Obama Pledges $700 Billion Bailout of VA

Obama Pledges $700 Billion Bailout of VA

President Barack Obama has called for a $700 billion bailout of the Veterans Administration in response to a growing scandal over veteran abuse and mismanagement at its hospital system.

In a press conference this morning, the president said he was “furious and upset” over revelations that officials at a Phoenix VA hospital covered up the long list of veterans waiting to receive treatment, 40 of whom may have died as a result. Twenty-six hospitals and facilities where similar claims have been reported are now being investigated.

“What we have seen here is mismanagement at the top levels," Obama said. "Abuse, incompetence, and a lack of strict oversight has been going on for years at the VA, and it has ruined people’s lives and forever shaken the American people’s confidence in an important institution.

"That’s why I believe the correct course of action is to have Congress authorize a $700 billion bailout of the VA, so we can bandage up this problem and get the ship back on course.