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FBI’s Phoenix Office Launches Criminal Probe of VA
Before Cantor and Bergdahl, Washington was transfixed by the shocking Veterans Administration scandal. Thankfully, many officials inside and outside of the Beltway continue to investigate the unconscionable mess that left America’s heroes without health care.
FBI Director James Comey confirmed Wednesday that the bureau’s Phoenix branch has opened a criminal investigation of the Veterans Affairs Department, amid mounting calls on Capitol Hill for the Justice Department to get more involved.
Comey confirmed the bureau’s involvement during a hearing before the House Judiciary Committee. Officials previously made clear that federal prosecutors were helping in an inspector general investigation, but the probe by Phoenix FBI agents marks a new phase.
The additional probe comes as internal audits show the expanding scope of the scandal where thousands of military veterans endured long wait times for VA medical care, and VA officials apparently covered up those wait times in order to make their internal numbers look better.
Lawmakers were moving on a separate track on Capitol Hill to address the scandal. The Senate was poised to vote by Thursday on a measure making it easier for veterans who have encountered delays getting initial visits to receive VA-paid treatment from local doctors instead. The measure closely resembles a bill approved unanimously Tuesday in the House, prompting optimism among lawmakers from both parties that a compromise version could be on its way soon to President Obama for his signature.
Shifting veterans from government to private health care is a direct assault on the aims of Obamacare. But with the the VA’s appalling track record, how could any president veto such a bipartisan bill?
Published in General
Phoenix! The G-Men are on it!
And there it will languish.
Of course, something very similar happened in other cities and states, but it will become all about some low-level employees in Cincinnati, I mean Phoenix!
I do think the VA is all wrong, and has become something that is far beyond caring for veterans, but we will never get to that. The G-Men are on the trail in Phoenix, so all is well.
Vouchers for health are the next best thing to a free market
Prosecute and then get the bonuses back as well.
Would it ensure that the “local doctors” would actually get paid? Or would it end up like one of the issues with the ACA in that Drs won’t accept the patients at all because they either don’t get paid at all or get only a fraction of their worth?
In the past, when the local VA had too long of wait times for physical therapy, the payment to the “locals” was pretty good. And, I don’t recall any onerous additional paperwork. But that was then. . . .