Upton Statement on Resignation of VA Sec. Eric Shinseki

Press Release

Congressman Fred Upton, R-St. Joseph, issued the following statement on the resignation of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki.

"On Monday, we honored the millions of veterans who made the ultimate sacrifice for our nation. Our soldiers are given the best training and resources for the battlefield -- they deserve the best treatment and care when they return home. Recent revelations of veteran mistreatment and facility mismanagement are appalling and heads needed to roll. Secretary Shinseki has led an honorable and distinguished career in service to our country, but it is time for new leadership to tackle the longstanding problems facing the VA. To fix our broken VA system and provide personalized veteran care, there needs to be accountability at the VA."

Today's announcement follows the release of an interim report by the Department of Veterans Affairs' Office of Inspector General on allegations of delayed and compromised patient care at the VA hospital in Phoenix. The VA OIG found that the problems in Arizona are "systemic throughout" the VA hospital system and have been detrimental to veteran care. Michigan is home to more than 660,000 veterans.

The VA OIG report noted that the problems exposed at the Phoenix facility are endemic within the greater VA system: "Our reviews at a growing number of VA medical facilities have thus far provided insight into the current extent of these inappropriate scheduling issues throughout the VA health care system and have confirmed that inappropriate scheduling practices are systemic throughout VHA."

Last week, Upton supported passage of H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014, which gives the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs authority to remove poorly performing employees. H.R. 4031 will ensure that those responsible for the slow delivery of care to veterans are held accountable for their actions.

Source