Running for the White House, candidate Obama promised action. Soon after he took over the VA, Shinseki did take action, ordering that henceforth veterans would not have to wait more than 14 days for a medical appointment.
But the bureaucracy at the VA, second only to the Pentagon in size, is notoriously sluggish. In 2010 -- four years ago! -- the deputy undersecretary of the VA wrote a nine-page memo saying that in order to cover up their continued delays, various parts of the VA system were engaged in "gaming strategies" -- in effect, lying.
The General Accounting Office and VA inspector generals wrote reports saying the practice was widespread. One would have thought that would have set off alarm bells at both the VA and the White House. Where was the anger then? There were some internal investigations, but they never went anywhere and there was little apparent sense of urgency.
Six months ago, CNN turned loose its own investigative reporters and aired stories about excessive waits in several facilities across the country. Again, the VA and the White House had little to say.
Then a month ago, CNN (along with the Arizona Republic) broke the story from the Phoenix VA that managers there have allegedly been cooking their books to provide false assurances. Veterans awaiting care were dying. The administration seemed to brush the story aside and Shinseki refused repeated requests from CNN for an interview.
Recent days have been a political nightmare for the VA. Hauled before Congress to testify, Shinseki testified that evidence suggested only "isolated incidents" in the system. That same day CNN was reporting that there were allegations of misdeeds in at least six centers across the country. The next day the VA itself said there were 10 centers under investigation. By this week, the official number had mushroomed to 26. And weeks after the fact, the VA has rescinded a bonus it gave earlier this year to the boss of that Phoenix operation.
First class ticket on the fail boat for you.
Facebook
Twitter