Resign VA

From the Stars and Stripes:
"American Legion calls on Shinseki to resign"

The head of one of the nation’s major veterans service organizations on Monday called on Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and top department leadership to step down following reports of delays and neglect at VA health centers around the nation. American Legion National Commander Daniel M. Dellinger said Monday the incidents “are part of what appear to be a pattern of scandals that has infected the entire system.” In a speech at the organization’s headquarters in Indianapolis, he also called for the resignations of Under Secretary for Health Robert Petzel and Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey. Dellinger’s call comes on the heels of whistleblower reports that more than 40 veterans may have died awaiting treatment while the Phoenix VA Health Care System maintained a secret waiting list designed to cover up delays in delivering care. He also pointed to an outbreak of Legionnaires disease at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System that he attributed to “continuous management failures,” as well as delays in proving gastrointestinal services to veterans in Georgia that he said may have hastened the deaths of three cancer patients. Dellinger also referred to a report this week in USA Today about a VA investigation that showed clerks at a VA clinic in Fort Collins, Colo., were told to falsify records so it would appear doctors were seeing patients within approved time frames. Shinseki, who was wounded during the Vietnam War, retired from the Army in 2003 after serving as Chief of Staff. He was nominated by President Barack Obama and took over as VA secretary in January 2009. White House officials said President Barack Obama is taking the VA allegations seriously and has ordered an investigation by the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General. Dellinger said it saddened him to demand the resignations, and he praised Shinseki’s patriotism and sacrifice for the country while serving in the military. “However, his record as the head of the Department of Veterans Affairs tells a different story,” Dellinger said in his prepared remarks. “It’s a story of poor oversight and failed leadership.”

^ It's clear that there needs to be dramatic changes in the VA from the top- down. Anyone can see that. The VA no longer cares about veterans and so should be either done away with completely or have a third-party oversee the complete restructuring. ^

http://www.stripes.com/news/american-legion-calls-on-shinseki-to-resign-1.281676