

In July she introduced the to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to reimburse non-VA medical providers who provide care to eligible veterans.

“This legislation will ensure that veterans in Hawaii and across the U.S. who are lost in the VA bureaucracy, and who have been sitting on unacceptably long waiting lists, are able to get medical care immediately,” Gabbard said in a press release.

Veterans are so important to Gabbard that, in late July, she to stay in Washington, D.C., until they passed a Veterans Affairs (VA) health reform bill. (The House and Senate managed to allowing them to depart on their five-week recess.)

And yet, Gabbard was a no-show at a Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs field hearing Tuesday in Honolulu. Chaired by U.S. Sen. Mazie Hirono, the hearing focused on the VA’s response to lengthy wait times for Hawaii veterans, which are the longest in the nation.

Gabbard was invited. There was a name placard for her, and Hirono told attendees at the hearing at the Oahu Veterans Center in Salt Lake that Gabbard was expected to participate.

Pfeffer was there, as were in the veterans’ community, including one of the VA’s top officials. So was state Rep. Mark Takai, a veteran seeking to join Gabbard in Congress.

Civil Beat has tried over the past four days to get official comment from Gabbard’s offices in Honolulu and D.C. as to why she was AWOL.

We also tried to reach her regarding Gabbard’s views on military-style police equipment and tactics in Ferguson, Missouri, and in Hawaii. Her office recently issued a press release for demilitarizing cops.

On Friday, after yet another call from Civil Beat, Gabbard’s office finally issued this statement:

“Congresswoman Gabbard welcomed Senator Hirono’s invitation to attend her Senate Veterans Affairs Committee field hearing, and had been looking forward to attending. Unfortunately, an earlier commitment that day ran very late and the congresswoman was unable to attend the hearing. Rep. Gabbard’s Hawai`i District Director attended the hearing, and the congresswoman continues to work closely with the VA, and veteran stakeholders within our community, to bring about necessary reforms to ensure veterans are honored, served, and cared for.”

We understand Rep. Gabbard is a busy person. In fact, she’s a much-in-demand political figure and speaker.

She is a frequent guest on the Sunday morning political talk shows. She’s helped Democrats nationally to raise money for campaigns. She is featured in flattering magazine spreads.

Apparently, she had other priorities Tuesday that kept her from the hearing on veterans.

She also appears to have had other priorities following the Aug. 9 primary. While U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz and U.S. Rep. Colleen Hanabusa traveled to help storm victims in Puna the very next day, Gabbard did not make it there until Friday, Aug. 15, even though Puna is in her 2nd Congressional District.

Admittedly, Schatz and Hanabusa were locked in a close Senate race with some final ballots still to be cast in Puna, but their visits brought a lot of attention to the storm-damaged area.

Gabbard was unopposed in her primary and faces the same Republican this fall that she rolled over in the 2012 election. She likely has a bright political future.

Here’s hoping she remembers the people who sent her on her way.