Video: Obama administration gets the Jon Stewart treatment. Talking Points Memo.
GALSTON: What the scandal tells us about our fiscal situation. "The recent revelations about the Department of Veterans Affairs point to serious problems. But the root of the scandal is not what self-serving bureaucrats failed to do or tried to cover up; it is a federal budget that prevents us from meeting even the national needs on which our polarized political parties can agree....Democrats and Republicans agree that we must fully honor the debt we have incurred to the tiny fraction of the population that does the fighting for the rest of us. Yes, the budget for the VA has risen sharply since 2002. But the number of returning veterans has risen even faster." William A. Galston in The Wall Street Journal
White House sends aide to investigate deaths linked to VA center. "One of President Obama's top aides is being dispatched to Phoenix this week to investigate deaths allegedly connected to a Department of Veterans Affairs medical center there, part of the administration's efforts to contain growing outrage over delays in treatment and accusations of rigged recordkeeping at veterans hospitals....Republicans have seized on the VA allegations as potential fodder for this fall's midterm elections, and several GOP senators have called for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric K. Shinseki." Juliet Eilperin and Ed O'Keefe in The Washington Post.
Explainers:
Can Rob Nabors fix the VA? Here's what he needs. Justin Vaughn in The Washington Post.
Were 40 deaths preventable? "Is there evidence right now that the 40 deaths in Phoenix could have been prevented if veterans were seen sooner? No, this is sort of one of the most misrepresented facts about this story. There is a whistleblower who says that 40 people may have died while on this waiting list...that was kept off the books, and they received much delayed visits. There's no evidence that they died because they were waiting....There's no evidence yet that anyone on that list died because of those denied care visits." NPR.
And the allegations aren't totally new. "In a way these are new explosive revelations. They came with a whistleblower, a doctor who recently retired from the Phoenix hospital. But in a way these are old allegations. The idea that the VA has been manipulating data on wait times was in an inspector general's report in 2005, again in 2007, again in 2012....So it all goes to the question of accountability. A lot of these problems predate Secretary Shinseki. But now he's been in the chair for almost six years, so what has he done to solve these problems?" NPR.
Could one campaign-trail statement come back to bite Obama? "Running for president in May of 2008, then-Sen. Barack Obama delivered a stem-winder on mismanagement of veterans care under President George W. Bush, recalling the story of an 89-year-old South Carolina veteran who committed suicide after being repeatedly denied access to health care. 'How can we let this happen?' Obama thundered in front of a podium in Charleston, W.Va., that read, 'A Sacred Trust; Support our Veterans.' 'How is that acceptable in the United States of America? The answer is, it's not. It's an outrage. And it's a betrayal, a betrayal of the ideals that we ask our troops to risk their lives for.' Well. Well." Major Garrett in National Journal.
It must be tough to be Shinseki right now. "'Mad as hell' simply might not be good enough. Allegations that dozens of veterans have died without receiving care have generated the largest scandal in the tenure of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki -- and his response last week might not be sufficient for him to keep his job.' Shinseki made his pitch last week to stay, telling lawmakers he was 'mad as hell' and accepting the resignation of his top health deputy. But the allegations facing the VA are so damaging that lawmakers, pundits and newspapers are pressuring the retired four-star Army general to finally step down from the top post at the troubled agency." Jeremy Herb in Politico.
No panic button yet, but the White House is in worry mode. "Inside the White House, officials said that there was no political panic but that the issue was of serious, substantive concern -- unlike, they said, a previous Republican uproar over extra scrutiny given to Tea Party groups by the Internal Revenue Service. White House officials described Mr. Obama as eager for the results of an investigation into the allegations by the department's inspector general and a separate review of hospital practices being conducted by Mr. Nabors and Eric Shinseki, the secretary of the department. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, declined to say when Mr. Obama might address the situation again publicly." Michael D. Shear and Jonathan Weisman in The New York Times.
White House to frustrated Dems: Don't worry, we've got this. "President Obama's chief of staff reassured frustrated House Democrats on Tuesday that the White House will respond aggressively to the controversy at the Veterans Affairs Department. 'I think you're going to find very aggressive action within the administration,' Rep. Xavier Becerra (Calif.), head of the House Democratic Caucus, said after House Democrats met with White House chief of staff Denis McDonough. 'Denis McDonough made it very clear: The president is gonna be on this.'" Mike Lillis in The Hill.
Bill would let VA officials say, 'You're fired!' "The House of Representatives will vote this week on a bill to make it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire or demote senior executives, officials said on Tuesday.... The bill addressing the 'mess at the Veterans Administration' will 'try and provide the tools to the administration to hold senior managers accountable,' House Majority Leader Eric Cantor, a Republican, told reporters." Susan Cornwell in Reuters.
Explainer: Possible drawbacks of the VA firing bill. Josh Hicks in The Washington Post.
How the Senate might act, too. "Senators have begun to talk about legislation designed to help remedy the controversy engulfing the Department of Veterans Affairs, but it isn't immediately clear when they might have a venue for that debate....The VA spending bill would appropriate an extra $5 million for an office of inspector general investigation into the secret wait lists, while imposing a moratorium on certain VA bonuses." Niels Lesniewski in Roll Call.
Long read: Cold calculations: How a backlogged VA determines the true cost of war. Greg Jaffe and Matt McClain in The Washington Post.
DICKERSON: Why the VA scandal is a real outrage. "If you've ever been seriously sick or helped a family member who is, you know how dark it can get....Now imagine if you experienced it with the inefficiency of the worst experience you've ever had with customer service. That's what's happening in some cases at Veteran Affairs clinics and hospitals around the country: People at their most acute moments of need are being ignored and forgotten. This is an outrage to be outraged about." John Dickerson in Slate.
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