the secretary vowed to enact sweeping changes to counter the growing scandal over wait times in va facilities. they will eliminate performance bonuses in 2014 for senior executives and removing patient wait times from va employee performance reviews. the secretary said he was mislead about the scope of the problems. >> i was too trusting of some and i accept it as accurate reports that i now know to have been misleading with regard to patient wait times. i can't explain the lack of integrity among some of the leaders of our health care facilities. this is something i rarely encounter during 38 years in uniform. and so i will not defend it because it is indefensible. but i can take responsibility for it. and i do. >> the secretary and the president as we said are meeting right now in the oval office in that speech we just showed you this morning. the va secretary laid out his plans to fix what he called systemic problems in the va talking about the present tense as if he's still running the agency and plans to. in the days ahead, we can do this. this doesn't sound like a man ready to resign. y

times were long, they were specifically warned that the va department, that administration should not trust the wait times that the medical facilities were reporting, that they were recommending a va inspector general should take hold and test the accuracy of reported wait times, and yet, and yet senator, it appears that was not done. the numbers were accepted or certainly there has been something has gone wrong because now all these years later, the problem appears to be worse than ever. you're reaction? >> look, the va has been a problem for a long time. it's nice that the president is mad as hell but why didn't he have the kind of attention applied to this he did to the obamacare website? multiple press conferences, multiple communications with the american people. look, this is a huge problem. he needs to step up to the plate. don't try to blame it on bush or republicans in congress. he's the ceo of the country. the va reports to him. he ought to have the same kind of interest in this that he did in the obamacare website and that obamacare law in general. make it a top priority, shape these people up. it doesn't make any differe

first, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at va facilities has to be held accountable. the inspector general at the va has launched investigations into the phoenix va and other facilities. some individuals have already been put on administrative leave. i know that people are angry and want swift reckoning. i sympathize with that. we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened. our veterans deserve to know the facts. their families deserve to know the facts. once we know the facts, i assure you, if there is misconduct, it will be punished. second, i want to know the full scope of this problem, and that's why i ordered secretary shinseki to investigate. today he updated me on his review, which is looking not just at the phoenix facility but also va facilities across the nation, and i expect preliminary results from that review next week. third, i directed ron neighbors to conduct a broader review of the veterans health administration. the part of the va that delivers health care to our veterans, and ron going to phoenix today. keep i

is congress going to get a list from the va of what other facilities have used? schedule practices similar to those? i would like to know if my va hospital serves my area is using the same practice. >> i believe the va is conducting a nationwide audit. i don't believe there is any intention not to share that with congress when it is completed. >> this audit is the very issue i am raising. how about how do we get a good audit and that concludes my question. >> dr. row you are recognized. >> i am a veteran and physician and i trained at a va, some of my training was at a va. it is disturbing to me we have created this uncertainty among our veterans in the country. i think we have lost a lot of trust and i want to ask do you agree dr. lynch with the report and the findings? >> i do. >> and we have a situation where you say 1700 veterans are going to get care. why do we have to have hearing after hearing -- we are hear on a wednesday night about 1700 veterans. why wasn't this just done? the length of time these 1700 veterans wait for appointments will never be capture

aids rob neighbors to go to the va and go to arizona and it's spreading beyond phoenix to other va facilities around the country. the president was angry and defensive in some respects talking about his record, pouring money into the va, expanding programs and benefits for veterans, helping homeless veterans, job training for veterans. something he has talked about as a senator and through the 2008 campaign and something he has made a priority. suggesting that erik sin secretarishinsekiwould not survt he'll hold on before making decisions about anyone's future but that someone would be held responsible. >> should we read anything into the fact that erik shinseki appeared in the oval office alone. >> no, this is something that the president has drawn criticism for, for not taking responsibility, and i think it was important from a political standpoint that the president come in not only face the music but let a little air out of the balloon of this scandal that has led to several senators calling for shinseki to resign, criticism from republicans and some democrats privately that the president

part of what we now know an even larger investigation of 26 va facilities nationwide. nbc national correspondent peter alexander is inside the white house briefing room for this conversation. peter, there have been reports that president obama is very mad about this scandal. so why is he standing by shinseki, do you think? >> i think the president wanted to come out today as white house officials would say to demonstrate his frustration as well. it didn't help when other people said he was madder than hell, he wanted to make it clear that he's as outraged as anybody else in this. he described general shinseki as someone who wants to correct the problem. the white house wants to have a better understanding of the breadth of this as the president said, that it's not just episodic, but systemic issues within the va. i think what really underlied the remarks made by the president today, ronan, is the fact that this is not a story that's exclusive to washington, like a lot of political fights sometimes are. this is a story that's getting headlines in local communities right

may be widespread. >> we're hearing reports of atlanta, colorado, california, a number of other va facilities where the same kind of scandalous procedures are being pursued. >> reporter: brian turner is a va medical scheduling clerk in san antonio, texas who says clerks were coached to change numbers and dates to erase wait times of weeks or months. >> if you have a longer time frame than the 14-day window, you would receive a report, and it would tell you, you need to change this. >> reporter: turner says he has not seen a separate or secret waiting list. but claims he was told to change dates. >> my belief is we're changing numbers in order for the va to reflect they have a shorter wait period time. >> reporter: the san antonio va told nbc news, it reviewed turner's claims last month and found they were not substantiated. given the scope of the allegations, mccain says he's disappointed in eric shinseki. >> i would have expected him if this is this big and wide spread as it appears to be, he should have known. >> reporter: and brian, tonight new information from wyoming, nbc news has obtain

other va facilities are a cowed of similar practices and the white house said the president learned about this from the media despite reports that his transition time was warned about problems in the va years ago. the administration said the president is mad as hell. will he do anything about it? we hmore. what has he done so far? >> reporter: he set his deputy of chief of staff to find out how pervasive the problem is. whether it is a few facility or system- wide and get it fixed. same reaction as the botched obama care website. mr. obama sent dennis mcdonagh up to capitol hill to reassure nervous democrats. the white house would address the problem dra mateccally and republicans want to know why he didn't know before the news reports emerged. >> i am disturbed by statements out of the white house that the president heard about this in the news. it is time for our president to come forward and take responsibility for this and do the right thing by the veterans and begin to show he cares about getting it straight. >> reporter: that sentiment is not confined to republicans. illinois congre

embarrassment and the president's response to it is an embarrassment. >> reporter: other local va facilities come under scrutiny all over the country. >> growing outrage involving the scandal at the phoenix va. >> they include the va hospital here in san antonio. >> reporter: also in that closed-door meeting with the president and shinseki was deputy chief of staff rob nabs, who's been dispatched to phoenix, ground zero where this scandal first erupted. neighbors' job is to find out firsthand what happened and report back to the president in a week, lester. >> thanks, and as this scandal gets deeper, more stories about those who found themselves caught in the va bureaucracy and face potentially life threatening delays in their treatment. as part of an investigation, john yang has one of those stories about a retired air force officer in new mexico. >> reporter: when doctors discovered a small spot on her breast in 2011 and diagnosed early stage cancer, the registered nurse knew quick treatment was vital, but then she endured a two-month delay, and, she says, rude treatment from a va patholog

they actually are, the va itself says that it turned up its own evidence that was happening at a va facilitycollins, colorado. they say it was a training issue, people who worked there were being trained and told to do it that wrong way. the va is retraining everyone at that facility on how to record the wait record the wait times properly. you might call that sort of thing a scandal. on the surface it looks more like something you might call failure. the initial allegations from the phoenix va medical center, those are being looked into formally. similar allegations have now been made about two va sites in texas. those are being looked into as well. but in washington with the va and its failures back in the spotlight politically there's been an interesting split inside the republican party as to whether or not firing the guy in charge, firing the secretary of the va might be the proper solution to what ails this giant agency. richard burr of north carolina, senator pat roberts who is a veteran, three republican senators have said they want generic shinseki fired from running the va. neither

has not been limited to a few va facilities but many across the country. >> reporter: speaking at a conference this morning, the secretary apologized and said the problems were much more widespread than he first realized. >> i can't explain the lack of integrity amongst some of the leaders of our healthcare facilities and so i will not defend it because it is indefensible. but i can take responsibility for it. and i do. >> reporter: but before stepping down, shinseki announced several steps toward improvement removing senior leaders from that phoenix va medical center, canceling this year's bonuses for senior va health executives, and eliminating patient wait times as part of employee performance evaluations. sloan gibson will take over as the acting secretary of the va. he has been serving as deputy secretary since february. president obama also said the justice department would determine if any illegality had occurred. live in the newsroom, anne makevoc, kpix 5. >> politics likely came into play here. primary elections are next week and congressional candidates from both sides of

first, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at va facilities has to be held accountable. the inspector general at the va launched investigations into the phoenix va and other facilities and some individuals have already been put on administrative leave. i know that people are angry and want swift reckoning. i sympathize with that. we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened. our veterans deserve to know the facts. their families to know the facts. once we know the facts, i assure you if there is misconduct, it will be punished. second, i want to know the full scope of this problem. that's why i ordered secretary shinseki to investigate. today he updated me on his review, which is looking not just at the phoenix facility but also va facilities across the nation. i expect preliminary results from that review next week. third, i have directed rob nabers to conduct a broader review of the veterans health administration, the part of the va that delivers healthcare to our veterans and rob is going to phoenix today. keep in mind even if

our same sources tell us at that va facility, 40 veterans, maybe even more, may have died because of delayed care. but keep in mind, this is only one part of this what we're calling now a va scandal. we've been reporting since last november on wait lists at va facilities across the country that have led by the va's own admission to 23 deaths. some 80, what they're calling adverse medical outcomes. so these wait list problems have been building and as we have continued to report, the va, the office of inspector general, they have all known about all of this. not just since our reporting, but years and years before when wait list have been brought up and nothing seem to have been done. >> thanks. that's terrible. look, nobody is going to defend this horror show that cnn has uncovered. here's the real question, though. how do we fix this, okay? that's the real question if you care about the veterans. you don't start by firing eric shinseki before we know what's going on. a fair investigation might prove shinseki is the good guy trying to raise the standards and bureaucratics beneath him

as many as 40 veterans at the phoenix va facility may have died while waiting for care. >> i can't explain the lack of integrity amongst some of the leaders of our healthcare facilities, and so i will not defend it because it is indefensible. but i can take responsibility for it, and i do. >> he does not want to be a distraction because his priority is to fix the problem and make sure our vets are getting the care that they need. >> before stepping down, shinseki fired senior leaders at the phoenix va facility cancelled this year's bonuses for the senior executives and eliminated patient wait times as part of employee evaluations. >>> another resignation in washington today. white house press secretary jay carney is leaving after three years. president obama joined the daily briefing to make that announcement. he said carney is a close friend and great press secretary. carney will be replaced by his deputy, josh earnest. >>> it's one way to drive voters to the polls, free weed. san jose's marijuana clubs are offering free or discounted pot to boost turnout in tuesday' election. now, you ha

first, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at va facilities has to be held accountable. the inspector general at the va has launched investigations into the phoenix va and other facilities and some individuals have already been put on administrative leave. i know the people that are angry and want swift reckoning. i sympathize with that but we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened. our veterans deserve to know the facts. their families deserve to know the facts. once we know the facts i assure you if there is misconduct it will be punished. second, i want to know the full scope of this problem and that's why i ordered secretary shinseki to investigate. today he updated me on his review which is looking not just at the phoenix facility but also va facilities across the nation and i expect preliminary results from that review next week. third, i have directed rob neighbors to conduct a broader review of the veterans health administration, the part of the va that delivers health care to our veterans and rob's going to phoenix tod

three top va commissioners were called in 40 veterans died at a phoenix va facility. congressmen became upset when their answers were dontoo diplomatic when they said the now documents were not secret. >> i didn't think they were secret. >> you spent easter weekend with your wife i don't know how you could think it was so appropriate to turn such a critical serious mission into a personal holiday. >> it was an easter weekend. i thought it was appropriate my wife could join me. >> set trans di -- veterans die. give us the answers, please. >> the report found that 1700 veterans seeking care at phoenix were at risk of being gort ten or lost. more than 200 veterans waited average 1500 days about 80 percent of those waited more than 14 days. house veterans affair jeff miller and keenan are among the latest to call for the secretary to step down. >> we are comparing it with public and private hospitals outside of the military system. to be able to identify problems before they become as acute and chronic as you are seeing here that that hasn't been done. >> press secretary

but i think because there are so many va facilities around the country -- haven't we all become inured to this, oh, va is a mess, we've all known that. and then i think until we got the secret waiting lists and the suggestions of skullduggery and cover-up, that's what the story had been lacking. >> but in defense of the va, again, going back to all they have to deal with with so few resources, they don't do such a bad job in the aggregate. the marketing studies that have been done show that the average patient of the va give it pretty high scores. in some cases higher scores than civilian hospitals. >> i know a lot of veterans can't get in. not that the care is altogether lousy. it's the lack of access. >> a lot of the problems is the rules for getting access, getting benefits are almost kafkaian. and that needs to be streamlined. but that's a separate problem from people in the system not getting service. >> you have to look now that there's been a decision made to go to private hospitals. and that is starting to get some coverage. >> and just to pick up on your point and close the se

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. whether secretary shinseki stays, it's not about him alone. it's about the entire management structure that has been isolated from accountability for too long. part of the accountability has to be the criminal investigation. but it also has to be a real new teem team that will impose the kind of accountability that's necessary and

conversations] >> coming up tonight on c-span2 president obama addresses the investigation into va facilities. .. >> i just met with secretary shinseki and rub neighbors who i took really assigned to work with secretary senseki at the va and we focus on two issues the allegations of misconduct and veterans affairs facilities and a the broader mission of caring for our veterans and their families. as commander in chief i have the honor of standing with our men and women in uniform and every step of their service. in and the moment they take their oath to win our troops prepare to deploy to afghanistan where they put their lives on the line for our security to the bedside as our wounded warriors fight to recover from terrible injuries. the most searing moments of my presidency going to walter reed or bethesda or bagram and meeting troops who have left a part of themselves on the battlefield and their spirit and their determination to recover and often to serve again is always an inspiration. so these men and women and their families are the best that our country has to offer. they have done the

shinseki spoke publicly for the first time about unacceptable wait times and mismanage am at a va facilityn arizona that led to their deaths. >> i didn't come here to watch things happen this way, i came here to make things better. >> reporter: shinseki, appointed by president obama in 20009, ordered a nationwide face-to-face audit of the va facilities in the wake of several brewing scandals at va hospitals where phony wait lists were created and letters ordered destroyed by officials. they have called for shinseki to resign. they have issued a subpoenaa for all e-mails pertaining to the fantastiphoenix scandal. secretary shinseki took 8 days to respond to the committee's request in april. >> we have over the past years asked the va for information that has not been forth coming. frustrations remain high among committee members. >> reporter: some top republicans have stopped short of demanding shinseki resign. >> i'm not ready to join the chorus of people calling for him to step down. the problems at the va are systemic, i don't believe that just changing someone at the top, is going to ac

hearing, the senate holds a hearing on the problematic, long, ridiculously long waits for care at va facilities. listen to this witness. >> like many va medical centers, the over riding objective at our facility from top management down was to meet our numbers, meaning, to meet our performance measures. the golfs to see as many veterans as possible but not necessarily to provide the treatment needed. >> patty murray followed thaup hearing with a bill specific recalling for policy changes to address how employees were playing games with the wait lists. it passed, president obama signed it. seemingly, nothing happened. a va spokesman said i never heard about that law. a va spokesman. seven months later, another report warning the reported wait times are still unreliable, do not trust them. january of 2013, house veterans affair committee chairman jeff miller writes to secretary shinseki, please brief us he says on the va's plan to approve medical appointment wait times and scheduling. a couple months later, may of 2 2013 chairman miller writes and ccs shinhinseki, he is yelling help. just today,

facilities. >> right now va is collecting or has asked each of our facilities to lead in the five patients who are currently on their rig list or waiting for care. we're going to assess. >> i appreciate the response. i would just express my concern for the record. is this. the very same medical doctors, physicians, medical staff that have already determined these patients don't need to go outside of the system that we are now asking to reconsider. without a dramatic shift in the administrative judgment that you can expect every one of your medical providers to exercise in this new 48 hour time frame i have great concern that it is not going to solve it but very much appreciate the measures being taken and hope they are successful. i yield back. >> thank you very much. everybody obviously continues to have a heightened interest in talking with our witnesses. we have had numerous requests for a second round. the chair will give a second round of questions, but with that i ask unanimous consent that we have a five minute recess and reconvene. [inaudible conversations] .. [inaudible conversations]

president obama will meet later this morning with va secretary eric shin scheck i can. 26 va facilities up potentially deadly wait times for patients. the white house is also sending top aide rob neighbors to phoenix tonight. cnn reported dozens of veterans at the va hospital there may have died while waiting months to be seen by a doctor. >>> supreme court justice samuel alito granted a stay of execution for a missouri unmate. attorneys for russell buckloo argued a rare birth defect would have made his lethal injection excruciating p. he was scheduled to die at midnight. the stay remains in place spending an appeals court hearing. that's a look at your headlines. kate, over to you. >>> new developments in the search for flight 370. malaysian officials and the satellite company inmarsat are finally plan to release the raw satellite data to the public. this is the data a has been so central in determining the possible flight path and current search area for the plane. family members of the missing passengers have really been demanding this information since the beginning to allow for ind

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 our findings on. what we say really needs to happen, he needs to go at this point. we have the utmost respect for him, but it is failed leadership and failed oversight of the sys

the ig probe is going national to include 42 va facilities. phoenix va whistle-blower, retired physician dr. sam foot, says the ig report is vindication. >> it's hard to feel happy about veterans not getting care, but it is nice to be believed, i'll say that. >> reporter: today on capitol hill, republican lawmakers surrounded by veterans also express caution that the va's problems nationwide are big and entrenched and go far beyond the fate of secretary shinseki. >> leadership is important at the top, but i'm telling you, there is a bureaucracy that doesn't care who leads. >> senior lawmakers say they are now prepared to take the unusual step of suing the va to try to get specific documents that might shed light on the coverup, and a top health administrator acknowledged the department may have lost its north star. brian? >> kelly o'donnell remains on this story for us tonight. kelly, thanks. >>> tonight, nearly three months now since that malaysia airlines jet vanished without a trace, with 239 people on board, the australian government says i

[applause] we'll announce the results of our nationwide audit of all va health care facilities in theing days. i now ask congress to support senator bernie sanders' proposed bill giving va's secretary greater authority to remove senior leaders. [applause] and i ask the support of congress to fill existing va leadership positions that are still vacant. again -- [applause] again, this situation can be fixed with va, vsos, congress and all of our stakeholders like many of you in this room working together with the best interest of veterans at heart. we can do this in the days ahead. just as we have done over past five years on veterans homelessness. we can do this. we'll need all of your help. god bless our veterans, those especially in greatest need of our prayers and our help, and may god continue to bless this wonderful country of ours. thank you all very much. [applause] [applause] >> va secretary eric shinseki speaking at this conference for homelessness among veterans this morning, also taking a moment to apologize for the challenges facing veterans at va facilities. he also announ

that same day we learned 26 va facilities are being investigated nationwide. on may 21st, nearly six years to the day after condemning the betrayal of american veterans, president obama makes his first extended public comments on the scandal. >> i know the people are angry and want swift reckoning. i sympathize with that but we have to let investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened. >> no sooner was the president done with those remarks and the questions began. why is he waiting for this report when there have already been several investigations? warnings about wait times going back years, and multiple reports from the government accounting, accountability office about a system where employers were using tricks to hide what was really going on with the health care for our veterans. joining me now, daniel, whose the national commander of the american legion. you saw him in that piece and ralph peters a fox news analyst. gentlemen, thank you both for being here. let me start with you. in the words of barack obama, this is a disgrace. what

there is no urgency. >> reporter: the white house faces a political crisis that's building with 26 va facilities under investigation. >> i don't yet know are there a lot of other facilities that have been cooking the books or is this just an episodic problem? >> reporter: this is not the first time the president has been caught off guard by his administration's failures. he tauted healthcare.gov before the launch. >> nobody is as mad as me about the fact that the website isn't working. >> there's a pattern. >> i first learned about it from the same news reports i think most people learned about this. i think it was on friday. >> reporter: and the president's crisis management is also familiar standing by shinseki as he did with hhs secretary kathleen sebelius. >> is he too detached from some of the nuts and bolts of running the government and the administration? >> i think if you look at how the president handles a challenge like the website and handles this challenge, he responds by needing action. >> 9 only action is ordering secretary shinseki to complete his internal investigation by next we

first, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at va facilities has to be held accountable. the inspector general at the va has launched investigations into the phoenix va and other facilities, and some individuals have already been put on administrative leave. i know that people are angry and want swift reckoning. i sympathize with that. but we have to let the investigators do their job and get to the bottom of what happened. our veterans deserve to know the facts. their families deserve to know the facts. once we know the facts, i assure you if there is misconduct it will be punished. second, i want to know the full scope of this problem, and that's why i ordered secretary shinseki to investigate. today he updated me on his review, which is looking not just at the phoenix facility but also va facilities across the nation. and i expect preliminary results from that review next week. third, i've directed rob nabors to conduct a broader review of the veterans health administration, the part of the va that delivers health care to our veterans, and rob's going to phoenix today

in va facilities around the country that were not giving information, and deceiving va headquarters, and he told that story, when he was in combat of a young corporal needing an airstrike, and he said that trust was not reciprocated. hearing about this, a lot of people are going to dispute that. all you have to do is go to the american legion website, here in washington, just across the street on k street. and see the litany of reports over the course of the last five years, outlining problems just like this one. the american legion, so put it all together on friday, when you have this bad news, it comes under consideration as well. with the death watch, by all accounts you heard the president say that it's very difficult for him. a stellar career, a west point graduate, previously wounded in vietnam, chief of staff of the army. and donald rumsfeld said the u.s. army was going to need far more than rumsfeld and others said they needed in a post-invasion of iraq. he was cast gated by the republican administration, and president obama applauded when he appointed shinseki to take over t

we need to know how many veterans are going into the va facilities and more transparency and more communication needs to be brought forth by the va. so everyone involved knows what we're working with and the problem can be resolved only when we have a full accountability of what the problem is. >> but the problem we know has existed far longer than these six years that general shinseki has been the secretary of that department. are you at all concerned that this tragedy and it is, if one person has died waiting for care, that's one too many, but does this become, dare i say, a shiny object of distraction from a larger problem that exists not just in phoenix, but va helps across the country and problems that existed in walter reed in 2007 and many other complaints that have come in between then and now. the american legion said all along they'ir calling to have t undersecretaries resign was not about phoenix. it was about a wide array of problems that happened within the va system. it's about veterans that waited too long. it's about veterans who died because of legion ella. it's about veterans

a rolling up ameriquest. >> every va facility is a schedule an appointment consult as well? >> that may be unique to facilities. that is not probably universal across va. that is a tool which can be used and there are screenshot paper printouts which are not reports that there are 400 veterans hiding in our system and again the clerk and these veterans 1700 folks hidden on the secret waiting list could be at any va clinic or continue to be at risk of being lost or forgotten. as a result these veterans may never obtain the requested or required primary care appointment. if i understood correctly from the report in your testimony is the secret waiting lists could be at every va facility in the country. is that correct? >> congressman i don't think they were secret. >> how did you not find an dr. lynch? >> i did find them congressman. see you told me didn't look at this list. >> i told you he didn't document the numbers. we were unaware of the process. >> white. >> why didn't you report to the press and mr. shinseki and the president as they said there were 1100 veterans waiting

at least 26 va facilities are now being investigated by the va's inspector general over accusations regarding angry beyond words. >> reporter: mass says he has heard the reports and is calling for change now. >> to think that on memorial day i'm going to have to try to -- i'm going to have to remember veterans that were last to us because they didn't receive care, because they were put on some false waiting list at a veterans affairs facility? that's the most dishonorable thing i can think about. >> reporter: so can you fix the system? we asked mast what he thought. he was emphatic if his response. he said absolutely you can. he also said service members are key in helping those men and women who may be falling through the cracks. >> alina, great story. thank you so much. >>> let's bring in alex nicholson, legislative director of iraq and afghanistan veterans of america. first off, you heard president obama today reiterating this commitle to make good, to make a difference here, to push thitur around. what needs to be done for him to make good on that? >> one of the first things we need to se

yes, them being removed from va. >> since november, cnn has uncovered long treatment delays at va facilities across the country, and attempts by va staffers to cover those delays up. >>> the pentagon releasing its first formal report on sexual harassment in its ranks. the report shows that the military fired or disciplined nearly 500 people over a recent 12-month period and some 13% of the complaints involved repeat offenders. the vast majority of cases, the victim was a young, lower-ranking woman and the offender was a senior enlisted male service member. the report comes months after criticism by congress and elsewhere over the military's handling of sex assaults and related crimes. >>> republicans blocking a bill to renew expired tax breaks on individuals and businesses. the vote was 53-40, of course, short of the 60 votes needed. the gop move reflects growing anger with majority leader harry reid, who republicans say has prevented them from offering amendments to the bill. a similar dispute derailed an energy bill this week. >>> we know a little bit more now about how much the president

yes, waiting lists were manipulated at va facilities in phoenix. some 1,700 veterans were not put on the official books and may have never gotten appointments for care. some of the top leaders of the va went before a house committee at a late-night hearing, insisting they were sorry for what happened and they will fix it. >> i still think we have a good system, and i think we have evidence that we deliver good care. we are obviously in very difficult times right now. we have identified that we have significant failures to provide timely care. we need to address that. i think we have a way forward. i think we have the tools to do that. >> our veterans have been crying out for help for years. they've been ignored, they've been dismissed, and ultimately, they've been betrayed, and there probably is criminal behavior. it sounds like there is. and people need to be more than fired, they need to be sent to jail. >> wow. the va has now expanded its investigation into 42 medical centers nationwide. the details of what they find are not expected until later

va hospitals. it's also pledging to expand the capacity of those facilities. this of course comes in response to accusations of long backlogs and secret waiting lists. hi, steve. >> reporter: there's support on both sides of the isle for the administration's move to provide private hospital health care to velocity trachbs. the white house who's expangding a program for treatment in private hospitals. >> in terms of veterans being able to go to private doctors and hochts. i think it's great, we have been calling on this for quite some time. i introduced a women similar to this last year. i'm also go to stay what took so long. >> an inspector general report says there's 26 facilities under investigation for allegedly falsifying records reveals delays in care. some are not satisfy with the that ig probe and want to go one step further. here's what he had to say this morning. >> the department of justice has to be involved, i urged the secretary privately and in fact publicly to request and involve the department of justice. these are allegations, but there's evid

>> i quit going to the va facility because the treatment and the way you're dealt with there. started going. i was very, very fort nate. i refuse to go to the va although i am a disabled veteran. they have to deal with and shake it to the side. it's frustrating. >> what were the complaints. >> less than a person when. it was dealing. hours on end. i remembered numerous times that their appointments scheduled. he will call you or you get there and say you're sorry, we have to change this. it's going to have to be rescheduled and the rescheduling was something out of nowhere. >> let's talk about way back when. i know this is incredibly serious business. you, yourself, and i have copies of your letter here to eric shinseke and to senator john mccain. tell me what you said to them. raising the red flag. >> number one, i never got a chance to get a written response from sinseke's office. i even went to my washington bureau and they gave me some numbers to call. i talked to some people in the office and they gave me a bunch of we're look into it. ultimately when i went to senator mcc

they said it's now investigating 42 va facilities up from 26 nationwide. of the phoenix office that kicked off the current investigation, the report found 1,700 veterans waiting for care that they didn't receive. the report also found that, quote, inappropriate scheduling practices are systemic throughout the health administration. investigators found the average waiting time for an appointment was almost five times as long as reported by the va facility in phoenix. shinseki has responded with an editorial in "usa today" say he ordered the va to contact the veterans still waiting for appointments. and that, quote, we are doing all we can to accelerate access to care throughout our system, and in communities where veterans reside. shinseki adds, i've challenged our leadership to ensure we're doing everything possible to schedule veterans for their appointments. the question is, will that be enough for general shinseki to hang on to his job. dennis wagner is an investigative reporter for the arizona republic and "usa today." dennis, let's actually start with

this after accusations first reported on cnn that some veterans died while waiting for care at va facilities. because it's alleged those hospitals kept some patients waiting months without seeing doctors. well, now investigators are poring over the books at the san antonio va hospital after a clerk came forward with his own allegations, telling cnn's drew griffin that he was told to change records to make it look like patients weren't waiting longer than 14 days. listen to this. >> what we've been instructed was that -- they're not saying fudge, there's no secret wait list, but what they've done is come out and just say zero out that date. there's been a report the following day. if someone has a wait period that's longer than 14 days. the standard is the 1 to 14 days between the timeline of a desired date. >> irregardless of when the appointment -- >> doesn't matter when. >> -- took place. >> a house panel has subpoenaed the va secretary to see his e-mails to find out what he knew about the alleged scheduling delays, if anything. eric shinseki insists he will not resign. the white house say

what i discussed this morning, first, anybody found to have manipulated or falsified records at va facilities has to be held accountable. the inspector general has launched investigations into phoenix va and other facilities and some individuals have been put on administrative leave. i know people are angry and i sympathize with that. we have to let investigators do their job in getting to the bottom of what happened. veterans deserve other facts and families deserve to know the facts. the facts i assure you if there is misconduct it will be punished. i want to know the full scope of this, so i ordered secretary shin secchi to investigate. he updated me on his review which is not looking just at the phoenix facility but also va facilities across the nation and i expect preliminary results from that review next week. third, i directed neighbors to direct a broad review of the veterans health administration, the part of the va that delivers health care to our veterans and robb is going to phoenix today. keep in mind even if we had not heard reports out of this phoenix facility or other faciliti