To: The United States House of Representatives, The United States Senate, and President Donald Trump
Congress Reject Undersecretary Shulkin
Undersecretary Shulkin is the wrong person for the Head of the VA when he has failed in his current position as the Undersecretary for the VA Health Administration. Wait lines are still way too long and Veterans are dropping like flies everyday. CDR John Wells, USN, ret. Surface Officer and Attorney Advocate for Veterans is the right for Secretary of the VA.
Why is this important?
To: All Senators / Senate VA Committee:
On behalf of the 20 million plus Veterans nationwide we are requesting that you utilize your discretion to challenge the the nomination of Dr. David Shulkin from being confirmed as our Nation's next VA Secretary for the following reasons ...
As illustrated in this video link Dr. Shulkin demonstrated his inability to properly and convincingly address Congressman Zeldin's concerns that after 2 years from the original Phoenix VA scandal, followed by the damning 2015 IG Report, the VA has yet to address nor corrected the obvious number nationwide of personnel incompetence and other procedural changes that the VA should have enacted but has not to corrected this National Travesty against the health and welfare of all US Veterans....
Instead of Dr. Shulkin being bold and saying why he and Secretary McDonald were unsuccessful in implementing these required changes, he just tap danced and gave excuses versus stating that the VA did not institute these changes, as he was appointed along side Secretary McDonald to correct, was due in fact to AFGE (Union) interference....... #NoAccountability
As you all will quickly deduce from this video below, Dr. Shulkin was unable to state here again the obvious as to why he has not enacted any measurable corrections to Veteran healthcare procedures nor removed incompetent personnel at all levels.... Instead he dodged tapped dance around taking ownership for the VA's failures to do so .... #Weak .... #NotMyVASecretary ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv2ynCiZzrw
In summary Dr. Shulkin should be not confirmed because 1. he is not a Veteran; 2. does not possess the full depth of operational knowledge of policies that is necessary to reform /or eliminate; and, 3. for being endorsed by the AFGE (VA Unions) #RedFlag...
However, in partial defense of Dr. Shulkin he did miss the opportunity to state the obvious as to why he didn't take charge of the situation and challenge the Unions due to President Obama's support for the AFGE but at the same time he should have also chastised the Senate GOP for not using the nuclear option to force a floor vote on the VA Accountability ACT....
A key point that I and many other Veteran Advocates had raised with our respective Senators....That such a legislative mandate could have given Dr. Shulkin and Secretary McDonald the authority to make these necessary HR decisions....
A mandate to negate any Union blockage to remove immediately those VA employees at all levels for their incompetence and worst yet for their fraud in altering patient records / the real wait times as was discovered by the IG and VA whistle blowers who have as yet to be held accountable nor their performance bonuses taken back to date. This factor is where Dr. Shulkin should be held accountable and no excuses accept for not taking action to reverse these performance bonuses especially when we still have 22 plus daily Veteran Suicides happening still with no relief in site.
In the email below Dr. Shulkin did acknowledges our concerns and recognized that many Veterans would have their backs arched against his nomination for the reasons sited above. However, in the same breathe Dr. Shulkin did acknowledge that Cmdr John Wells, who we are still lobbying the Trump Transition Team to be interviewed to be Deputy VA Secretary but also as their plan B if what this email is calling for is successful.
Cmdr Wells should be placed in nomination for VA Secretary instead of Dr. Shulkin and/or made Dr. Shulkin's 2nd in command as his Deputy Secretary so if confirmed Dr. Shulkin had competent and in-depth leadership surrounding him to make up for his leadership and knowledge deficiencies needed to transform and deliver President Trump's promises to reform / transform the VA.
Cmdr John Wells is our primary choice to fill the post as VA Deputy Director. See our press release on nominating Cmdr Wells .... https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/veterans-nomination-va-secretary-press-release-len-swanson
Senators we hope you will stand up for our concerns as we can not afford to have another ill suited VA Secretary appointed ... Someone who is in the end incapable of delivering the reforms and transformations that all Veterans like myself know is needed to end this National Travesty against all Veterans nationwide.
Warmest Regards,
Len Swanson, Vietnam Veteran - Agent Orange Victim
On behalf of the 20 million plus Veterans nationwide we are requesting that you utilize your discretion to challenge the the nomination of Dr. David Shulkin from being confirmed as our Nation's next VA Secretary for the following reasons ...
As illustrated in this video link Dr. Shulkin demonstrated his inability to properly and convincingly address Congressman Zeldin's concerns that after 2 years from the original Phoenix VA scandal, followed by the damning 2015 IG Report, the VA has yet to address nor corrected the obvious number nationwide of personnel incompetence and other procedural changes that the VA should have enacted but has not to corrected this National Travesty against the health and welfare of all US Veterans....
Instead of Dr. Shulkin being bold and saying why he and Secretary McDonald were unsuccessful in implementing these required changes, he just tap danced and gave excuses versus stating that the VA did not institute these changes, as he was appointed along side Secretary McDonald to correct, was due in fact to AFGE (Union) interference....... #NoAccountability
As you all will quickly deduce from this video below, Dr. Shulkin was unable to state here again the obvious as to why he has not enacted any measurable corrections to Veteran healthcare procedures nor removed incompetent personnel at all levels.... Instead he dodged tapped dance around taking ownership for the VA's failures to do so .... #Weak .... #NotMyVASecretary ... https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Cv2ynCiZzrw
In summary Dr. Shulkin should be not confirmed because 1. he is not a Veteran; 2. does not possess the full depth of operational knowledge of policies that is necessary to reform /or eliminate; and, 3. for being endorsed by the AFGE (VA Unions) #RedFlag...
However, in partial defense of Dr. Shulkin he did miss the opportunity to state the obvious as to why he didn't take charge of the situation and challenge the Unions due to President Obama's support for the AFGE but at the same time he should have also chastised the Senate GOP for not using the nuclear option to force a floor vote on the VA Accountability ACT....
A key point that I and many other Veteran Advocates had raised with our respective Senators....That such a legislative mandate could have given Dr. Shulkin and Secretary McDonald the authority to make these necessary HR decisions....
A mandate to negate any Union blockage to remove immediately those VA employees at all levels for their incompetence and worst yet for their fraud in altering patient records / the real wait times as was discovered by the IG and VA whistle blowers who have as yet to be held accountable nor their performance bonuses taken back to date. This factor is where Dr. Shulkin should be held accountable and no excuses accept for not taking action to reverse these performance bonuses especially when we still have 22 plus daily Veteran Suicides happening still with no relief in site.
In the email below Dr. Shulkin did acknowledges our concerns and recognized that many Veterans would have their backs arched against his nomination for the reasons sited above. However, in the same breathe Dr. Shulkin did acknowledge that Cmdr John Wells, who we are still lobbying the Trump Transition Team to be interviewed to be Deputy VA Secretary but also as their plan B if what this email is calling for is successful.
Cmdr Wells should be placed in nomination for VA Secretary instead of Dr. Shulkin and/or made Dr. Shulkin's 2nd in command as his Deputy Secretary so if confirmed Dr. Shulkin had competent and in-depth leadership surrounding him to make up for his leadership and knowledge deficiencies needed to transform and deliver President Trump's promises to reform / transform the VA.
Cmdr John Wells is our primary choice to fill the post as VA Deputy Director. See our press release on nominating Cmdr Wells .... https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/veterans-nomination-va-secretary-press-release-len-swanson
Senators we hope you will stand up for our concerns as we can not afford to have another ill suited VA Secretary appointed ... Someone who is in the end incapable of delivering the reforms and transformations that all Veterans like myself know is needed to end this National Travesty against all Veterans nationwide.
Warmest Regards,
Len Swanson, Vietnam Veteran - Agent Orange Victim