Shinseki Resigns Amid VA Scandal Over Veterans’ Health Care -- Washington Post
Eric K. Shinseki resigned as secretary of veterans affairs Friday, apologizing for a scandal in which employees throughout the VA’s massive hospital system conspired to hide months-long wait times that veterans faced when seeking care.
The size and scope of the coverups in an agency that he had presided over for more than five years left Shinseki dumbfounded and President Obama searching for a replacement for one of his longest serving and most trusted Cabinet officials. Obama said Sloan D. Gibson, the deputy secretary of veterans affairs, will take over the VA until a new secretary is named.
In announcing Shinseki’s resignation, Obama went out of his way to describe the former Army general as a person of integrity who presided over a bureaucracy that was overwhelmed by two long wars and an aging veteran population, and which ultimately succumbed to widespread cheating to hide its shortcomings.
Read more ....
The Resignation Of Secretary Of Veterans Affairs Eric K. Shinseki -- News Roundup June 1, 2014
VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigns -- Stars and Stripes
Transcript: President Obama’s remarks on resignation of VA secretary Eric Shinseki -- Washington Post
Eric Shinseki resigns over Veterans Affairs healthcare scandal -- The Guardian
Shinseki resigns over growing VA scandal -- FOX News
Shinseki Out: Obama Says He's Accepted VA Chief's Resignation -- NBC
Embattled VA chief Shinseki resigns -- USA Today
Obama under bipartisan pressure to oust Shinseki on heels of IG report -- FOX News
Heat Stays on Veterans Affairs Department After Eric Shinseki's Exit -- Wall Street Journal
Mr. Shinseki Takes the Fall -- New York Times editorial
Why Obama Should Have Stuck with Shinseki -- John Cassidy, New Yorker
Behind Eric Shinseki’s Downfall -- James Kitfield, Defense One/National Journal
After Shinseki's misrule, VA needs accountability: Column -- Darin Selnick, USA Today
Shinseki resigns, but will that improve things at VA hospitals? -- Tom Cohen, Drew Griffin, Scott Bronstein and Nelli Black, CNN
Who will replace Shinseki in the long term? -- Washington Post
My Comment: Apparently the IG report is what ultimately done him in .... someone had to take fall so the decision was made that it was him. On the flip side .... his supporters are still blaming Bush and Rumsfeld for this mess.
2 comments:
I served twice. I go to the VA in Albany NY and I have never had a delay, problem or issue. I have neurological issues that go back to some of my background which USG will not admit to however I am treated promptly. I can honestly say the VA has done right by me. I have had bureaucratic shortcomings but nothing that even comes close to the FUBAR that we are reading about.
I live in Quebec where we are under a system that is called medicare (our version of government mandated health care). My history has been the following .... and it is a general rule of almost all government services. Over the years (broken bones, etc., I personally have received exemplary care. My mother .... who had a bad fall almost 4 weeks ago .... exemplary care. My father .... who had a stroke about 15 years ago .... excellent care. My next door neighbor when he was diagnosed with cancer .... a horror story of neglect and delay. My father's best friend who had cancer surgery .... the operation was a success but he died because of infection (no surprise ... before he died I saw his room and it was incredibly dirty). It all depends on where you are, the people who treat you, and .... some luck. But what gets me is the lack of accountability .... and that is the failing of government mandated health care.
And don't get me going on what health care was really like in the old Soviet Union.
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