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Obama angered by mistreatment of war veterans at veterans hospital

Obama angered by mistreatment of war veterans at veterans hospital

Posted May. 20, 2014 05:13,   

한국어

U.S. President Barack Obama is highly infuriated by the “Veterans Affairs’ Department scandal,” which was sparked by news reports that U.S. war veterans died while waiting for treatment at the Department of Veterans’ Affairs Medical Center.

Appearing on "Face the Nation," CBS TV’s Sunday current affairs show on last Sunday, Denis McDonough, Obama’s chief of staff and key confident, said, "The president is madder than hell, and I’ve got the scars to prove it, given the briefings that I’ve given the president.”

Obama and Secretary of Veterans Affairs Eric Shinseki have been under harsh attacks by the media and political circle after news reports that suggest more than 40 war veterans died recently while waiting to be hospitalized at a Veterans’ Affairs hospital in Phoenix, Arizona. The hospital is found to have been intentionally manipulating records as if patients’ waiting time for hospitalization is shorter than the reality despite a long list of patients on waiting, in consideration of the evaluation system, in which institutions providing prompt medical service receive higher scores.

As the controversy spread, Obama instructed Shinseki to thoroughly investigate problems, and Veterans Affairs Undersecretary Robert Petzl resigned to take responsibility on Thursday last week.