As VA Backlog Grows, "Baffled" Veteran Allies Begin to Turn On President

http://www.thedailybeast.com/articles/2013/04/08/as-va-backlog-grows-baffled-veteran-allies-begin-to-turn-on-president.html

As VA Backlog Grows, "Baffled" Veteran Allies Begin to Turn On President
by Jamie Reno Apr 8, 2013 4:45 AM EDT

As the benefits system for veterans has bogged down on Obama's watch, in spite of his promises to fix it, advocates who had been allies are running out of patience with the president, reports Jamie Reno.

America's 23 million veterans are facing an unprecedented crisis as the backlog of disability claims at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) has grown to nearly 1 million - more than double what it was when President Obama took office.

The situation has reached a tipping point. Newspaper editorial boards and magazines call it a "national disgrace" and insist VA Secretary Eric Shinseki should resign. Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL), chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is calling for the resignation of Allison Hickey, the VA's head of benefits.

Given the breadth of the crisis, this widespread outrage isn't surprising. But perhaps what is surprising is that for the first time, several prominent veteran advocates who've been staunch supporters of Obama are now joining the chorus of critics who say the president has badly mishandled the VA.





unhappycamper comment: Shinseki is not the problem; the United States Congress is.