Legion Calls for Shinseki’s Ouster

Citing poor leadership in the aftermath of a scandal involving the deaths of an estimated 40 veterans at a Phoenix medical center, the nation’s largest veterans’ service organization has called for the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki. “The existing leadership has exhibited a pattern of bureaucratic incompetence … that has been amplified in recent weeks,” said Daniel M. Dellinger, the national commander of the American Legion. Dellinger also called for the resignations of VA’s health chief, Robert Petzel, and benefits chief, Allison Hickey. The agency is facing allegations that a so-called secret waiting list at the Phoenix VA Health Care System may have led to the deaths of the 40 veterans. Besides Phoenix, Dellinger also cited problems at VA health-care facilities in Fort Collins, Colo., Pittsburgh, Atlanta, and Augusta, Ga.