VA Secretary Jim Nicholson announced his impending resignation today.
Nicholson was widely seen as another example of Bushian political patronage as his resume was devoid of veterans’ advocacy experience and his primary qualification for the job was serving as chairman of the Republican National Committee from 1997 to 2000.
Veterans, veterans’ support groups and advocates applauded the resignation:
"My sincere desire is that Secretary Nicholson's replacement is a true veterans' advocate,” said Larry Scott, Military.com columnist and founder of VA Watchdog. “The VA needs a dynamic leader to ensure proper care and benefits for the nation's veterans, not just another political appointee being rewarded for loyalty."
"Secretary Nicholson's resignation should be welcome news for all veterans. Tens of thousands of veterans currently are waiting for their first VA appointment, and the backlog of veterans' benefits claims has increased by more than 50% in three years, to more than 350,000. The VA under Secretary Nicholson has also been woefully unprepared for the influx of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, consistently underestimating the number of new veterans who would seek care, and failing to spend the money Congress allotted to treat mental health issues." said Paul Rieckhoff, Executive Director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. "Bottom line: Secretary Nicholson is the FEMA Director Michael Brown that America doesn't know about."
"The result of his tenure at the VA was a bungled budget that was billions short, budget cuts that hurt veterans and personal data of thousands of veterans being stolen," said Jon Soltz, head of New York-based VoteVets.org, a group that includes more than 800 people who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs: "...we need the President to send us a serious nominee to fill the job. That means a truthful advocate for veterans, not an apologist for this Administration's failures to plan. The next VA Secretary must have a record of being a strong and independent voice for veterans – not someone being rewarded for political loyalty.”
Senator Barack Obama (D-IL), Member of the Senate Vets' Committee: “It is clear that Secretary Nicholson is leaving the VA worse off than he found it. He oversaw one of the most tumultuous periods in recent VA history, including billion-dollar budget shortfalls, ongoing cuts in services to certain groups of veterans, and the continuation of a dysfunctional bureaucracy that keeps many veterans from getting the disability benefits they deserve. I along with my friend Senator Durbin had to fight Nicholson's VA to ensure that our Illinois veterans could receive their fair share of benefits. The fact is, veterans have been right to be disappointed in Jim Nicholson's leadership at VA.”
Senator Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs:"Veterans in this country and their families need an advocate, not an adversary. They need someone committed to ending the waiting lines for health care and other services in Vermont and across the country, someone committed to opening the doors of the VA to all veterans, and someone who will make sure that service members returning from combat and their families get the care they deserve."
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