John Boehner Uses Shinseki Resignation To Blame President Obama For the VA Scandal

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John Boehner is already using the Shinseki resignation to blame President Obama for the VA scandal while still not offering any real help to veterans.

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Boehner made it clear that House Republicans are going into blame Obama mode, “His resignation, though, does not absolve the president of his responsibility to step in and make things right for our veterans. Business as usual can not continue. As a first step, the Senate should immediately take up the House passed VA Management Accountability Act. And until the president outlines a vision and an effective plan for addressing the broad dysfunction at the VA, today’s announcement really changes nothing. One personnel change can not be used as an excuse to paper over a systemic problem. Our veterans deserve better, and we’ll hold the president accountable until he makes things right.”

Speaker Boehner ignored everything that President Obama said earlier when he accepted Gen. Shinseki’s resignation.

During his announcement, the president said:

He’s (Shinseki) not adverse to admitting where there’s a problem and going after it. But we occupy a — not just an environment that calls for management fixes, we’ve also got to deal with Congress and you guys. And I think Ric’s judgment that he could not carry out the next stages of reform without being a distraction himself.

And so my assessment was, unfortunately, that he was right. I regret that he has to resign under these circumstances, but I also have confidence in Sloan, and I share Ric Shinseki’s assessment that the number-one priority is making sure that problems get fixed so that if there’s a veteran out there who needs help that they’re getting a schedule and they’re able to come in and see a doctor, and that if there are facilities that don’t have enough doctors or do not have enough nurses or do not have enough space, that that information immediately gets in the hands of decision-makers, all the way up to me and all the way to Congress, so that we can get more resources in there to help folks.

What Speaker Boehner tried to frame as the president papering over the problem was actually the removal of a distraction that Republicans could use to paper over the problem. The president also noted that a big part of the VA’s scheduling problem is that they are using a computer system from the 1990s. Rep. Boehner had no comment about the need for funding, so that the VA can upgrade their systems. Instead, Boehner’s only answer seems to be to fire people.

Republicans don’t seem all that interested in fixing the problems at the VA. They appear to be more interested in putting on a show by firing people and blaming the president.

It’s the same old song and dance. When the country needs a real solution, all Republicans are prepared to do is throw their arms in the air and blame Obama.

Jason Easley

Jason is the managing editor. He is also a White House Press Pool and a Congressional correspondent for PoliticusUSA. Jason has a Bachelor’s Degree in Political Science. His graduate work focused on public policy, with a specialization in social reform movements.

Awards and  Professional Memberships

Member of the Society of Professional Journalists and The American Political Science Association