VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigns
On May 30, 2014, Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki submitted his letter of resignation to President Obama.
Shinseki’s resignation came after CNN revealed that VA hospital administrators were encouraging their staffs to falsify wait list documents in order to receive bonuses.
Dr. Sam Foote, who worked at the VA hospital in Phoenix, told CNN about the waitlist. According to Foote, the VA requires that veterans be seen between 14 to 30 days of coming to the VA hospital.
Shinseki has denied knowing about the wait list and has fired several top VA officials. During the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Annual Meeting, Shinseki told the audience that he was “lied” to by “those around him.”
Shinseki is quoted in the press release as saying, “I was too trusting of some, and I accepted, as accurate, reports that I now know to have been misleading with regard to patient wait times.”
Prior to Shinseki’s resignation, President Obama refused to give in to Democratic and Republican pressure to force Shinseki to resign. Congressmen from both parties argued that the VA’s problems had been going on since 2005 and that Shinseki should have done more to fix the VA’s system.
President Obama stated that the VA’s problems predated Shinseki and that he, President Obama, would decide whether Shinseki should stay or go after the Inspector General released his report. During the May 30, 2014, press conference, President Obama praised Shinseki for the work he’s done.
The president also said that he believes Shinseki is an “honorable man” and that they both agreed that he had become a distraction and needed to step aside.
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, echoed a similar statement.
In a press release, Miller said that it was unfortunate that Shinseki’s career would be “tainted” by the VA scandal. Miller further stated that he believed Shinseki’s downfall was due to the people around him.
Miller is quoted in the press release as saying, “Nearly every member of Shinseki’s inner circle failed him in a major way. Those who surrounded Shinseki shielded him from crucial facts and hid bad news reports, in the process convincing him that some of the department’s most serious, well documented and systemic issues were merely isolated incidents to be ignored. Eric Shinseki trusted the VA bureaucracy, and the VA bureaucracy let him down.”
Shinseki’s resignation came after CNN revealed that VA hospital administrators were encouraging their staffs to falsify wait list documents in order to receive bonuses.
Dr. Sam Foote, who worked at the VA hospital in Phoenix, told CNN about the waitlist. According to Foote, the VA requires that veterans be seen between 14 to 30 days of coming to the VA hospital.
Shinseki has denied knowing about the wait list and has fired several top VA officials. During the National Coalition for Homeless Veterans Annual Meeting, Shinseki told the audience that he was “lied” to by “those around him.”
Shinseki is quoted in the press release as saying, “I was too trusting of some, and I accepted, as accurate, reports that I now know to have been misleading with regard to patient wait times.”
Prior to Shinseki’s resignation, President Obama refused to give in to Democratic and Republican pressure to force Shinseki to resign. Congressmen from both parties argued that the VA’s problems had been going on since 2005 and that Shinseki should have done more to fix the VA’s system.
President Obama stated that the VA’s problems predated Shinseki and that he, President Obama, would decide whether Shinseki should stay or go after the Inspector General released his report. During the May 30, 2014, press conference, President Obama praised Shinseki for the work he’s done.
The president also said that he believes Shinseki is an “honorable man” and that they both agreed that he had become a distraction and needed to step aside.
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, echoed a similar statement.
In a press release, Miller said that it was unfortunate that Shinseki’s career would be “tainted” by the VA scandal. Miller further stated that he believed Shinseki’s downfall was due to the people around him.
Miller is quoted in the press release as saying, “Nearly every member of Shinseki’s inner circle failed him in a major way. Those who surrounded Shinseki shielded him from crucial facts and hid bad news reports, in the process convincing him that some of the department’s most serious, well documented and systemic issues were merely isolated incidents to be ignored. Eric Shinseki trusted the VA bureaucracy, and the VA bureaucracy let him down.”
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