Filed under, when pigs fly

[Sangersteve]

According to reports, the "letter to Attorney General Eric Holder came as the department released an internal review showing more than 57,000 veterans have been waiting for up to three months for medical appointments. An additional 64,000 who enrolled for VA health care over the past decade have never been seen by a doctor, according to the audit."

The senators want DOJ to take the lead in the ongoing investigation.

"Evidence of secret waiting times, falsification of records, destruction of documents, and other potential criminal wrongdoing has appalled and angered the nation, and imperiled trust and confidence in the Veterans Health Administration," 21 senators wrote in a letter sent late last week to Holder.

"The spreading and growing scale of apparent criminal wrongdoing is fast outpacing the criminal investigative resources of the IG, and the revelations in the interim report only highlight the urgency of involvement by the Department of Justice," they wrote. "This challenge requires resources that only the Department of Justice can provide in developing and assessing evidence, pursuing leads, and initiating active prosecutions aggressively if warranted."

They also cited an internal audit which said a 14-day target for waiting times wasn't attainable due to demand and poor planning. It also cited what it called "an organizational leadership failure" when it came to paying the controversial bonuses that recently made news.

[ann jusko]

My sister and I have resigned ourselves to the fact that my brother will never get his Agent Orange payout or financial help for his assisted living cost. It's not much, but it would help. The VA plays a game by sending a letter asking for "additional" information THAT WAS ALREADY SENT TO THEM. I think it's just a game to VA or they are the most incompetent agency EVER.

[glenn/dallas]

The VA system has lots of problems, however , many of them(if not most) seem to come from the clerical side, scheduling appointments, filing pperwork, etc. Who causes these problems? In y opinion, its the higher ups who want to "look good" on paper anyway. Sad situation.

[planosteve]

If what I read is true we're basicly screwed. The Bush administration said the Iraq War would cost 40 billion. He fired the guy who said it would actually be over 200 billion. The estimate for the cost of Iraq vets healthcare alone will probably be in the area of 2 trillion.

[Dancer]

Our Federal Government is running this debacle, what the hell do you expect?