By Matthew Daly, WASHINGTON (AP) — The Obama administration and Congress are moving quickly to respond to a growing political firestorm over allegations of treatment delays and falsified records at veterans’ hospitals nationwide.
The top official for veterans’ health care resigned Friday, and House Republicans scheduled a vote for Wednesday on legislation that would give Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki greater authority to fire or demote senior executives and administrators at the agency and its 152 medical centers.
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., said the Veterans Affairs Department is suffering from “a systemic, cultural problem” that cannot be solved with piecemeal responses, such as the resignation of a top official.
“What’s needed is a total refocusing of the VA on its core mission of serving veterans — stretching from its top political leadership all the way through to its career civil servants,” McCain said Saturday in the weekly Republican radio and Internet address. Read Full Article Here: http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2014/05/17/obama-administration-congress-veterans-affairs_n_5344082.html?utm_hp_ref=department-of-veterans-affairs