in there and figures it out. look, i don t want to impugn the reputation of general shinseki, he was a great guy, but i thought it was time for him to go to get new blood in there and the new person whoever long-term it ends up being, i want to see people fired. i want to see people prosecuted by the law for those that created this secret waiting list. that s what we have to do next. clean house, as paul said. we need to say, hey, those in the backlog, you can go to a private doctor, get some things taken care of. we have to get dead serious of this. this is the beginning of taking control. there has been so much information. i want to put a graphic on the screen. about the wait for care. this is what the inspector general found. 1,700 veterans not even on a wait list. an average wait of 115 days for first appointment. hospital leadership, quote, significantly understated time veterans waited for first appointment. paul, your experience with veterans, is this a fair statement? they r
his subordinates, he really gets in there and figures it out. look, i don t want to impugn the reputation of general shinseki, he was a great guy, but i thought it was time for him to go to get new blood in there and the new person whoever long-term it ends up being, i want to see people fired. i want to see people prosecuted by the law for those that created this secret waiting list. that s what we have to do next. clean house, as paul said. we need to say, hey, those in the backlog, you can go to a private doctor, get some things taken care of. we have to get dead serious of this. this is the beginning of taking control. there has been so much information. i want to put a graphic on the screen. about the wait for care. this is what the inspector general found. 1,700 veterans not even on a wait list. an average wait of 115 days for first appointment. hospital leadership, quote, significantly understated time veterans waited for first appointment. paul, your experience with veterans,
they get it. quality care is generally good but access to care has been horrible and continues to be horrible, and this is not an isolated situation. and the needs are greater and they re growing. this is not an isolated situation. the ig is investigating 41 other cities. so this scandal is very far from over. we need folks to know that now the fact that shinseki is gone is a good step but the new person has to be in place. we need america to stay focused. we re going to need focus and this is a key question for congress, congressman, which is are you prepared not just to see people fired and prosecuted. are you prepared to vote to spend more money to give the va more doctors, more resources to deal with this growing need? well, look, the va budget is much higher than it was ten years ago. it s going to continue to increase and i think you will see congress we ve always put our military and our veterans above almost anything we do. it s so very important. so you will see a
the va and what they see as the mistreatment of this nation s veterans. and at grandson s where folks flock to chow down and chat, they are steaming. i think it s just a message that we don t care. you know, we understand you went over there, you served our country, you done your job, but, you know, now that you re back home, we don t care. reporter: richelle james husband was deployed a year in iraq. she says the va is overwhelmed, understaffed, and that the departure of general shinseki solves little. i think he s just a figurehead. i don t think he s the actual problem. reporter: and as the longest wars in our nation s history slowly wind down, they ask, isn t that when soldiers need the va most? jane bell s son is in the navy. if they understood what military families go through since iraq and afghanistan and honestly truly cared what they
touch on the other big story this week, of course, and that is secretary of the veterans affairs administration shinseki resigning amid this scandal within the va. there are questions about the care that veterans are getting today and the lack of service that they have gotten as the internal audit has found. you have got some 22,000 veterans from afghanistan, where you are, who will be returning home. how does this get fixed going forward? well, it must be fixed. that s first. let me, first, address general shinseki. as president obama said in thanking him for his service to our country over an entire career, we owe shinseki that debt of gratitude for his service. now, the bigger issue, which you have just asked me about, there are problems. we know from the va s inspector