General Keane on VA Scandal: Where’s the Commitment to Our Veterans?

KEANE: "First of all, our government and the American people made a tremendous commitment to our veterans. 150 hospitals, 820 clinics, 300,000 people administering to 9 million veterans. No other country in the world ever made a commitment to that. But right in front of us, Jenna, we seem to have a major problem. To break it down simplistically is, we have a huge demand on our veterans and we don't have the capacity -- at least it appears, based on evidence that is coming forward -- we don't have the capacity to be able to meet that demand. We're not responsive to the health care needs and we're not as responsive as we should be to process their disability claims. Something is fundamentally wrong and it needs certainly addressing."
LEE: "How?"
KEANE: "First of all, I think the Congress has got to bore in on it. That is number one. I don't think the White House is going to do anything more than what they have already done and that is to shore up the VA in general. We eventually need to hold people accountable inside of the VA for their performance. And it appears, -- I mean, I don't look at this every single day, but appears that is not being done. That has got to be changed. And secondly, if we have a major issue here with resources and demand, I think we need to review of the entire VA system to see if the 21st VA system, this wonderful enterprise that we have, is truly, has the capacity to meet our veteran's needs. That has got to be done."