Congressman Bill Flores (R-Texas) issued the following statement regarding the resignation of the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki: “I would like to thank Secretary Shinseki for his service to our nation. Unfortunately, the VA continues to enable a culture that fails to provide the proper health care and benefit services for America’s veterans. I do feel that Secretary Shinseki is not the sole person to blame for the department’s failures; President Obama neglected to provide the secretary with the tools needed for success, such as the recently House passed VA Management Accountability Act. It is a shame that the men and women that have sacrificed so much so our country are paying the price for the systematic incompetence of the executive branch. “Now that the Department of Veterans Affairs will be under new leadership, it is my hope that that the new secretary will adopt the style of former Defense Secretary Robert Gates, who aggressively worked to solve bureaucratic problems by making necessary changes and firing individuals who failed to perform. Additionally, our veterans deserve to know that their health care and benefits are in capable hands with someone that is willing to change the current culture. It must be made clear that mismanagement will no longer be tolerated. Longer term, we need to look at new models of delivery services to veterans in a manner that focuses on veterans first and minimizes bureaucracy.”
U.S. Senator John Cornyn (R-TX) issued the following statement after President Obama announced Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki’s resignation: “After weeks of muted reactions and tepid responses, I’m glad to see the President and Sec. Shinseki have heeded our calls for new leadership at the VA. As a decorated service member, Sec. Shinseki served his country well but his time at the VA has been marked by gross inefficiencies and mismanagement. “President Obama must quickly nominate someone from outside the broken bureaucracy of the VA to implement immediate changes focused on providing our veterans with the care they deserve.”
Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX) released the following statement regarding the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki: “This was necessary for the Veterans Administration to begin to restore its broken trust with our veterans and the American public. Secretary Shinseki served our nation honorably and recognized we need a fresh start if we hope to quickly address the growing scandal at the agency and keep America’s health care promises to our military veterans. Congress cannot do it alone – we need at least a smidgeon of leadership from President Obama to root out the abuses and create an efficient, responsive 21st Century veterans agency.”