Saying veterans deserve more, Casey aims to help fix VA

A U.S. lawmaker is calling for swift action in the wake of a scathing report about the Veterans Affairs health system in Philadelphia.  

After reading the report detailing delays and mismanagement at the Philadelphia VA Regional Office, Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania said he wants quick action on the 35 recommendations included in the review.  Veterans deserve no less, he said Monday.

“To directly impact individual veterans benefits, [to make sure] these veterans are getting those benefits, they are in a system that will yield a result that will be commensurate with their expectations,” he said.

Casey says he does not see any criminal culpability, even though the report brought up allegations of data manipulation and delays of close to a year before distributing benefits.

“I don’t see anything or have not been informed of anything yet that would rise to that level,” he said.

Casey has introduced a bill to reform the VA operations, including changing how claim information is given to veterans.