The Obama administration delivered another punch in the gut to the nation’s veterans earlier this week when its Justice Department declared it would not defend a key provision of the Veterans Administration reform law passed in 2014 after patients endured unreasonably long wait times at VA hospitals.
The provision in the reform measure, which was signed into law by President Obama, allowed executives who had been indifferent to the suffering of veterans, to be fired more easily than other civil servants.
The subject in question, Sharon Helman, was fired in November 2014 not only for the long wait times at the Phoenix VA hospital but also for accepting unreported gifts, to which she pled guilty. She had been placed on leave during the investigation into the charge that 40 veterans died while waiting for treatment at the hospital.
Now, the decision by Attorney General Loretta Lynch could return her to her job as her suit against the government moves forward.
The 2014 scandal not only brought about the reforms but also brought down Veterans Administrative Secretary Eric Shinseki, who resigned.