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Politics

Veterans Affairs secretary quits

The VA has been under intense scrutiny.

By ASSOCIATED PRESS
Published July 18, 2007

WASHINGTON - Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson abruptly resigned Tuesday amid the Bush administration's struggle to defend against charges of shoddy health care for veterans injured in the Iraq war.

Nicholson, a former Republican National Committee chairman and a Vietnam veteran, was picked by President Bush to head the Veterans Affairs Department in 2005. He plans to return to the private sector and said his resignation is to take effect no later than Oct. 1.

"There were no frustrations causing me to think about resigning," Nicholson said, adding that he decided to leave in part because he will turn 70 next year. "It's a good time."

Bush said in a statement that Nicholson "has served his country and his fellow veterans with distinction." Nicholson is the latest in a line of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 1 1/2 years of the administration.

His resignation comes amid intense political and public scrutiny of the Pentagon and VA after reports of shoddy outpatient care of injured troops and veterans at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and elsewhere.

Walter Reed is a Pentagon-run facility. But charges of poor treatment relating to lack of coordination quickly extended to the VA's vast network of 1,400 hospitals and clinics, which serve 5.8-million veterans.

The VA also has a severe backlog of disability payments to injured veterans, with overwhelming delays of 177 days that Nicholson has called unacceptable.

"Secretary Nicholson's resignation should be welcome news for all veterans," said Paul Rieckhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "The VA under Secretary Nicholson has been woefully unprepared for the influx of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, consistently underestimating the number of new veterans who would seek care, and failing to spend the money Congress allotted to treat mental health issues."

A spokesman for the VA, Matt Smith, said Nicholson would work to facilitate a transition until a replacement is found. In the meantime, a strategic joint group of the Pentagon and VA is being headed by VA Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield to oversee coordination and other changes.

Rep. Bob Filner, D-Calif., who chairs the House Veterans Affairs Committee, said Nicholson's tenure has been plagued with unaccountability. He cautioned that Democratic lawmakers won't stand for it if Bush tried again to "appoint someone who's a good ol' boy."

Information from the Washington Post was used in this report.

Fast Facts:

Troubled tenure

February 2005: Jim Nicholson is sworn in as secretary of Veterans Affairs.

June 2005: The VA tells Congress it is more than $1-billion short on its budget.

May 2006: A laptop containing personal data for 26.5-million veterans is stolen. Nicholson does not learn of the theft until two weeks later.

March: Allegations of poor treatment at Walter Reed Army Medical Center are reported. President Bush orders a review of the nation's military and veterans hospitals. An internal review reveals problems, some serious, at VA clinics and hospitals.

May: Congress asks for an explanation of $3.8-million in bonuses to senior VA officials.

Sources: St. Petersburg Times and Associated Press archives, VA Web site

[Last modified July 18, 2007, 01:40:53]