As the 2016 presidential campaigns ramp up, the Republican Party will take every opportunity they can to point out what they believe to be the faults and mistakes of President Obama's two terms in office.
Recently, former Florida Governor Jeb Bush (R) spoke at a Lincoln Day Dinner in Iowa and told gathered supporters that the 2014 Veterans Administration scandal was typical of what happened under the Obama administration. Bush noted that:
"It is scandalous that we treat our military coming home from service in the veterans’ department and veterans’ administration in a way where people should be fired. One person has been fired. There should be scores of people fired for withholding services for people who truly need it."
Our partners at PolitiFact decided to see if Bush's claim about firings at the VA was accurate. PolitiFact reporter Joshua Gillin says that Bush's claim rates MOSTLY FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.
"We rated it that way because we found that there was actually more than one person fired over this scandal," said Gillin. "This all stems from reports in 2014 that exposed the problem of long waits for treatment at VA hospitals across the country as well as falsifications of records. We took a look at the records, and there were actually eighteen people fired as a result of what was found."
Gillin notes that the person in charge actually left without technically being fired. "A lot of people were calling for the firing of Secretary Eric Shinseki, but his departure can be filed under 'forced recognition,'" said Gillin. "Still, eighteen people seemed like a small number of people to have to answer for the scandal with their jobs."
Because there was more than one person who lost their job relating to the scandal, Bush's claim rates MOSTLY FALSE on the Truth-O-Meter.
SOURCES: Only one person fired over VA scandal?
- PolitiFact ruling
- CSPAN, Former Gov. Jeb Bush’s speech at Iowa GOP Lincoln Day Dinner, May 16, 2015
- House and Senate committees on veterans affairs, Disciplinary cases associated with wait time manipulation, April 8, 2015
- House Committee on Veterans Affairs, "Chairman Miller to introduce legislation to address near complete lack of accountability after VA scandal," April 23, 2015
- Montgomery Advertiser, "Board upholds VA’s firing of Talton," Nov. 19, 2014
- Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, "Questions remain over settlement reached with fired VA director," Feb. 21, 2015
- New York Times, "Few people lost jobs with VA scandal," April 23, 2015
- New York Times, "Firing of VA chief is upheld over gifts, not wait lists," Dec. 24, 2014
- Arizona Republic, "Ousted VA boss Helman sues to regain job," May 6, 2015
- Fox News, "What the hell? Boehner rips VA for firing almost nobody, year after Shinseki resignation," May 20, 2015
- PolitiFact, "VA Secretary claims 900 firings, 60 related to wait time scandal, since he took over," Feb. 20, 2015
- PolitiFact, Fact-checks about veterans, Accessed May 19, 2015
- Washington Post, "No, the VA has not fired 60 people for manipulating wait-time data," Feb. 18, 2015
- Interview, Curt Cashour, spokesman for the House Committee on Veteran Affairs-Majority, May 19, 2015
- Interview, Allie Brandenburger, Gov. Jeb Bush spokeswoman, May 19, 2015
- Interview, James Hutton, Veterans Administration spokesman, May 19, 2015