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 atÂ its hospital system. In a press conference this morning, the presidentÂ said he was âfurious and upsetâ over revelations that officials at a Phoenix VA hospital covered up the long list of veterans waiting to receive treatment, 40 of whomÂ may have died as a result. Twenty-six hospitals and facilities where similar claims have been reported are now being investigated. âWhat we have seen here is mismanagement at the top levels," Obama said. "Abuse, incompetence, and a lack of strict oversight hasÂ been going on for years at the VA, and it has ruined peopleâs lives and forever shaken the American peopleâs confidence in an important institution. "Thatâs why I believe the correct course of action is to have Congress authorize a $700 billion bailout of the VA, so we canÂ bandage up this problem and get the ship back on course. âAs we learned from past crises such as the Wall Street financial meltdown, asking insiders toÂ fix the problems they created by giving them a bunch of money is a fail-proof strategy. It worked for Wall Street, now let's make it work for our veterans.â The U.S. government bailed out several Wall Street firms during the depth of the financial crisis, most notably though its $700 billion Trouble Asset Relief Program (TARP). Although the money was eventually paid back, many economists worryÂ that the program created a moral hazard and failed to address the root causes of the problem. "I'm all for increasing the VA's budget," says one veteran of the Iraq War, "but just giving them a blank check for $700 billion is ridiculous. We need a top-to-bottom rethink of veterans' care in this country. Since when does government just throw money at problems and expect them to go away?" In his remarks Obama called on legislators, health care lobbyists and VA officials to enact reforms as they oversee the spending of the bailout money, all of which will come from U.S. taxpayers. When asked if any more VA officials would be asked to resign over the scandal, or face possible legal repercussions, Obama dismissed the idea. âNo, of course not,â he said. âDonât be silly. Why would holding people accountable for their actionsÂ be necessary?â