Veterams Affairs secretary says agency too complicated

http://www.fayobserver.com/news/nation/veterams-affairs-secretary-says-agency-too-complicated/article_295c36a6-2a49-57bb-a152-9642918815c8.html



Veterams Affairs secretary says agency too complicated
Posted: Monday, September 8, 2014 9:21 pm
By Matthew Daly

WASHINGTON - The Veterans Affairs Department with its 14 different password-protected websites is too complicated for most veterans to navigate, new Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald said Monday as he promised to make it easier for veterans to get disability benefits, health care, job training and other services.

The VA must "put veterans at the center of everything we do," he said.

McDonald took over the agency in late July after former VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned amid a political furor over veterans in need of medical care having to wait months for appointments at VA hospital and clinics. Investigators said efforts to cover up or hide the delays were systemic throughout the agency's network of nearly 1,000 hospitals and clinics.

At a news conference at VA headquarters, McDonald unveiled what he called a three-point plan to rebuild trust among veterans, improve service delivery and set a course for the agency's long-term future. The plan should be implemented by Veterans Day, Nov. 11, he said.