The national commander for the Disabled American Veterans (DAV) was not surprised Friday at the resignation of the Veterans Affairs secretary amid recent reports of poor treatment of veterans at VA facilities across the country.
Attending meetings in Jefferson City, DAV National Commander Joe Johnston said they do honor the service that Eric Shinseki has given.
"He is a combat disabled veteran, and we respect his decision," Johnston said. "However, a change in leadership will not address the root of the problem. It's a problem of access and appropriate funding. We have 1.2 million members and are imploring the president to quickly nominate a new secretary. We stand to work with Sloan Gibson, the interim secretary, to implement solutions to get appropriate care for veterans."
Johnston said Shinseki should be given credit for improving access to mental health care for veterans during his tenure.
"This crisis is deeply disturbing and should serve as a wake-up call to Congress to live up to the promises to the men and women who so honorably served our country," Johnston said. "The VA system is made up of 150 hospitals and just under 1,000 outpatient clinics across the country. It's inevitable when you have that level of service then there will be people not doing what they should. Those who have done wrong should be held accountable."
For the past 15 years, Johnston said, the VA has been underfunded to the tune of $17 billion.
"They've testified to this in Congress," he said. "These are not new things. They've been going on for some time. We expect the VA to be open with the public about what they are doing to correct these deficiencies."