Representative Steve Daines asked for Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki to resign on Wednesday, following recent reports of VA hospitals purposely hiding delays in treatments and problems resulting in preventable deaths of veterans awaiting health care services.Daines recently called on the VA to quickly provide the nation’s veterans with answers regarding these reports and to hold VA leaders accountable.

"Our nation's veterans deserves the best, and when our nation fails to deliver, our veterans deserve answers," Daines said. "Unfortunately, the VA has yet to adequately address the problems and lack of accountability plaguing several VA health centers and has failed to hold the responsible parties accountable for these unacceptable actions."

The American Legion and Concerned Veterans for America called on Secretary Shinseki earlier this week to resign following reports that health facilities in Arizona and Colorado had deliberately concealed delays leading to preventable veteran deaths and falsified documents to cover up delays.

"Calling for Secretary Shinseki's resignation is a decision I do not take lightly," Daines said. "But leadership starts at the top, and the failure of the VA to swiftly address these problems, and uphold it to the standards of accountability and oversight that our veterans deserve, is a clear indication that things must change."

Daines has long called for reforms to address longstanding delays in addressing veterans’ benefits claims and to ensure that the VA more efficiently and effectively meets Montana veterans’ needs.

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