Obama Can't Criticize VA Too Strongly For Two Reasons. He Knew About The Problems In 2007 And ObamaCare Is Going To Be The Same.

Obama Downplays Findings Of Veterans’ Care Report As He Announces It

May 22, 2014 by Sam Rolley 

 22 14

 

 1 78

UPI

President Barack Obama feigned anger over allegations that the Department of Veterans Affairs covered up long delays in medical care for veterans and vowed to punish whoever is responsible. But given that the he was well aware of major problems in veteran care even before taking office, many people watching the latest Obama scandal unfold found it difficult to take the President’s Wednesday speech seriously.

“It is dishonorable, it is disgraceful, and I will not tolerate it, period,” Obama told White House reporters during a 20-minute speech about the controversy.

Moments earlier, Obama had met with VA Secretary Eric Shinseki, who has been heavily criticized since reports about lackluster care for the Nation’s veterans first surfaced. Despite calls for Shinseki to step down, the President said that the official, along with White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors, are in the process of conducting a review of the agency.

“I know that people are angry and want swift reckoning. I sympathize with that. But we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened. Our veterans deserve to know the facts. Their families deserve to know the facts. Once we know the facts, I assure you if there is misconduct it will be punished,” Obama said.

Obama said that he expects preliminary results of the review next week and a full report within a month.

“I think it is important to recognize that the wait times generally — what the IG indicated so far, at least, is the wait times were folks who may have had chronic conditions, were seeking their next appointment, but may have already received service. It was not necessarily a situation where they were calling for emergency services. And the IG indicated that he did not see a link between the wait and them actually dying,” Obama said, addressing reports that as many as 40 veterans have died while waiting for treatment.

Obama said the Nation’s most recent military conflicts amplified a backlog problem that has existed at veterans’ hospitals in the Nation for years.

“Keep in mind, though, even if we had not heard reports out of this Phoenix facility or other facilities, we all know that it often takes too long for veterans to get the care that they need. That’s not a new development. It’s been a problem for decades, and it’s been compounded by more than a decade of war,” Obama said.

The President also expressed full confidence in the department’s leadership.

“The responsibility for things always rests ultimately with me as the president and commander in chief,” Obama said. “Ric Shinseki has been a great soldier. He himself is a disabled veteran, and nobody cares more about our veterans than Ric Shinseki.”

Obama’s angry tones echoed remarks made by White House chief of staff Denis McDonough on Sunday a Sunday broadcast of CBS News’ “Face the Nation.”

“The president is madder than hell, and I’ve got the scars to prove it,” McDonough said. “We’re going to get to the bottom of those things, fix them and ensure that they don’t happen again.”

Judging by the President’s Wednesday remarks, however, the White House appears poised to downplay any findings of significant wrongdoing that may surface in the report.