WASHINGTON (AP) - Republicans are criticizing Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald after he compared wait times to receive VA health care to the hours people wait for rides at Disney theme parks.
McDonald has told reporters on Monday that the VA should not use wait times as a measure of success because Disney doesn't either.
House Speaker Paul Ryan said McDonald's "flippant comments" during a Christian Science Monitor breakfast "shows just how seriously the Obama administration's VA is taking life or death problems" at the agency.
McDonald took office two years ago amid a scandal over chronically long wait times and reports that as many as 40 patients died while awaiting care at the Phoenix VA hospital.
Florida Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House veterans panel, called McDonald's comment "just plain wrong."