Moran: VA Secretary should resign

Sen. Jerry Moran (R-Kan.) demanded that Secretary of Veterans’ Affairs (VA) Eric Shinseki resign over claims backlogs that have resulted in the deaths of veterans.

{mosads}“Today I am demanding accountability and true transformation within the VA system in its culture from top to bottom and all across the country,” Moran said on the Senate floor Tuesday. “Secretary Shinseki is seemingly unwilling or unable to do so and change must be made at the top. I ask the secretary to submit his resignation and I ask President Obama to accept that resignation.”

Earlier this week, the American Legion and Concerned Veterans for America also called for Shinseki’s resignation after reports that 40 veterans died because they were put on a secret waiting list at a Phoenix VA facility so that the backlog wait-time didn’t look as bad as it truly was.

“Veterans are waiting for action and yet the VA continues to operate in the same old bureaucratic fashion, settling for mediocrity and continued disservice to our nation’s heroes,” Moran said. “We must never forget that our nation has responsibility to its veterans.”

Lawmakers have complained for years about the VA claims backlog that has resulted in some veterans waiting for hundreds of days to receive benefits, but with the recent report of deaths in Arizona, the pressure is increasing on the administration to do more.