House approves funding for justice to investigate VA

May 30 2014

In a vote shortly after midnight, the House approved funding for the Justice Department to look into allegations of mismanagement at VA facilities.

The Hill: House Votes To Fund DOJ Probe Of VA
The House late Wednesday night adopted a proposal to provide funding for a Justice Department investigation of the alleged mismanagement of Department of Veterans Affairs facilities. Rep. Mike Coffman's (R-Colo.) amendment to the 2015 appropriations bill for the Justice Department, Commerce Department and science programs was adopted on a voice vote after 12 minutes of debate at nearly midnight (Marcos, 5/29).

Politico: House Members Rip Into VA
House members lashed out at Veterans Affairs officials Wednesday evening over a broadening VA medical scandal that has increasingly prompted calls for VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign. Lawmakers on both sides of the aisle criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs, aggressively cutting off the VA officials sent to testify and promising stepped-up oversight. The House Veterans Affairs Committee hearing, which began without opening statements for the three VA officials, stretched past 10 p.m. with a second round of questioning for members (Herb, 5/28).

ABC News: VA Official Denies Destroyed Lists Were Secret 
A senior official at the center of the Department of Veterans Affairs wait list scandal told Congress that he does not believe the documents, which are all believed to have been destroyed, were secret. The House Veterans Affairs Committee held an uncommon primetime hearing Wednesday evening that extended late into the night to examine the VA's lack of compliance with a May 8 congressional subpoena for documents that lawmakers hope could shine light on a hidden wait list that schedulers allegedly used to manipulate a backlog of veterans waiting for health care (Parkinson, 5/28).