The topic should be the President's failure as commander in chief

 

Why not start a thread on that...then it will be the topic you want. But the discussion here should be about the VA Hospital delays.

I hope the attention results in improvements in veterans care but sadly I do not think it will.

Obama speaks on the scandal.

 

Gives support to the department chief Eric Shinseki.

 

Calls for an investigation.

 

And we thought he may do something for once.

Only in this White House could a Cabinet Secretary get not just one but two public presidential statements of confidence as internal documents emerge showing that an agency knew about fraud, and left the problem to such an extent that people died while waiting for medical care.

http://finance.yahoo.com/news/obama-white-house-buck-stops-100000619.html

Another Obama scandal.. This started six years ago when he took office.. Spent 500 million on office furniture and let vets die... Congress Holds a Hearing on a Real Scandal: The VA Hospital Delays - The Wire

 

IMO we as a country simply pay lip service to taking care of our veterans when they return. We're hesitant to put money into support programs. We don't take PTSD seriously enough.

 

President Obama campaigned on fixing this issue. It hasn't been fixed. It's a black eye for the administration.

 

With that said, this did not start six years ago. It's been an ongoing issue that pre-dated this administration. It's why I said we do not take it seriously. We've seen administrations from both sides in the last 14 years and it was a problem and still is a problem. This isn't a political issue. It's a country issue.

Breaking News.....VA has sucked.....FOREVER!!!

 

You being a republican I see you don't play into the party line garbage! A breath of fresh air! You are 100% correct, the VA is a mess, and has been for a very long time!

 

Before Shinseki took the job the executive director of Iraqi and Afghanistan veterans of America talked about the problems that he would face, that the VA was outdated and had been severely under funded for years.

 

In 2009 the VA budget was about $100 billion, this year it is over $150 billion. BUT, in 2009 there were about 400,000 claims, and in 2012 that number was over 900,000! YES! we did increase the VA's budget by about 50% towards a severely under funded system, BUT we also more than doubled the number of claims.

 

But now, I guess as a way to attempt to slap Obama yet again, many republicans want Shinseki run out of town, yet again? (The first time, in 2003, he was correct in what he said but was still run out of town). Will getting rid of Shinseki solve this long standing problem at the VA?

 

BUT, lets look back to 2003, the same month we invaded Iraq, the House passed a budget to cut a total of about $15 billion from veterans care. But in 2005 the VS secretary said that the VA had enough money and resources?

 

The VA is a disgrace to the country! And we need to finally find a way to fix it!

IMO we as a country simply pay lip service to taking care of our veterans when they return. We're hesitant to put money into support programs. We don't take PTSD seriously enough.

 

Agreed! A few months ago, who filibustered a bill that would have created about 25 new VA medical centers? Saying it was "too expensive?'

 

Fact is fact! We as a country do not care about veterans! Plain and simple! Until we as a country start to change this long standing issue with the outdated, under funded and huge backlog at the VA, it's just lip service saying we care for and take care of the veterans.

Even though the Inspector General of the Department of Veteran Affairs has been probing these problems for months, the White House tried claiming last week that President Obama only found out about them through news reports over the whistleblower allegations, the same way Obama supposedly found out about the IRS targeting of his political opponents. HUGE lie from the white house......

. During the 2008-9 transition prior to Obama’s inauguration, he and Shinseki were briefed on allegations that appointment data was being manipulated to hide long wait times.

Congress has increased VA funding 78% since 2010 but they spent 500 million of it on "office furniture"...

IMO we as a country simply pay lip service to taking care of our veterans when they return. We're hesitant to put money into support programs. We don't take PTSD seriously enough.

 

President Obama campaigned on fixing this issue. It hasn't been fixed. It's a black eye for the administration.

 

With that said, this did not start six years ago. It's been an ongoing issue that pre-dated this administration. It's why I said we do not take it seriously. We've seen administrations from both sides in the last 14 years and it was a problem and still is a problem. This isn't a political issue. It's a country issue.

 

I don't recall Obama campaigning on this. I went to the various fact check sites and did not see fixing the VA listed on any of them. I don't doubt somewhere, sometime Obama made a statement(s) about improving the VA but I don't think this has been a campaign issue.

 

Regardless, that doesn't diminish the fact that this is a mess that should have been addressed. With all the talk and attention on support of our military, the facts are most of it is lip service. We parade out injured vets and applaud loudly. We say heartfelt thank you's. Then we go on to our lives and they go home to injuries they struggle to overcome every day. I hope this issue continues to stay in the spotlight and becomes the number issue in the upcoming elections. It is time for the country to put action in front of the applause.

IMO we as a country simply pay lip service to taking care of our veterans when they return. We're hesitant to put money into support programs. We don't take PTSD seriously enough.

 

President Obama campaigned on fixing this issue. It hasn't been fixed. It's a black eye for the administration.

 

With that said, this did not start six years ago. It's been an ongoing issue that pre-dated this administration. It's why I said we do not take it seriously. We've seen administrations from both sides in the last 14 years and it was a problem and still is a problem. This isn't a political issue. It's a country issue.

 

The way to fix it is for young desirable military recruits to decline military service citing poor care for veterans as a reason. The military, and by extension Congress, needs to feel some pain over this issue.

Over/Under on when the health care for the rest of the country looks like the VA b/c of Obamacare?

 

This is a death panel right? I mean this is what people warned was going to happen. It will happen.

Here is what Bernie Sanders, the socialist that Harry Reid picked to chair the Senate's Committee on Veterans Affairs has to say on this subject as he flailed in search of an excuse for denying a vote on the bipartisan bill that was passed by the House:

 

We know that people die every day. We don't know why they die. All right – anyhow, Chris, I don't want to argue that point until the cows come home. Here's what you've got: you've got a system that, by and large, I think, works reasonably well for veterans.

I don't recall Obama campaigning on this. I went to the various fact check sites and did not see fixing the VA listed on any of them. I don't doubt somewhere, sometime Obama made a statement(s) about improving the VA but I don't think this has been a campaign issue.

 

Regardless, that doesn't diminish the fact that this is a mess that should have been addressed. With all the talk and attention on support of our military, the facts are most of it is lip service. We parade out injured vets and applaud loudly. We say heartfelt thank you's. Then we go on to our lives and they go home to injuries they struggle to overcome every day. I hope this issue continues to stay in the spotlight and becomes the number issue in the upcoming elections. It is time for the country to put action in front of the applause.

Fact check sites are notoriously biased in Obama's favor. It is best to read and listen to the Obama's speeches yourself.

 

"I'll be a President who ensures that America serves our men and women in uniform as well as they've served us, and that's why I'm proud to have the support of these veterans advising me on the issues facing our troops and veterans," Obama stated. "After seven years of an Administration that has stretched our military to the breaking point, ignored deplorable conditions at some VA hospitals, and neglected the planning and preparation necessary to care for our returning heroes, America's veterans deserve a President who will fight for them not just when it's easy or convenient, but every hour of every day for the next four years." - Candidate Barack Obama November 12, 2007

 

I can't believe you all blame Obama for these problems.