Obama Visits VA
Obama Visits VA, During a whirlwind visit to Arizona, President Barack Obama personally dug into the nation's VA health-care crisis Friday with a roundtable discussion at the Phoenix veterans hospital and a surprise visit to a wounded warrior in residential Gilbert.
Eleven months after the scandal over delayed care for veterans first came to public light in Phoenix, the presidential engagement was as much a political statement as a news event. Obama did not launch any new programs or directives, but he announced the formation of a committee that will focus on improving the VA's ability to meet the needs of veterans.
Critics, including some who participated with Obama in a brainstorming session at the Phoenix medical center, reacted derisively, saying another blue-ribbon panel is not the cure for an ailing VA system.About two dozen people met with Obama on his first visit to the Phoenix hospital since the VA scandal came to light last April. Participants included five members of Arizona's congressional delegation, three top VA executives, four veterans advocates and a number of hospital administrators and health-care workers.
Afterward, Obama stressed a need to "restore trust and confidence in the VA system," adding, "It's important that veterans know somebody's got their backs."While Obama said the VA suffers from "a few bad apples (and) mistakes that have been made," he sought to encourage the roughly 340,000 department employees nationwide.
Every veteran I talked to here today emphasized that, when it comes to actual care people were receiving once in the system, it was outstanding," he declared. "We can't ignore that every single day, the VA is doing outstanding work to provide care to our veterans."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was quick to pan Obama's efforts thus far.
"We're certainly glad that President Obama used his long-term overdue visit to the Phoenix VA to announce the creation of yet another advisory committee to study the problem," McCain sniped after the meeting.
"The truth is that while thousands of Arizona veterans continue to experience unacceptable delays in VA care, the Obama administration has been slow and reluctant to fundamentally reform VA operations, including implementation of the vitally important Choice Card program. And today's roundtable, to which leading veterans-service organizations were not even invited, served more of a photo op for the president than it did a meaningful discussion of the challenges our veterans continue to face."
Eleven months after the scandal over delayed care for veterans first came to public light in Phoenix, the presidential engagement was as much a political statement as a news event. Obama did not launch any new programs or directives, but he announced the formation of a committee that will focus on improving the VA's ability to meet the needs of veterans.
Critics, including some who participated with Obama in a brainstorming session at the Phoenix medical center, reacted derisively, saying another blue-ribbon panel is not the cure for an ailing VA system.About two dozen people met with Obama on his first visit to the Phoenix hospital since the VA scandal came to light last April. Participants included five members of Arizona's congressional delegation, three top VA executives, four veterans advocates and a number of hospital administrators and health-care workers.
Afterward, Obama stressed a need to "restore trust and confidence in the VA system," adding, "It's important that veterans know somebody's got their backs."While Obama said the VA suffers from "a few bad apples (and) mistakes that have been made," he sought to encourage the roughly 340,000 department employees nationwide.
Every veteran I talked to here today emphasized that, when it comes to actual care people were receiving once in the system, it was outstanding," he declared. "We can't ignore that every single day, the VA is doing outstanding work to provide care to our veterans."
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., was quick to pan Obama's efforts thus far.
"We're certainly glad that President Obama used his long-term overdue visit to the Phoenix VA to announce the creation of yet another advisory committee to study the problem," McCain sniped after the meeting.
"The truth is that while thousands of Arizona veterans continue to experience unacceptable delays in VA care, the Obama administration has been slow and reluctant to fundamentally reform VA operations, including implementation of the vitally important Choice Card program. And today's roundtable, to which leading veterans-service organizations were not even invited, served more of a photo op for the president than it did a meaningful discussion of the challenges our veterans continue to face."
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Obama Visits VA
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