The Daytona Beach News-Journal - Sen. Bill Nelson: Get to the Bottom of Veterans' Health Care Scandal

Op-Ed

By Sen. Bill Nelson

By now we have all heard the reports that some veterans have died needlessly because of long waits and delayed care at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals across the country.

One such published report says mismanagement in Columbia, S.C., led the VA's inspector general to review practices there. And the review turned up 52 cases in which the patient reportedly experienced a delay in care. Six died.

While the VA's top health chief has resigned, critics of the administration are calling on President Obama to fire VA Secretary Eric Shinseki. The president this week said he needed more time to review what was going on and promised accountability.

I, too, believe heads should roll and people should be held accountable for the latest mess at the Department of Veterans Affairs. I only hope it is not the kind of accountability that we saw in the wake of the Wall Street scandal -- when too few of those who were calling the shots were held responsible.

Meantime, we don't need this VA investigation to become a political football. We need answers, and we need solutions. Then, we need accountability.

The bottom line is this: Our veterans obviously are not always getting the medical care they need and the VA bureaucracy has gotten to the point that it is not responding to all those needs.

With more than 150 hospitals and more than 800 clinics, the VA is treating millions of patients a year and the demand on the system has skyrocketed in the wake of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan.

A number of lawmakers, including Sen. Marco Rubio and me, are backing legislation to give the VA secretary greater authority to replace employees found to have committed wrongdoing.

Some might argue the secretary already has enough authority. But even if that's the case, let's make it perfectly clear in law. Let's get this passed.

Currently, the VA inspector general is said to be reviewing 26 facilities across the country. While they have not yet released the names of these sites, it's been reported that the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville is among them -- and that it had a list of patients waiting for treatment that was not in the electronic record-keeping system.

I paid a visit to the Gainesville center Friday. Officials there assured me there were no "secret" lists and veterans there were being seen in a timely manner. Nonetheless, it's clear that whatever happened, shouldn't have.

Sadly, this unfolding scandal isn't the first time in our nation's history that the government has failed in its obligation to provide the absolute best care and treatment for our veterans.

Consider what happened during a three year period after World War II when VA doctors reportedly lobotomized more than 1,400 veterans at 50 hospitals.

And recall more recently, when the U.S. military sprayed millions of gallons of Agent Orange and other herbicides on trees and vegetation during the Vietnam War. It wasn't until several decades later that the VA finally recognized numerous veterans' claims that cancers and other health problems stemmed from their exposure to those chemical agent.

The problems surrounding the VA today are no less inexcusable and cannot be tolerated.

And while the nation sometimes falls short on caring for our veterans, it should always be viewed as our obligation to provide for veterans with the same respect and loyalty they demonstrated throughout their service.

Remember, as Abraham Lincoln put it, ours is an obligation "to care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and for his orphan."

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