Outgoing House Intelligence Committee Chairman Mike Rogers (R., Mich.) blasted President Obama Wednesday on MSNBC for simply promising to further investigate and eventually hold someone accountable for the VA scandal.
"As a veteran myself, I am horribly disappointed in what I saw today on behalf of the president. He's very good at the glitz and glamour and the very sternly worded memos, but this is about governance," Rogers said.
The VA has seen an 8 percent uptick in veterans and a 34 percent increase in spending since 2009, suggesting the incompetence at the agency may be more systemic than a few mid level bureaucrats.
Rogers also took issue with President Obama describing the V.A.'s mission in the context of ending wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. "That offended me," Rogers said. "This is about taking care of the men and women who served this country honorably."
Additionally, the House Intel Chair ripped Secretary of the V.A. Eric Shinseki for utterly failing for five years to remedy the issues at his agency. "Mr. Shinseki has been there for five years. I think they've run out of excuses. Somebody needs to pay a price soon. We know that there's mismanagement. A good manager gets in and starts managing. That means relieving people of their duties."
However, Rogers added, all President Obama seems to be interested in is telling the press how "mad" he is and promising to review it.
"That's just the wrong answer when you're talking about these people who deserve America's faith and confidence and support in a very difficult time in their lives."