VA audit findings ‘disturbing,’ says GOP chairman

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee chairman Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) on Monday said the results of a White House-mandated audit of the country’s medical network for veterans offered “disturbing proof” of corruption in the system.

{mosads}“The only way to rid the department of this widespread dishonesty and duplicity is to pull it out by the roots,” he said in a statement.

The audit found that more 57,000 veterans are awaiting their first doctor’s appointment at Veterans Affairs Department clinics and hospitals and that roughly 64,000 more had enrolled with the agency in the last 10 years but not booked a checkup.

The survey found 13 percent of VA schedulers said managers had told them to falsify appointment dates to make waiting times look shorter to comply with a 14-day goal for providing care.

Miller said the Justice Department “should get off the sidelines and star actively pursuing charges where applicable to the fullest extent of the law.”

A bipartisan group of 21 Senators on Monday asked the DOJ to investigate evidence of criminal wrongdoing at the troubled agency just hours before to the report’s release.

Miller’s panel is set to convene Monday night to go over the details of the administration-backed survey as well as the initial findings of an ongoing VA Inspector General investigation.