Embattled VA Secretary Shinseki refusing to resign

[CountAllVotes]

Source: Associated Press

WASHINGTON (AP) — Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki Thursday brushed aside calls for his resignation and got an unexpected political lifeline from House Speaker John Boehner following reports that 40 patients died because of delayed treatment at an agency hospital.

Meanwhile, other lawmakers voted Thursday to subpoena records relating to a waitlist for care at the Phoenix facility in a growing probe of veteran health care.

"I'm not ready to join the chorus of people calling on him to step down," Boehner, R-Ohio, said of Shinseki at a news conference, adding that there is a "systemic management issue throughout the VA that needs to be addressed."

The American Legion and some in Congress have called for Shinseki's ouster following allegations of patient deaths at the Phoenix VA hospital due to delays in care and that the hospital kept a secret list of patients waiting for appointments to hide the delays.


Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/embattled-va-secretary-shinseki-refusing-resign-112721452--politics.html

---

One word: RESIGN

[House of Roberts]

1. The systemic problem at the VA is Republican austerity.

Too much need and too many tax cuts for the takers.

[on point]

2. This is Bush failure to plan staff VA to handle Iraq war vets.

This is just working off backlog

[CountAllVotes]

5. just wait ...

We have not seen anything yet!

Troops are still in Afghanistan, still in Iraq, still in other places around the world.

The VA is not prepared to deal with the onslaught yet to come IMO.

[YvonneCa]

16. Which is another reason Iraq was..

...irresponsible. Shinseki actually spoke out to get it right and was chastised for it by the Bush Administration.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

3. This isn't Shinseki's fault. It is entirely the fault of Congress -

mainly the Republicans - who have failed and refused to fund the VA adequately.

[CountAllVotes]

6. I do not care whose "fault" this is

This is NOT acceptable to me. Period!

>>Shinseki, a retired Army general, told CBS that he sent inspectors to Phoenix immediately after he learned of reports about the deaths. "I take every one of these incidents and allegations seriously, and we're going to go and investigate," he said.

Hours later, the House Veterans Affairs Committee voted unanimously to subpoena all emails and other records in which Shinseki and other VA officials may have discussed destruction of what the committee called "an alternate or interim waitlist" for veterans seeking care at Phoenix.

[Hekate]

4. General Shinseki did NOT cause the problems, Bush/Cheney did. Bear that in mind. He is trying to fix

Shinseki is trying to fix what's been damaged by Bush/Cheney and the Neocons and the GOP. He's a good man.

Calls for his resignation are simply another GOP ploy to cripple everything the Obama Administration is trying to accomplish. The GOP in Congress has consistently refused to confirm appointments and smeared department heads and dept staffers across the whole government. They want the head of that former IRS woman (sorry, in a hurry and can't stop to look up her name) for bogus reasons. It's a consistent pattern ever since President Obama was elected.

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

7. Exactly. They are looking for a scapegoat

for their own failure to fund the agency adequately.

Republicans are all about making sure government doesn't have enough money to function so they can say, "See? We told you government doesn't work."

[Hekate]

8. Exactly, on all counts. WTF is wrong with people that they don't remember how the GOP works?

Grover "drown it in a bathtub and pull the plug" Norquist... gaah.

Declare that government does not work, and then guarantee that it cannot so you can point to the mess and say, "See? I told you so."

[YvonneCa]

13. Excellent post. I completely...

...agree. Shinseki is the one who is cleaning up the mess left by GWB and Co.

[The Green Manalishi]

9. Tell everybody everything, then, and

put a bill on the table that will give the cost to fix everything, and fix it NOW.

I don't care, left or right, anyone who claims the information is missing, the memo is shredded, takes the 5th, claims Executive Privilege or uses the phrase "no comment" is, and should be regarded as *GUILTY*.

there is never an excuse for not having, and sharing, any and all information unless it is classified or personal health data.

[YvonneCa]

14. That is ridiculous. Period. n/t

[quakerboy]

10. one word: WHY

[Drunken Irishman]

11. Three words: No. He. Shouldn't.

[heaven05]

12. should he fall on his sword?

No. When congress and the rest of the deadbeats on capitol hill get off their lazy entitled asses and start giving the VA the funding it needs for the numbers of wounded from the war criminals 2004 imperialistic quest for oil, then, if it doesn't show improvement, he'll have to fall on his sword. Shinseki has a tough job. Rethugs STFU!

[YvonneCa]

15. Exactly! n/t

[kworkman]

17. STFU

Dear American Legion, STFU and go put your head back in the sand.