Veterans groups: Shinseki is ‘clean break’ from Bush years
GovExec.com roundup by Amy Harder includes praise for Shinseki by Rep. Bob Filner (D-Calif.), Senate Veterans Affairs Committee chair Sen. Daniel Akaka (D-Hawaii) from Shinseki’s home state, and pro-Obama veterans groups:
One common trend emerging from many pro-Obama veterans groups, such as VoteVets.org and the American Federation of Government Employees, is praise that Obama is taking a step away from the veterans policies the groups reproached during the current administration. In a statement, the AFGE said that this appointment “represents a clear break from the past eight years in which the Bush Administration sought to dismantle the VA through the use of fee-basis contract care and undercut the agency by continually understaffing and underfunding the agency.” Brandon Friedman, vice chairman of VoteVets.org, commends Shinseki for “always think[ing] ahead to what needs may be down the road,” and not being “afraid to strongly speak his mind to the president of the United States.”
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One member of the House veterans committee, however, expressed his “disappointment” that Obama will not keep current VA Secretary James Peake. Rep. Steve Buyer, R-Ind., attributed many positive changes in the VA to Peake’s leadership, and lamented that “replacing him could cause a major setback.” He didn’t explicitly disapprove of the Shinseki pick, stating toward the end of the statement that the prospective VA secretary is an “honorable man.”
5 Comments
bngo on April 20th, 2009
I thought discrimination against verterans is an isolate problem at the Tampa VA Hospital. But it turns out it is a wide spread epidemic at many government agencies. Let’s hope our new VA Secretary will clean up this unfair treatment against the verterans.
Tom on April 20th, 2009
I’m 100% in agreement with you. If you are a verteran and working at the Tampa VA Hospital, good luck in getting an equal opportunity to compete for a job. They normally promote or hire friend or relative. They rather hire someone working in the cafeteria over a veteran who has a degree and are qualified for the job. That is how it is at the Tampa VA Hospital. How can they get away with the discrimination and coruption? We the veteran serve this country and can not get a fair shot at a job in the government agency? I sure hope Mr Shinseki will put a stop to this unfair treatment against the verterans.
Veteran1 on April 20th, 2009
I have worked at other VA Hospital. The Tampa VA is the most corrupted VA that I have ever seen. They constantly put veteran last on hiring and promotion. Friend and family come first at the Tampa VA. I invite anyone to check their 2008 hiring practice/record. You will see that they hired mainly from the canteen (non-federal employees). The Tampa VA has a special memorandum that allows them to hire from the canteen over outside disable veterans. So if you work in a canteen area for a year, you are more qualified then a veteran with many federal year of services and have all the qualifications for the job. I’m a veteran myself with over fifteen years federal service with two degrees and constantly get pass over by a non-veteran non-degree individual when it comes to job opportunity at the Tampa VA.
cameron on April 28th, 2009
i think that all the senate should be more like
Eric Ken Shinseki and care for the people.
help us veterans on April 10th, 2009
As a Vietnam Era Veteran working for the Dept of Veteran Affairs, I would like to comment that I hope Sec. Shinseki will truly look into the way we are treated in the work place. Many view us as looking for a hand out which is far from the truth since we served out country in a time of need. It is very disheartening that supervisors and managers (leaders) put over us are non veterans and we are discriminated against and pushed to the side and in some cases threatened with the removal of us from our jobs. This is not what we served our country for. Some of us even volunteered as civil servants to go to Iraq to help with the issues there. Yes I went to Iraq but those that have no military connection could care less about that too. It is unfortunate that some of the leaders that are veterans have forgotten how important it is to rely on your buddy to help get the job done. All we want is to be treated equally, fairly, and have the discrimination even in the workplace to stop.