Free Republic

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. The VA has been under fire this month following reports that its healthcare facilities used secret waiting lists to disguise the number of veterans not treated within the agency's stated goal of 14 days. Dozens of veterans have reportedly died awaiting care. “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...

President Barack Obama is dispatching one of his closest White House advisers to oversee a review of the beleaguered Veterans Affairs Department as the agency grapples with allegations of treatment delays and preventable deaths at a Phoenix veterans hospital. White House deputy chief of staff Rob Nabors will be temporarily assigned to the VA to work on a review focused on policies for patient safety rules and the scheduling of patient appointments, officials said Wednesday. The move signals Obama's growing concern over problems at the department, particularly recent reports that hospital administrators in Phoenix kept an off-the-books list to conceal...