Is President Obama serious about repairing the Veterans Affairs Administration?

CPT Jack Durish — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 11:36:04 -0400

You have to wonder. Congress passed legislation to facilitate cleaning out the dead wood at the Veterans Affairs Administration and President Obama threatens to veto it. What does that tell us? Come to think of it, how many times did he bypass the VA Hospital in Arizona when the story about "waiting lists" broke there, even though he was in the neighborhood? I guess he has more important things on his plate. What do you suppose they are?

http://www.wsj.com/articles/obama-backs-the-bureaucrats [login to see]

Obama Backs the Bureaucrats

White House threatens a veto on VA reforms.

Response by MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca made Jul 30 at 2015 11:38 AM

MAJ Robert (Bob) Petrarca — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 11:38:20 -0400

About as serious as all his predecessors, which is why it is the way it is now.

Response by SMSgt Tony Barnes made Jul 30 at 2015 11:39 AM

SMSgt Tony Barnes — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 11:39:29 -0400

Mixed opinion

Response by Capt Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 30 at 2015 11:39 AM

Capt Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 11:39:58 -0400

According to him - if they are union they are right. I wonder what the campaign donation have to do with that attitude.

Response by LTC Stephen F. made Jul 30 at 2015 11:47 AM

LTC Stephen F. — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 11:47:25 -0400

Possibly CPT Jack Durish, unfortunately President Obama seems to believe that the fount of wisdom and knowledge is within his administration. There are two elected officials in the White House while the Congress has hundreds of elected members that tend to be somewhat closer to their constituents than the President and his advisers.
The President is from the school that believes that government is in the best position to provide necessary oversight, direction and services throughout the nation at taxpayer expense.
He is probably saddened by what has happened to Veterans and angry when positive media attention is drawn away and criticism of his administration's policies occurs.
He is probably focusing on his legacy - the Iran Nuclear deal, Obamacare, that he is then one who was actually the toughest of the terrorists, etc. He wants to look good in history.

Response by SGT Jeremiah B. made Jul 30 at 2015 12:13 PM

SGT Jeremiah B. — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:13:04 -0400

Article is behind a paywall. Why is the President threatening veto?

Response by GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad made Jul 30 at 2015 12:15 PM

GySgt Wayne A. Ekblad — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:15:03 -0400

House passes new VA reforms, but veto threat looms ...

http://www.militarytimes.com/story/military/capitol-hill/2015/07/29/house-new-va-reforms/30845137/

House passes new VA reforms, but veto threat looms

House Republicans on Wednesday passed new rules to speed the firing of problematic Veterans Affairs Department employees, despite a veto threat from the White House and objections from Democratic lawmakers.

Response by COL Ted Mc made Jul 30 at 2015 12:26 PM

COL Ted Mc — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:26:22 -0400

CPT Jack Durish - Captain; Depending on the actual content of the legislation he may well be.

If the actual content of the legislation ends up creating MORE inefficiency and chaos at the VA than currently exists (Yes, yes, yes - I know. But it IS statistically possible.) then vetoing the legislation is "a good thing".

Face it, the Republicans don't really care if the legislation actually does what they say it does - just as long as they can say it does it (and keep on saying it until after November 2016).

Response by SSgt Alex Robinson made Jul 30 at 2015 12:29 PM

SSgt Alex Robinson — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 12:29:10 -0400

No. If he were there would have been wholesale changes made already.

Response by SGM Private RallyPoint Member made Jul 30 at 2015 2:45 PM

SGM Private RallyPoint Member — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 14:45:21 -0400

Yes, all Presidents want an Executive Branch that functions, not just grows. However, imagine that you are the President. You have only so many fingers and toes to fill holes in the leaky dam. If you don't have the right fit and mix of people who can effectively lead and dance with Congress, you aren't going to get very far. Yes, there is much as President can do with his kick-to-pat ratio; there is also much more that should be expected of every federal employee, especially at the VA to focus on the greater good = the veteran patients. America as a whole needs to expect competence, reward it, and not be shy about punishing those who would degrade it. We also must ensure that a fair system is in place to do just that. Won't happen as long as temporary political inmates run the asylum. Nor will it happen if the good ole boys select and protect one of their own.

Response by MSG Brad Sand made Jul 30 at 2015 3:10 PM

MSG Brad Sand — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 15:10:40 -0400

Is the President serious, no. About repairing Veteran Affairs Administration, no. Combined, still no. Is anyone else in the Federal bureaucracy concerned about the bureaucracy, no. It is nice to see that with enough National attention some movement is possible. When the outrage get enough movement, some change might happen.

Response by PO2 Skip Kirkwood made Jul 30 at 2015 5:29 PM

PO2 Skip Kirkwood — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 17:29:23 -0400

No.

Response by BG David Fleming III made Jul 30 at 2015 8:19 PM

BG David Fleming III — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:19:29 -0400

Serious maybe to strong a word! Interested maybe!

Response by Sgt Mitchell Sporar made Jul 30 at 2015 8:23 PM

Sgt Mitchell Sporar — Thu, 30 Jul 2015 20:23:44 -0400

No. How could anybody who spearheaded the cut (and in some cases stoppage) of veterans benefits be taken seriously when he claims he wants to 'fix it'...?

This is still the same guy who stole $500m from the defense budget to fund Obamacare.
This is still the same guy who stole $700b from MediCare to fund Obamacare

Response by MCPO Douglas Pennington made Jul 31 at 2015 7:10 AM

MCPO Douglas Pennington — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 07:10:42 -0400

As long as i can remember the VA has been in shambles. Even when my dad was using them in the 80's and 90's. And to this day it seems like nothing has changed. Take the new VA Hospital being built in Colorado. It is bogged down by huge cost over runs and to this day is not complete. the Beaurocrats in DC need to fix this system but honestly i see it never being fixed. You can throw money at a problem and increase the problem or get rid of the bad apples and more adequately fix the problem.

Response by PO1 John Miller made Aug 1 at 2015 9:49 AM

PO1 John Miller — Sat, 01 Aug 2015 09:49:09 -0400

This is the same President who has threatened to veto all types of VA reform bills presented by the Republicans, so I sincerely doubt it.

Response by Cpl Chris Rice made Aug 3 at 2015 4:41 AM

Cpl Chris Rice — Mon, 03 Aug 2015 04:41:35 -0400

Once again there is an wonderfully named bill, but was is in the text of the law? I read a good bit, makes you wonder how much of this can really be the Presidents fault if Congress has the rules so dictated through law. Here is the text

https://www.congress.gov/bill/114th-congress/house-bill/1994/text

Text - H.R.1994 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): VA Accountability Act of 2015 | Congress.gov |...

Text for H.R.1994 - 114th Congress (2015-2016): VA Accountability Act of 2015

Response by Sgt Kelli Mays made Aug 13 at 2016 3:01 PM

Sgt Kelli Mays — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 15:01:53 -0400

uh...let's see....NO, NO and NO....he's had nearly 8 years...and exactly what has he done so far? I rest my case.

Response by CPT Jack Durish made Aug 13 at 2016 3:12 PM

CPT Jack Durish — Sat, 13 Aug 2016 15:12:13 -0400

No. Hell no