Congress, FBI moving on VA health care

Source: AP-Excite

By MATTHEW DALY and ERIC TUCKER

WASHINGTON (AP) — As Congress moves to help thousands of military veterans enduring long wait times for VA medical care, the FBI said it has opened a criminal investigation into the Department of Veterans Affairs.

FBI Director James Comey said Wednesday that the investigation was being led by the FBI's field office in Phoenix, which he described as the "primary locus of the original allegations" being investigated by the VA's Office of Inspector General.

"We're working with the VA IG to follow it wherever the facts take us," Comey told the House Judiciary Committee.

The inspector general said in a report last month that 1,700 veterans seeking treatment at the Phoenix VA hospital were at risk of being "forgotten or lost." The VA has confirmed that at least 35 veterans died while awaiting treatment in Phoenix, although officials say they do not know whether the deaths were related to long waiting times for appointments.

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Read more: http://apnews.excite.com/article/20140611/us--veterans-health_care-84a3b07caf.html

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Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., right, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs, confers with Rep. Mike Michaud, D-Maine, the ranking member, left, as the panel holds a hearing to examine why thousands of military veterans have been waiting for up to three months for medical appointments, on Capitol Hill in Washington, Monday, June 9, 2014. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)