Obama To Nominate Former Army General, Chief Of Staff Shinseki As Veterans Affairs Secretary

Main Category: Veterans / Ex-Servicemen
Article Date: 09 Dec 2008 - 3:00 PST

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President-elect Barack Obama on Sunday announced that he will nominate retired Army Gen. Eric Shinseki as the next secretary for the Department of Veterans Affairs, the AP/Boston Globe reports (AP/Boston Globe, 12/7). During a press conference in Chicago, Shinseki, a former Army chief of staff in President George W. Bush's administration, said he would work to improve VA, which has come under fire for failing to meet the needs of veterans with disabilities.

"Veterans who have served in Iraq and Afghanistan in particular are confronting serious, severe wounds -- some seen, some unseen -- making it difficult for them to get on with their lives in this struggling economy," Shinseki said, referring to veterans with mental health problems, adding, "They deserve a smooth, error-free, no-fail, benefits-assured transition into our ranks as veterans" (Eisler/Schouten, USA Today, 12/7).

According to the New York Times, if Shinseki is confirmed by the Senate, he would "inherit an agency struggling with increasing numbers of veterans with physical and mental wounds from the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, as well as the many aging veterans of past conflicts" (Calmes, New York Times, 12/7). The Washington Post reports that VA "has long been a sprawling bureaucracy fraught with difficulty, and Shinseki immediately will face problems compounded by the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, which are contributing to a backlog in claims, an increasing suicide rate and health care problems" (Rucker, Washington Post, 12/7).

Obama on Sunday in an interview on NBC's "Meet The Press" said, "When I reflect on the sacrifices that have been made by our veterans and I think about how so many veterans around the country are struggling even more than those who have not served -- higher unemployment rates, higher homeless rates, higher substance-abuse rates, medical care that is inadequate -- it breaks my heart, and I think that Gen. Shinseki is exactly the right person who is going to be able to make sure that we honor our troops when they come home" (Washington Post, 12/7).

House Appropriations Subcommittee on Military Construction, Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Chair Chet Edwards (D-Texas) said, "His impeccable integrity, his ability to manage a large organization and his lifelong commitment to those who have served in uniform will mean better health care and benefits for millions of ... veterans" (USA Today, 12/7).

Broadcast coverage

• The NBC "Meet the Press" coverage is available online (Holt, "Nightly News," NBC, 12/6).
  
  
• NPR's "Weekend Edition Sunday" included a discussion about Obama's choice for VA secretary (Bowman/Hansen, "Weekend Edition Sunday," NPR, 12/7).
  
  
• NPR's "All Things Considered" on Sunday included a discussion with Pulitzer Prize-winning reporter Dana Priest about the challenges that Shinseki will face at VA (Seabrook, "All Things Considered," NPR, 12/7).

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