The new Secretary of Veteran Affairs is in Florida today to hear from veterans and talk to VA employees about his initiative to restore trust in the VA and eliminate the backlog of claims and long waits for health care.
Robert McDonald, the former CEO of Procter & Gamble, is spending his first 90 days in office visiting VA facilities nationwide to explain his reform plan dubbed Road to Veterans Day 2014.
He stopped by the Sarasota VA National Cemetery Tuesday. Today, McDonald will meet with employees at the St. Petersburg Regional VA Benefits Office and then tour Tampa's James A. Haley VA Hospital and Polytrauma Center.
McDonald will hold a news conference this afternoon in Tampa before traveling to Orlando where he will tour the VA facilities on Thursday.
Nationwide, several VA facilities remain under investigation for keeping secret wait lists, delayed health care service and retaliating against whistleblowers.
The U.S. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs continues to hold hearings on the VA. On Oct. 3, the committee will hear testimony and investigate the "continued failures of the Philadelphia VA Regional Office."
