Today, President Obama ostensibly forced Secretary Shinseki to resign over the scandals and systemic failures at the Veterans Administration. I appreciate the President and Secretary Shinseki heeding my call and those of my colleagues to resign. But I say accountability ends at the President’s feet. As the sign on President Harry Truman’s desk in the Oval Office stated, The buck stops here. The resignation of Secretary Shinseki sends the right message that there has to be accountability, but more is needed. The problems must be addressed and the President needs to step up and set a better example of leadership. Regarding General Shinseki, I would hope that he be denied any benefits or pensions stemming from his tenure as Secretary, and only be afforded those from his military service. The same goes for those employees found to be complicit in these scandals. Further, after the VA Inspector General and the House Veterans Affairs Committee reports are complete, I believe we will likely need to initiate civil and criminal proceedings against those in the VA who are deemed responsible for this negligence and malfeasance.
Posted on: Fri, 30 May 2014 17:43:55 +0000
Trending Topics
Recently Viewed Topics
© 2015