this is from host: joining us from indianapolis, daniel dellinger, retired army officer and national commander for the american legion. thank you very much for being here. guest: thank you for having me. host: last week the president told us what would happen in va facilities. a number of investigations are going on. another one is by rob neighbors. congress is also looking into that. on this first report, what do you expect him to tell the president? guest: a good question. the assessments around the country are an extension of what has been going on in this country for many years now. there have been 50 reports already from the ig. that is one of our contentions, the fact that the secretary has not done anything with those reports to correct the deficiencies that are resulting in the deaths of veterans. host: why is that? he is obviously a retired army officer general himself. he understands what happens to those military veterans and their families. from your standpoint, why do you think that the organization -- why is this happening? >> we don't know. that is what we have based o

joining us now, daniel dellinger, national commander for the american legion. the american legion is the nation's largest veterans organization. and thanks for being with us and calling for the resignation of the secretary of the v.a. what moved you to that decision? >> well, we've seen quite a large amount of issues that come forth. since 2011, really. and it just seems like lately things have just gotten worse within the v.a. system. we had legionella which killed 6 veterans and killed over 20 in pittsburgh. we've had issues in georgia, mississippi, and now phoenix. phoenix, arizona, where they're running ghost lists or hidden lists of appointments that aren't made. so we thought it was essential at this time that we step forward in the nation's largest veterans organization and ask for his resignation due to failed leadership and poor oversight. >> as the commander of the american legion, you folks are awfully careful about the issues in which you engage politically and in support always of veterans. you also have a number of people including senator john mc

one person is daniel dellinger, national commander of the american legion.on secretary shinseki to step down in the past. you heard president obama wading in deep into the va crisis yesterday for first time. does that affect your call for shinseki to resign? >> no, it does not. the need for the secretary to resign has been the failed leadership and the oversight that he has failed with. this hasn't just started with phoenix. phoenix was the last straw. what we heard last week during the testimony in the senate was that there was a memorandum back in 2010, so four years he had the opportunity to fix the problem and has not done it. >> didn't the president take a proactive appropriate in owning up to the fact that this is a long term systemic problem? is that seemed to be the angle he was stressing. >> it is in a way but he's also known this because from what we understand, what i've heard in the media is that he was -- his campaign was made aware of this before he came in office. he's been in office, in his second term now. he should be proactive. instead of

. >> american legion commander daniel dellinger whose organization is the largest to call for the resignation of v.a. secretary eric shinseki said the president must do more. >> we need the white house, the president to come forward. he needs to make a statement to show the employees of v.a. that this needs to change now. >> the "dayton daily news" reported sunday it's review of a va database found delay in treatment was a factor in 167 deaths since 2001. the v.a. paid $36 million to settle claims of treatment delays. daily news reporter josh sweigart broke the story. >> there are a lot of veterans who rely on the system and they deserve as much transparency as possible. >> all of this is building up to a vote on wednesday in the house, on a bill that would make it easier to hire or demote high ranking v.a. officials. so far only one is left and he had already announced his retirement, jeff. >> jeff: mark, thank you very much. in california, evacuation orders were lifted today as cooler weather helps firefighters. but the reprieve from wildfires may be brief. 100% of california is now officia

dan dollinger will be june --daniel dellinger will be toning us from indiana discuss eric shinseki, later, the ambassador to ukraine will give us the latest on the elections in that country and what it means moving ahead for the u.s. insia, and europe. you are watching and listening to "the washington journal." back in a moment. ♪ [video clip] >> i focus on trying to stop waste, catching people who did it in the past. go out, figure it out, handed up, say it is 50%, 30%, 60%, we are spending a lot of money and my staff time -- staff time could be better spent trying to find and identify problems and correct them. i ask you -- has the american people got their money's worth? >> their full money's worth? no, definitely not. beensome good things have done. a lot of good things. we have a lot of hard-working at the department of agriculture, interior, people from the department of commerce, a lot of people have devoted their lives and energies over there. but have we gotten the biggest bang for the buck? no. that is what we find all the time. poor planning, poor execution. sopko, as taxpayer

daniel dellinger is the national commander of the american legion, which called this week for eric shinsekio resign. >> if this is private sector, you would be fired. if it was military you would be relieved of duty and he's done neither. >> reporter: the secretary told us disciplinary action is pending in pittsburgh and atlanta but the specifics are not yet public. shinseki also says he will not resign. instead he will work to repair what's gone wrong. is there any one thing that you are angry about that you most want to fix? >> yeah, all of this makes me angry. i mean, whenever we allegations like this, even until they're founded, i didn't come here to watch things happen this way. i came here to make things better. and in the main, we've done that. >> reporter: despite the break with the american legion, almost every other veterans organization still supports eric shinseki for managing the explosive growth of the v.a. shinseki got his strongest endorsement where it counts, scott, full backing from the president. >> pelley: wyatt, thanks very much. in an emergency order today, the transpo

commander daniel dellinger of the american legion appeared on our show yesterday to explain why he thinksthe secretary and undersecretaries have failed in their oversight and leadership roles. if this was the military, they would be relieved of duty. if it was the private sector, they would be fired. but the secretary has found fit not to fire anyone associated with these deaths. >> i know, senator mccain, you don't agree with that. why not? >> well, i think that the investigation needs to continue. by the way, from everything we're learning, it's the tip of the iceberg. phoenix v.a. hospital, carl hayden v.a. hospital is not the only scandal out there. i do believe that he needs to appear before congressional hearings in his capacity. i also believe that the suspension of the people in charge of the phoenix v.a. is entirely appropriate. they still have the right of innocence until proven guilty. but it is terribly disturbing. gretchen, i have handled my -- my staff alone has handled over 2,000 cases in the last year and a half. and it gets worse. >> we've interviewed a lot of people from

my next guest is among those calling for secretary shinseki's resignation, commander daniel dellinger, the national commander of the nation's largest veterans group, the american legion, & may guest today. great to see you, commander. >> thank you very much, gretchen, for having me on today. >> we just heard from two other -- well, from the president, from the white house and another veterans organization. they're not ready to call for the resignation. why are you? >> well, as you mentioned earlier, it goes deeper. it isn't just phoenix. phoenix was a tipping point. we've had instances around this country of unacceptable deaths. and any death of a veteran is tragic. but any preventible death especially is unacceptable. and then when they try to cover it up, that's unforgivable. and the secretary and the undersecretaries have failed in their duties as overnight and also failed in their leadership roles. and if this was the military, they would be relieved of duty. if it was the private sector, they'd be fired. but the secretary's found fit not to fire anyone associated with these death

report at least part of the statement just released by the american legion national commander daniel dellinger. if the administration has known about these issues for at least four years, why is it just now taking action? moreover, the president's decision to keep secretary shinseki at his post is an unfortunate one. the va has been aware for some time that inappropriate scheduling procedures are wide spread among its medical facilities, yet secretary shinseki has taken no initiative. veterans continue to die waiting for health care. senior va executives continue to get their bonuses. only after all of this is the secretary now pledging to fix what's wrong. this is the commander of the american legion. the american legion clearly, as you well know, highly respected in these kinds of matters. >> as a member of the american legion, certainly have great respect for mr. dellinger's opinion. i think we need to have new management, fresh faces and voices at the va. there have been reports of this kind of problem for some time. and that's the reason that there has to be a house cleaning at the va. wh

he'll be testifying before a senate panel on thursday along with national commander daniel dellinger.ns me now and colonel jack jacobs medal of honor recipient and military analyst. first, dan, tell me why you think eric shinseki should be forced out or resign over this scandal? >> we've asked for secretary shinseki and undersecretary hickky and under secretary's resignation because of failed leadership and poor oversight of the va. >> do you think they should be held personally responsible? was this at a lower level or do you think is it confined to phoenix? is it a national scandal, national problem? >> this is a national problem. you're seeing more and more whistle blowers come out across the country, fort collins, texas, cheyenne, wyoming, there's a new one in durham, north carolina. this is far reaching. and it does -- we didn't do this just because of phoenix. we did this because of the troubling trend we've seen over the last couple of years. it all started back in pittsburgh and legionella disease and they covered it up then and continued to cover up things since that. >> are

host: daniel dellinger is joining a sermon the annapolis, the head of the national american legion, thank you for joining us this morning. guest: thank you, sir. host: we have aligned set aside for those of you who are veterans. walter, fitchburg, massachusetts, good morning. caller: good morning. commander, i am glad to speak with you. ironically, i still see my physicians in new york, even though i am in massachusetts. i am aware of something that you are, just to talk about v.a. personnel being fired and so forth, the conceit of the accountability bill, as it came before the senate, it has occurred to me that a large portion of these individuals that work within the health care system are part of university hospitals. they are so-called partners. the question -- i have seen some strange things, up to and including, of course, the hospital in new orleans having not been opened since katrina, yet lsu is up and running. what we essentially have is a hole in the ground for the veterans in new orleans. by the way, calling for massachusetts, i am thoroughly involved in these situations, and

daniel dellinger, good to have you with us.ou calling for him to accept down or resign or for the white house to call more his resignation? >> we are. with all due respect to the general, his leadership is what was needed at the va. we feel that they have failed leadership and poor oversight of the va. they have known for quite some time the issues going on in the va and they haven't done enough to curb those. martha: let's listen to this sound bite from senator john mccain. >> if he doesn't give a better answer i'm not sure how he would have to do anything but resign. gretta, whether he resigns or not is important. but if these allegations are true, people should be going to jail. not just resigning their positions. martha: the discussion of an fbi investigation. senator mccain, a veteran himself saying people should be going to jail for this disservice that's been done to our vets. >> i agree completely. it's not up to us, but with the i.g. audit coming out and also i'm sure that the correct authorities will look into this. i

joining us now to talk about this, daniel dellinger. good to see you.r you. okay. are you there? >> oh, yes, i am here. >> i hear you. very good. your impressions of general shinseki's testimony this week? >> well, we were looking for more. i mean, as a leader of the va, the secretary, cabinet level position, we expect him to step up like in the military. he was a great general and we were hoping the same thing at the va level. >> what did you want him to say, especially since we heard from drew's report, there have been problems for at least a decade. he hasn't had that job that long. is it more reflection of systemic problems as opposed to a problem with this va secretary? >> well, we were looking for accountability, for him to step up and say he has this well in hand and working towards a solution. but all we heard is he is going to start conducting audits. there have been as many as 50 ig inspections. he says he has been dealing with these as they go along, but still seeing the same problems. how many veterans have to die before action is taken? >>

nation"p.m., "face the with without chief of staff dennis mcdonough, daniel dellinger, michael bloombergformer new york city mayor, and former geithner, treasury secretary. the sunday network tv talk shows are on c-span radio. as are brought to you public service by the networks and c-span. again, those rebroadcasts of the at noon eastern with nbc's "meet the press," "this "fox news sunday," "state of the union" and "face the nation" at 4:00. listen to them all on c-span 90.1fm here in the washington, d.c. area. across the country on xm channel 120. download our free app for your smartphone or listen online at c-span.org. host: elections in syria that many are calling a farce. latest on what's happening in that country and the u.s. response. c-span 2'sinder on "book tv" and c-span 3's thisican history tv" weekend we are focusing on mobile, alabama, part of our ies tour as we look at the life and history of mobile, a look at theding south during the civil war captain, a back ground object his story and a preview that you on our later today c-span networks. >> i read something one time. th

. >> daniel dellinger, thank you for being with us.ry says himself, though, he serves at the behest of the president. the pressure is on them, to be sure. >>> coming up next on "new day," did oscar pistorius just help the prosecution's case? we're going to tell you what he said when court was not in session that could cause him some very serious trouble. we're going to take you live to south africa for that. >>> also this ahead, the woman who recorded donald sterling's racist comments is now reportedly under investigation herself. did she try to extort money from the embattled l.a. clippers owner? >>> plus reports that she's trying to adopt the latest, all ahead. woman: this is not exactly what i expected. man: definitely more murdery than the reviews said. captain obvious: this is a creepy room. man: oh hey, captain obvious. captain obvious: you should have used hotels.com. their genuine guest reviews are written by guests who have genuinely stayed there. instead of people who lie on the internet. son: look, a finger. captain: that's