--- description: The Secretary of Veterans Affairs publicly defended the department’s response to findings of poor treatment of former servicemen and women. title: Veterans Affairs Secretary Defends Response Amid Scandal image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05f9173319637719/69868f99810bbbff65c919bf/eric-shineski-02.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  * [Politics](/section/politics/) ## Politics Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close * [Veterans](/tag/veterans/) ## Veterans Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close # Veterans Affairs Secretary Defends Response Amid Scandal  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 3:18 PM CUT  Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2014, before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing to examine the state of Veterans Affairs health care. Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2014, before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing to examine the state of Veterans Affairs health care.Cliff Owen—AP  by [Noah Rayman](/author/noah-rayman/)  ## Noah Rayman Update your preferences in [Account Settings](/account/preferences/) Close May 29, 2014 3:18 PM CUT Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki [publicly defended](http://www.usatoday.com/story/opinion/2014/05/28/eric-k-shinseki-secretary-of-veterans-affairs-editorials-debates/9698099/ "undefined") in an op-ed Thursday his department’s response to findings of poor treatment of former servicemen and women. “We are doing all we can to accelerate access to care throughout our system and in communities where veterans reside,” Shinseki wrote in _USA Today_. “I’ve challenged our leadership to ensure we are doing everything possible to schedule veterans for their appointments.” The VA chief has faced [calls to resign](http://time.com/88390/american-legion-agrees-shinseki-should-go/ "undefined") from members of both parties since [reports surfaced](http://www.cnn.com/2014/04/23/health/veterans-dying-health-care-delays/index.html "undefined") that at least 40 military veterans died while waiting for treatment at a VA health center in Phoenix, though he has retained the backing of the White House. An [internal interim report released Wednesday](http://time.com/126851/veterans-affairs-wait-list-report-phoenix/ "undefined") found “systemic” problems in the department, including that 1,700 veterans were waiting for care but missing from the system’s official wait list. In the op-ed Thursday, Shinseki—a retired 4-star general—called the report’s findings “reprehensible” and said the VA is contacting each of the 1,700 veterans. “We are not waiting to set things straight,” Shinseki wrote, also highlighting an internal audit of the VA health care facilities that he ordered earlier this month. “More than 200 senior staff are conducting that audit now, and we expect to announce the initial results of that audit in the coming days,” he added. ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/136246/va-secretary-eric-shinseki-scandal/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/136246/va-secretary-eric-shinseki-scandal/"},"headline":"Veterans Affairs Secretary Defends Response Amid Scandal","datePublished":"2014-05-29T15:18:44.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-21T08:06:43.012Z","description":"Shinseki called the findings in Wednesday's report \"reprehensible\" and said the VA is \"not waiting to set things straight.\"","url":"https://time.com/136246/va-secretary-eric-shinseki-scandal/","keywords":["Veterans","White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05f9173319637719/69868f99810bbbff65c919bf/eric-shineski-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Noah Rayman","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/noah-rayman/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt05f9173319637719/69868f99810bbbff65c919bf/eric-shineski-02.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2014, before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing to examine the state of Veterans Affairs health care.","caption":"Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki testifies on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C., on May 15, 2014, before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee hearing to examine the state of Veterans Affairs health care.","creditText":"Cliff Owen—AP","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/veterans/","name":"Veterans"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/136246/va-secretary-eric-shinseki-scandal/","name":"Veterans Affairs Secretary Defends Response Amid Scandal"}}]}] ```