Duckworth says VA chief should go
Political Editor
mriopell@dailyherald.com
U.S. Rep. Tammy Duckworth, a Hoffman Estates Democrat and former assistant secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, called today for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to be replaced.
The department has been hit with scandal after an inspector general report showed veterans faced long wait times for care and that officials could have falsified reports about the problem at a hospital in Phoenix.
"It is clear from the Inspector General's latest report that the issues with the Veterans Health Administration system are even greater than originally thought and the findings are simply not acceptable," Duckworth said in a statement Friday morning.
"Unfortunately, this scandal has been a distraction from that and that's why I think it's time for new leadership at the Department of Veterans Affairs. It is crucial that we work together in a bipartisan fashion to do whatever is necessary to fix these problems and make sure that they never happen again," said Duckworth, who lost both legs when a Blackhawk helicopter she was piloting was shot down in Iraq.
The number of members of Congress who have called for Shinseki's resignation has been rising, and Duckworth's statement adds the voice of a former VA official and wounded Army veteran.