Jeff Miller Skeptical on Latest Round of VA Reforms

On Monday, the day before Veterans Day, U.S. VA Secretary Bob McDonald announced plans for a massive reorganization of the department as it tries to restore confidence after reports emerged that VA hospitals across the nation altered wait lists. In Phoenix, where VA medical centers altered wait lists to show less of a backlog for treatment, 40 veterans died waiting for medical care.

McDonald told CNN on Monday that the department had already disciplined 5,600 employees and some of them would be fired. McDonald also promised more attention to customer service and plans to cut down on wait times.

"This is going to be the largest reorganization of the Department of Veterans Affairs since its establishment," McDonald told CNN on Monday.

U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., the chairman of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, sounded a skeptical note on Monday.

New plans, initiatives and organizational structures are all well and good, but they will not produce their intended results until VA rids itself of the employees who have shaken veterans trust in the system, Miller said. So far VA hasnt done that as evidenced by the fact that the majority of those who caused the VA scandal are still on the department payroll. Im disappointed that instead of fully embracing the new firing authorities Congress and President Obama gave VA as part of the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act, the department has shied away from them and even added more bureaucratic red tape such as additional appeals and interminable stints on paid leave. No one doubts that reforming VA is a tough job, but getting rid of failed executives should be the easiest part not the most difficult.