Rich Nugent Calls for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to Resign

After news emerged that three officials were suspended from the Malcom Randall VA Medical Center in Gainesville due to a secret waiting list of 200 patients waiting for treatment, U.S. Rep. Rich Nugent, R-Fla., called for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign. Similar stories on other VA medical centers using secret waiting lists have emerged across the nation, including in Phoenix where 40 veterans died as they waited for treatment.

Nugent released the following statement on Friday:

Like a lot of people, I think Im struggling to find the right words to describe just how bad this situation really is with the VA. Appalling and disgraceful dont really seem to capture it. We already know from Arizona and elsewhere that the very individuals we entrust to take care of the nations veterans have been purposefully hiding those veterans requests for help in a drawer so that nobody will know how bad the VAs responsiveness and efficiency are.

This is a serious breach of trust, first and foremost for the veterans who have been denied care, but I think for all veterans and for the entire country. So in Gainesville, the possibility that a mental health professional at the VA would potentially make a veteran who had requested assistance wait is a serious concern.

Its unclear at this point exactly whats happened in Gainesville, but what is clear is that the VA has lost its credibility. I dont feel like I can trust them when they say that everything is fine and the accountability is there. The only thing at this point thats going to restore that trust, in my opinion, is a change in leadership and sustained demonstration of results. Frankly, at this point, I believe the strongest leadership that Secretary Shinseki could show in this regard is to resign. Its simply gone too far.

I want employees at the VA nationwide to understand that this is not a witch hunt to come after anybody. But if you know of wrongdoing, this is your time to come forward. Understanding fully how aggressive the Obama administration has been in going after whistleblowers, you have my personal commitment that as a member of Congress I will not stand for any retaliation against you. What matters here is restoring the service to veterans and also the breach of trust. If whistleblowers stay quiet, the situation wont get fixed and our veterans will suffer because of it. Because of that anybody who knows of wrongdoing and doesnt speak up is complicit in the mistreatment of veterans. And that is unacceptable to me and to the American people.

In general, I also want every veteran out there to know that if you are not getting the responsiveness from the VA that you deserve, please call your member of Congress. Part of the job is holding the system accountable on behalf of all veterans, but a crucial part is also going to bat in individual cases. If one of the vets had come to me saying their requests for a medical appointment hadnt been answered for six months, I would have dropped everything to get it fixed. These men and women have done too much for this country to be ignored like this. Period.