that's richard burr. this past thursday, the veterans committee in the senate held a major and much publicized hearing about the v.a. and this nonsense that seems to be going on at v.a. medical centers around the country involving long wait times for veterans to get appointments and v.a. health centers essentially keeping two sets of books to disguise the facts that the wait times are really long. eric shinseki testified at the hearing. he testified alongside the v.a. executive who is in charge of v.a. health care. that official of course has since resigned. but then, that day, the day of that hearing, around lunch time, a bunch of different veterans organizations, they got their turns to testify as well. so it was shinseki first that day of the hearing, then the veterans organizations, and then later in the afternoon, it was the inspector general from the v.a. but as i say, it was kind of around lunch time when the veterans groups themselves got to give their testimony on this issue. and senator richard

before he was elected to the united states senate, this man, richard burr worked in the sales of lawnowers. used to distribute cool things like the yazoo kees walk behind mower. that was his expertise before coming to the united states senate. now that mr. burr is in the united states senate, he is the top ranked republican on the senate veterans committee, even though senator burr never served in the military, is not a veteran. he represents north cana

that was richard burr's field of expertise before he came to the united states senate. now that mr.tes senate, he is the ranking republican. so the top-ranked republican on the senate veterans committee. even though senat b

republican senator richard burr laid out a list of seven investigations and one internal memo exposingwhat were called "gaming strategies" in the appointment system-- inaccurate reporting of clinic wait times, and how patients were suffering unnecessary delays. the secretary said he responded to each report individually. then came this question from republican senator dean heller: >> would you explain to me, after knowing all this information, why you should not resign? >> i came here to make things better for veterans. this is not a job. i'm here to accomplish a mission that i think they critically deserve and need. we're not done yet. >> reporter: the office of inspector general at the v.a. says that, so far, none of the deaths in phoenix is connected to those long wait times. shinseki told the senators they could expect more action from him within three weeks, but, scott, what we're hearing from senators is frustration that he's not cracking down now. >> pelley: wyatt andrews on capitol hill. wyatt, thank you. today, the death toll in turkey's mine disaster grew to 283, with maybe 1

the other senator richard burr has endorsed him. so that -- in a kind of low energy primary that seems to be so far, that helps a lot. >> chuck, if t seems like for the longest time kay hagan wasn't running against a republican. she was running against americans for prosperity. this big conservative group that's running all these ads against her. it will be refreshing to have a real candidate to focus on. is it clear that there is going to have to be a runoff, does tillis have it locked up or do you think he's going to have to go another round? what's the rule that he has to get 40%? >> 40%. a little less than the 50% threshold. the thinking earlier was that it probably would be a runoff and now can tillis avoid a runoff? if there is a runoff would be july 15. a good ways away. that could be a problem for tillis. because in the interim, there's going to be a special session of the state legislature. which means he's speaker of the house will be very front and center and he said he absolutely will not step aside from his job as speak

. >> is senator richard burr playing politics with our veterans. we'll tell you what he said that's causing outrage from major national organizations. we start with breaking news from the white house where president obama will make a major announce want about the future of u.s. forces in afghanistan. nbc's peter alexander. >> we're hearing from senior officials in the last few minutes. let's run down exactly what the numbers are. we expect to hear from the president today. the combat mission will end at the end of this year. there will be main about 9800 u.s. forces in afghanistan. at the end of the next year, 2015, it will be roughly half of that number. by the end of 2006, roughly the end of the president's presidency, it will be down to roughly embassy personnel and those to staff a security office. they said in the last five minutes or so to use their language that this is a moment of momentum in afghanistan where they say the afghan security forces have been stepping forward as have the afghan people, specifically referring to the successful e

. >> reporter: john mccain and richard burr openly expressed sue fort foreher nomination although mccain called it a thankless job. >> that's why i advised her against taking the position at hhs. after all, who would recommend their friend take over as captain of the titanic after it hit the iceberg? >> unless burr well makes a major gaffe or there's some revelation, she should cruise to confirmation. bret? >> as you look live, what can you tell us? >> the special select committee would be seven republicans, five democrats. there's a question of how much democratic participation there will be. bottom line, we expect that democrats will vote with republicans, at least some democrats will vote with republicans, it should pass. this is of course the select panel that will be chaired by south carolina republican congressman tray gout di. bret? >> so far two democratic ayes. >>> two major lawsuit against obamacare were heard today in federal court. shannon breem is here to tell us what they are and what this all means. good evening, shannon. >> good evening. >> what about that first case? wha

north carolina senator richard burr sparking a major feud when he demanded the resignation of shinsekisues an open letter. it became clear at the hearing that most of the other veterans service organizations attending appear to be more interested in defending the status quo within the v.a., protecting their relationships within the agency and securing their access to the secretary and his inner circle. leaders of the paralyzed veterans of america hitting back hard saying, quote, you clearly represent the worst of politics in this country. assistant general of the vfw is my guest today. great to see you, sir. >> thanks for having me. >> you were in one of the organizations that was offended by what senator burr said. why? >> that's correct. well, very simply, senator burr never had a conversation with us, any type of dialogue asking us why we didn't share his opinion. he did not -- if you look at the day of the testimony, he didn't sit in for most of that testimony. he released an open letter to america, like i said, without any previous dialogue with us. >> right. >> on the eve of memo

republican senator richard burr of north carolina criticized veterans groups who are not calling for eric shinseki to resign, saying they're too cozy with the va. they have accused senator burr from failing to show up for testimony on veterans health care. >> this won't transcend politics but it ought to. this is about making things better. this is an opportunity for everybody to come together and figure out what the problem is why it is happening and work to make it better. whether it is senator burr or acre shinseki, everybody could work together. in these kind of cases if nobody can come out a clear winner, in other words if everybody wins there's not as much political currency unfortunately. >> i'm not talking 2016 too early -- >> never too early antonio. >> plit coaz had a piece -- politico had a piece this week, that was wary of hillary. she's way lady of polls among democrats, way ahead of all republicans. what struck me is de val patrick, the governor of massachusetts was quoteabout worrying about this inevitability issue. thought that was trained. >> strange. >> will she run

richard burr of north carolina, senator pat roberts who is a veteran, three republican senators haveey want generic shinseki fired from running the va. neither senator from arizona, the site of the initial allegations, neither arizona senator is saying that shinseki should go or the congressional delegation has said that firing shinseki is the way to fix this problem. and then today house speaker john boehner was asked a question about this issue at his weekly briefing and he gave an answer on this issue nobody expected from him. >> what is your opinion on secretary shinseki and other problems at the va? >> the problems at the va are systemic. it's the backlog. the preventible deaths that have occurred within their system. there is a systemic management issue throughout the va that needs to be addressed. and i don't believe that just changing someone at the top is going to actually get to the solutions we are looking for. >> boehner saying firing the cabinet secretary in charge of veterans issues is not necessarily the way to help the va solve its current problems. regardless of whet

. >> i want to ask you about a letter from senator richard burr, your republican committee member, criticizing veterans groups who are divided on weather center shinseki is the problem. is this helpful in reaching a solution? >> well, i think that's something you have to ask senator burr about. i can simply tell you that i have worked since i've been chairman very closely with the american legion, the dav, the vfw, vietnam vets, all of the veterans organizations. i find them to be extremely knowledgeable about the problems that are phasing the veterans community. andrea, let me tell you something. what these guys have done through a program called the independent budget, they assess the theedz needs of veterans, they assess the funding. year after year i have agreed with them and tried to get more funding. the va does not have the resources they need. but by and large, i think their track record in washington in terms of fighting for new educational opportunities for veterans, for a caregiver program which is just revolutionary in what it is trying to do, they have a good record, they are seri

over to you, because it is not just president obama who is under fire, and republican senator richard burrs being blasted from the veteran groups for the open letter not doing more to condemn secretary shinseki. senator, this one of the most grotesquely inappropriate acts that we've witnessed in more than 40 years. and your allegations are ugly and mean-spirited in every sense of the words and are profoundly wrong, and both logically and morally. >> well, this should not be about political scoring of course, but everything in washington is, and i think that the republicans are erring like senator burr here by picking fights with the veteran groups. republicans are seen in polls as the party that supports the troops and the veterans, but if they are seen as picking the public fights and coming under fire by the veteran groups, then it is going to damage their position as they go forward to try to prosecute this scandal. >> and the house veterans affairs committee can subpoena three top officials this week, and if they do not voluntarily show up to the hearing tomorrow, what is the move for

. >> is senator richard burr playing politics with our veterans.id that's causing outrage from major national organizations. we start with breaking news from the white house where president obama will make a major announce want about the future of u.s. forces in afghanistan. nbc's

hospital delays, the ranking republican on the veterans affairs committee, north carolina senator richard burrcriticizing the leaders of the veterans organizations in washington, d.c. here's what he said. quote, the leaders appear to be more interested in defending the statute kwoe within va, protecting their relationships within the agency and securing their access to the secretary and his inner circle. while the veterans of foreign wars and the paralyzed veterans of america slammed the senator's remarks calling burr's letter a monumental cheap shot and ill timed. the groups added this. you can also be assured that in the future we will spend a substantial percentage of our time seeking to inform our members and constituents of the repeated failure to act by elected officials. during this memorial day weekend, president obama referred to the va controversy in both his weekly radio address and remarks that he gave yesterday at arlington national cemetery. >> as we've been reminded in recent days, we must do more to keep faith with our veterans and their families and ensure they get the benefit

richard burr of north carolina cited that background, saying he plans to support the nomination. >> it'sith a single experience that would make her a good secretary. she comes portfolio of experience that would make her a tremendous asset at addressing some of the challenges that that agency specifically and uniquely has. >> reporter: burwell also got an outside boost, when america's health insurance plans and industry trade group issued a statement calling her uniquely qualified. she still faces a separate confirmation hearing before the senate finance committee. that hearing has not yet been scheduled. >> ifill: as rocky as the rollout of healthcare.gov has been, a new report says the federal exchange was a bargain compared to the state run marketpalces. which spent twice as much per enrollee. we have that story, on our rundown. >> woodruff: now to the continued fallout and controversy over the attacks on the american consulate in benghazi, libya. two years ago, four americans, including an ambassador, were killed in benghazi, and republicans believe there are unanswered questions abou

>> it could, and you're seeing senator richard burr in north carolina having major problems because hestarted attacking a veterans group there, which then lashed back at him and he had never served in the military and in north carolina, you know, that's kind of a prerequisite for criticizing the military there. so in situations like that, it certainly could back fire. they don't want to overplay their hands. i think their political move here is they want to tie this overall in some rubric of obamacare. saying more scandals involving health care and obamacare. i think that's the extent of the reasoning. >> you know, goldie, some on the right are actually trying to use the va problem to go after obamacare or the affordable care act. listen to some of this rhetoric. >> sarah palin and a couple other people on the right said there will be death panels. there will be people deciding who gets what treatment and when and that's going to put long waiting lines on certain types of treatment. the va is proving that right now. >> we've already seen what happens with the va, with all the layers of

their fury stemmed from an open letter to veterans north carolina senator richard burr released on fridayhe start of memorial day weekend. in it he argued that groups like theirs were more interested in defending the status quo within va than in protecting the veterans they represent. >> what we've got is we've got a situation where nobody is looking at the realities. >> reporter: burr was angry that at a recent hearing about alleged secret waiting lists and delays at the va only one veterans group, the american legion, called for the resignation of va secretary eric shinseki. the rest pledged their support. >> secretary shinseki is dedicated to america's veterans more than ever. >> we fully stand behind secretary shinseki. >> reporter: burr says he stands by his criticism of those groups despite the heat he's getting now, telling cbs news the reaction seems to prove my point. they are far more outraged by my words than they have been thus far by any of the unfolding va scandal or secretary shinseki's mismanagement of the agency. >> it became personal because of the timing of the letter.

a fight is happening in public between senator richard burr, the ranking republican on the senate veterans affairs committee, and some veterans groups. the senator sent an open letter to the veterans groups saying, why aren't you getting tougher on the administration and the leadership of general shinseki? but this poses a danger for republicans. the veterans groups tend to view the v.a. as sort of there's, and that is one of the reasons it never gets reform, because they are just completely vested in the way things are. and when people make barely minor efforts at reform, they tend to -- even reforms that would help most veterans -- they tend to squeal about it and raise a lot of opposition. whatnot imagine, even with senator byrd is saying, that it to be a senator versus veterans groups. i am pessimistic that there will be any great structural reform coming out of this. >> in the new york times this morning, they say republicans in the house are pushing for -- will introduce legislation this week to get any better unable to obtain ava appointment within 30 days option to go outside the s

a fight is happening in public between senator richard burr, the ranking republican on the senate veteransairs committee, and some veterans groups. the senator sent an open letter to the veterans groups saying, why aren't you getting tougher on the administration and the leadership of general shinseki? but this poses a danger for republicans. the veterans groups tend to view the v.a. as sort of there's, and that is one of the reasons it never gets reform, because they are just completely vested in the way things are. and when people make barely minor efforts at reform, they tend to -- even reforms that would help most veterans -- they tend to squeal about it and raise a lot of opposition. whatnot imagine, even with senator byrd is saying, that it to be a senator versus veterans groups. i am pessimistic that there will be any great structural reform coming out of this. >> in the new york times this morning, they say republicans in the house are pushing for -- will introduce legislation this week to get any better unable to obtain ava appointment within 30 days option to go outside the syste

the headline in the huffington rip into senator richard for questioning their priorities. senator burr said several groups were insufficiently critical of veterans affairs secretary eric shinseki. of beingd the groups more invested in access to the secretary and fixing the system. the veterans of foreign wars chris responded by calling one by calling the letter one of the most dishonorable acts they've ever witness. president obama announced his plan for troop levels in afghanistan. this is 10 minutes. >> good afternoon, everybody. as you know, this weekend i traveled to afghanistan to thank our men and women in uniform and our deployed civilians. on behalf of a grateful nation for the extraordinary sacrifices they make on behalf of our security. i was also able to meet with our commanding general and ambassador to review the progress that we made. and today i'd like to update the american people on the way forward in afghanistan and how this year we will bring america's longest war to a responsible end. the united states did not seek this fight. we went into afghanistan out of necessi