Shinseki resigns amid veterans' health care issues

[Old Codger]

This discussion thread was locked as off-topic by uppityperson (a host of the Latest Breaking News forum).

Source: WASHINGTON (AP)

Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images
Chip Somodevilla/Getty Images

Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki has resigned in the wake of the scandals over manipulated waiting lists in the VA health system.

At a press conference Friday, President Obama announced that Shinseki offered his resignation this morning, "And with considerable regret, I accepted it."

Obama credited Shinseki with working hard to address problems within the VA system and improving conditions for his fellow veterans on a range of issues. "But as he told me this morning, the VA needs new leadership to address it," Obama said, adding that Shinseki said he does not want to be a distraction going forward.
- - Eric Kleefeld
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Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/shinseki-resigns-amid-veterans-health-care-issues-152110520--politics.html

[randys1]

1. RIghty has hated him since the day he proved the American Taliban terrorist GOP wrong about the war

[greatauntoftriplets]

2. Please edit your subject line to the actual headline so that it complies with the LBN SOP.

Shinseki resigns amid veterans' health care issues

Thank you.
greatauntoftriplets
LBN host

[They_Live]

3. Hmm. How about all those lawmakers

who voted to cut funding to the VA? Will they be investigated? Will they step down?

[former9thward]

20. The VA funding has not been cut.

There has been a huge increase since 2009. The last time the VA was cut was in 1994. Its budget has gone up ever since. You notice that Obama has never blamed budget cuts for the VA's problems. It has gotten greater increases than any other agency.

[They_Live]

32. This article says it was cut in 2003

Maddow noted that in March 2003 — the same month the U.S. began its second war against Iraq — the GOP-led House of Representatives approved a budget cutting $14 billion from the VA’s budget. Two years later, Anthony Principi, who was appointed by then-President George W. Bush, released a statement saying the department did not “require additional resources” despite the escalating cost of that conflict.

Lawmakers later had to approve an emergency $1.5 billion budget influx following reports that local VA facilities were instituting hiring freezes and lacking the ability to make necessary purchases.

http://www.rawstory.com/rs/2014/05/21/maddow-slams-republicans-for-complaining-about-va-scandal-after-passing-budget-cuts/

[mopinko]

4. does this mean people will turn in resignations

and hope they arent accepted by the new command?

[Iggo]

5. Yeah, like he was the problem.

[KamaAina]

6. Tammy next?

Works for me. She, too, has Hawai'i ties.

[lark]

7. This pisses me off

VA here in FL and in AL are great, I know this from friends or their family members who are treated there. It's not the whole organization that's having issues. Plus that wait list thing could be off too, don't know for sure. Do know VA can only schedule out 3 months, so they keep a shadow log for dates longer than 3 months and send the person a card when it's scheduled for real.

Plus, the very most irriating thing of all is Repugs CUT the funding for VA, just like they did for embassy security. This is their bad, not Obama's. This is the part that really pisses me off. They want us to go to Syria, or at least send them heavy military weapons,but they would advertise heavily about any US servicemen killed in Syria, blaming the president for their deaths if Obama caves to their demands. Hope he doesn't, but not looking good.

[tom_kelly]

15. I can't say enough good about the Tampa VA n/t

[former9thward]

21. No funding was ever cut.

The VA budget has increased every year since 1994.

[lark]

24. It hasn't increased enough to keep up with the volume.

That's the problem. Repugs cut the amount requested by VA and the administration annually.

[alcina]

8. Scapegoat

But fear not, they put an excellent administrator in charge while they search for a more suitable replacement:

"A career banker, Gibson has held the No. 2 post at the department since February of this year...."

As the child of two veterans, one of whom uses the VA system extensively and successfully, I feel a little sick today.

[Victor_c3]

9. As a veteran that uses the system extensively, I feel a little sick today too

I liked Shineski. Given that he himself served a very lengthy career in the Army, I always felt that he understood what it was to serve and that he gave a damn about veterans.

[alcina]

18. I agree

He seemed like a good guy -- unfortunately, a guy who was given a near-impossible task. As Bernie Sanders said, if you can't fund healthcare for veterans, stop sending them to war. But like aborted fetuses, dead soldiers seem to be held in higher value by Republicans than the ones who survive. I guess if you're foolish enough to make it out alive, you're pretty much on your own. Unless of course someone needs a photo op with a gen-u-ine he-ro.

I'm in a bad mood today and this didn't help. Been trying for months to find a suitable dementia care home for my mother -- one that we can afford, near a VA facility, that doesn't reek of death and warm chicken soup -- and I just heard we were outbid at the one that held promise. Yes, outbid. What a country!

[enlightenment]

25. Outbid?

Forgive my ignorance, but you have to BID for a bed?

That is appalling.

[Katashi_itto]

31. Vet here too, the VA system has kept me alive.

Republicans want someone to point fingers at besides themselves
Someone they can pretend who is at fault when it all trails back to them and VA middle management.

[jamzrockz]

19. Its all about

regaining the public's trust. I have a friend who works at the VA here in Omaha and he said the service they provide is top notch and this mostly the case with the majority of VAs around the country but because of one crisis in one regional VA unit, someone has to fall on the sword.

[Android3.14]

10. It was obvious a week ago, if not longer

That this is what would happen.

[nyabingi]

11. Here goes the spineless Democratic Party once gain

allowing themselves to be punked by the Republicans and the American news media (which relies on "scandal" after "scandal" for their ratings). The problems with the VA aren't going to be fixed by Shinseki's resignation, and it's going to help conservatives' plans to eventually privatize the VA (which is their ultimate goal).

Stop worrying about the damn elections in November and stick to your guns!!

[Old Codger]

13. No Need

He may have felt that he needed to at least offer but Obama did not need to accept, someone sometime needs to draw a line as to how much they will be swayed by phony scandals and finger pointing by clueless twits

[heaven05]

14. you're right

democratic party timidity and cowardice in the face of RW bluff and bravado. What a fucking joke our leadership has been since day one of this administration. It's all because they were afraid that repthuglicans would use this as a political football before the upcoming election. Not like this action is going to stop that from happening anyway. Maybe the democrats have a plan, I hope so. Or we'll end up losing the senate also because of political timidity and cowardice.

[former9thward]

23. Are you suggesting what was going on at the VA was a "phony scandal"?

[Old Codger]

27. Not in the least

The "phony" part is the medias incessant beating up on Shinseki.....The scandal has been ongoing for many years so it is not news a that requires constantly beating up on a man that has served his country well and was probably as capable of repairing the problem as anyone provided he received the backing he needed in order to take the steps required to ease the problems .. Not a word one about how they cut veterans off at the knees when they vote to no to increasing funding that would alleviate much of the problems or at least a step towards that end...

[former9thward]

29. When a team is going badly you fire the manager.

Why? Because you can't fire the whole team. The VA is made up of hundreds of thousands of employees. Most probably decent but some rotten to the core. There is not a word about "cut funding" because it didn't happen. The budget was never cut and Congress pretty much gave Obama what he wanted for the VA. You notice Obama did not blame lack of funding for any of this mess.

[Old Codger]

30. That only stands

When they need a scapegoat, if it were a basic truth we would fire almost every pol there is including the president at any given time, basically he is the ultimate manager...
IMHO Shineski should have been given the chance to clean house and turn the process around...

[yellowcanine]

34. Yeah fire the manager because you dang sure can't fire the team members who were screwing up.

So who is really at fault - the manager or the people who set up a system with no way to hold people accountable?

[heaven05]

12. Damn!!!!!!!!!!!

I hope some repthuglicans are forced to fall on their sword also. They are mostly why the VA is in such shitty shape. What fucking political kabuki theatre. BS HYPOCRISY!!!!!!!!!!!!

[Ash_F]

16. OK, so does the VA need more funding?

If so, will they get it?

Congress needs to get on it.

[rtracey]

17. The CEO

Fire the Walmart CEO, because some clerks stole money from the register...(not sure that works well) the VA has been messed for decades.....Firing the Sec Va Affairs will not solve the problem, it may put a "bandaid" on it for now....the system need complete revamping to handle the veteran of yesterday, today and tomorrow, not just today.

[tabasco]

22. Goddamn pukes lie us into war, get thousands of troops killed and maimed,

then screech about how much they care about vets, when they can score political points.

Pukes and some rotten Dems don't give s hit about me or any other vet. Just goddamn political footballs for them.

I have received top-notch care at Beckley, WV, VA and thank Obama and Shinseki for making it a hell of a lot better.

[hrmjustin]

26. It is a shame that he hleft but I don't think he really had a choice.

[closeupready]

28. Good. K&R

[yellowcanine]

33. When are the congress members who created and underfunded the shitty system going to resign?

Shinseki had too much class to tell congress that they did not give him the resources to run the system or the power to get riid of people who were screwing up. So who really is at fault here? This pisses me off.

[uppityperson]

35. Locking as a duplicate. Thanks for understanding. Here's the link...

http://www.democraticunderground.com/1014815202