VA Scandal - National Disgrace - Vets Died In New Mexico - FBI Opens Criminal Probe

Today in Washington, D.C., June 13, 2014
The Senate is not in session today and will reconvene on Monday at 2 PM. At 5:30 on Monday, the Senate will vote on cloture on the nominations of three district judges.

Yesterday, the Senate voted 63-24 to confirm Stanley Fischer to be the Vice Chairman of the Fed, 661-31 to confirm Lael Brainard to be a member of the Federal Reserve System board, and 667-24 to confirm Jerome Powell to be a member of the Federal Reserve System board.

The House reconvened at 11 Am in pro-forma session for two minutes and then adjorned,  The House will reconvene on Tuesday at 12 PM.

Along with Obamacare, another story that hasn’t risen to the top of the news much this week is the ongoing scandal at the VA, but it’s worth noting recent developments.

On Wednesday, the Albuquerque Journal reported on the latest revelations out of the VA in New Mexico. “A new effort to contact hundreds of veterans who enrolled for VA medical care in Albuquerque over the past decade but hadn’t had an initial appointment found 21 cases in which the veteran had died. . . . Meanwhile, a national audit released this week may not have provided an accurate picture of average wait times for veterans to see doctors at the Albuquerque VA Medical Center. Dr. James Robbins, the interim medical director, told the Journal on Tuesday there is evidence of an ‘improper use’ of the VA appointment scheduling process in Albuquerque, ‘and that does affect these numbers.’ Asked how the national VA numbers released for New Mexico can be trusted, in light of that practice, Robbins said, ‘That’s a good question.’ The audit report stated that more than 1,000 new patients at the Albuquerque VA medical center had been waiting three months or more for an initial appointment. . . . ‘We know we have a problem with wait times,’ [Robbins] told the Journal. The Journal reported last month that the VA launched an internal inquiry into the scheduling practices at the Albuquerque medical center last fall. The investigation focused on whether employees were directed by supervisors to enter appointment information into the VA computer system so patient wait times appeared shorter than they actually were. . . . Rep. Michelle Lujan Grisham, D-New Mexico, issued a statement this week saying she was ‘very skeptical of the audit report because it relies on information provided by the VA that does not match what we’ve been hearing from constituents, at my town hall or in news reports from around the country.’ VA officials reiterated on Tuesday that there was no secret waiting list of patients at the Albuquerque VA medical center – as has been alleged at the VA medical center in Phoenix. However, the Journal has reported that up to 3,000 New Mexico veterans who needed a primary care physician were assigned to a physician administrator who doesn’t treat patients – and that the veterans weren’t told of the practice. For nearly a year, the patients were monitored and their prescriptions refilled, Robbins said. They were referred to a treating physician if they had an urgent need. But they had no primary care doctor assigned. Those patients weren’t placed on the medical center’s official electronic waiting list – the same list considered during the recent VA audit.”

That same day, CNN reported that the FBI has finally stepped in to investigate the VA scandal. “The FBI says it has opened a criminal investigation of the Veterans Affairs Department, which is grappling with a scandal over long waiting lists to provide care and allegations that paperwork was faked to make delays appear shorter. FBI Director James Comey told a House hearing on Wednesday the bureau's Phoenix office has joined an ongoing review by the VA inspector general. The move at least partly satisfies requests from key members of Congress from both parties who have pressed for a full probe by the Justice Department as the scandal accelerated in recent weeks and led to the resignation of VA Secretary Eric Shinseki in May. Officials have said the inspector general is sharing findings with federal prosecutors, and the Justice Department could launch a full-blown criminal probe if any of the information meets the standard for doing so. . . . [A] Justice Department spokesman said, ‘At the department's direction, the FBI has instructed agents in its Phoenix office to conduct an investigation into the allegations related to the VA. Federal prosecutors will be working with these investigators to determine whether there is a basis for criminal charges.’”

Speaking on the Senate floor yesterday, Senate Republican Leader Mitch McConnell said, “As I’ve said all week, the systemic failures and scandals we’ve seen within the Administration are a national disgrace. When you see 100,000 veterans waiting for care that’s a national disgrace. When you see so many veterans waiting 3 months or longer just to get an appointment that’s a national disgrace. And when you see veterans dying before they even receive care they were counting on, well, it’s completely unacceptable. So this problem needs to be solved. And there’s more to be done too. A lot of the responsibility here resides with the President. He still needs to nominate a capable manager who possesses the necessary skills, leadership, and determination to fix this scandal. . . . And he needs to use all the tools in his toolbox to address the systemic management failures – both the tools he has already, and the new ones we can provide him. . . . Because our veterans have waited long enough for care. They shouldn’t be made to wait any longer.”

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