Speaker of the House John Boehner (R., Ohio) called on President Obama to take more action to fix "the abject failure" of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the New York Times reported.
In a letter signed by the Republican House leadership, Mr. Boehner called on the president to support legislation offered by his members that would provide the secretary of veterans affairs with more authority to fire people at the agency and give veterans who face delays in seeing doctors the ability to temporarily go elsewhere.
"Are you willing to do whatever it takes, pending the results of the investigations that are underway, to ensure our veterans get the care we owe them, even if it means shaking up the current bureaucracy and rethinking the entire system?" the lawmakers asked in the letter.
The letter concluded, "The V.A. scandal is a national disgrace, and Americans are eager to know the extent of your willingness to personally take action in order to make things right for those who have served." […]
Mr. Obama has been on the defensive for weeks as reports surfaced thatofficials at veterans hospitals across the country had been manipulating doctors’ appointment times with secret waiting lists. The presidentaccepted the resignation of Eric Shinseki, the V.A. secretary, but Mr. Boehner and the other lawmakers said that was not enough.