SEAN HANNITY

VA Under Fire The heartbreaking scanda VA Under Fire The heartbreaking scandal involving the delayed treatment of our veterans at VA hospitals around the country continues to spread. The latest comes from The Dayton Daily News and WSB-TV in Atlanta who did some investigating and found that the VA has paid over $36 million to settle 167 claims since 2001, which included the description "delay in treatment."  According to records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, "The number of dead veterans could total more than 1,100 from 2001 through the first half of 2013 - including 16 at the Dayton VA Medical Center and 11 at the Cincinnati VA." As the stories continue to roll in and whistleblowers continue to break their silence, we learn that the White House has known about some of these VA failures since 2008.  According to the Washington Times, "Veterans Affairs officials warned the Obama-Biden transition team in the weeks after the 2008 presidential election that the department shouldn't trust the wait times that its facilities were reporting."  Officials wrote, "This is not only a data integrity issue in which [Veterans Health Administration] reports unreliable performance data; it affects quality of care by delaying - and potentially denying - deserving veterans timely care."  Where's The Outrage? So it's probably safe, at this point, to say the White House knew.  Barack Obama and Joe Biden have been aware of these problems for years, and yet what has been done about it?  Clearly nothing.  The best they've been able to do is announce the resignation of VA undersecretary Robert Petzel, who was going to retire anyway.  And that happened only after the public brought this issue to light, and not because the administration was concerned for the welfare of our veterans.  Over the weekend, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said, "Nobody is more outraged about this problem right now ... than the president of the United States.  As it relates to these allegations, what we're going to do, is we're going to get to the bottom of them and ensure we understand exactly what happened and ensure that it never happens again."  We've heard that promise before.  It sounds similar to the White House's initial reaction to scandals like the IRS and Benghazi, both of which have since been turned into partisan non-issues by this administration.  Will the same happen here with the VA?  After all, the administration has known about these problems since 2008! The Wrong Direction, The Right Opportunity According to the latest Gallup polling, only 25% of Americans are satisfied with the direction of the country.  This number is virtually unchanged over the last year, except during the government shutdown when it dipped to just 13%. I can't blame Americans for being dissatisfied with the direction of our country.  Our economy isn't growing like we need it to, and millions of Americans still need jobs.   According to another Gallup poll, jobs and unemployment remain the top concern for Americans.  Dissatisfaction with government ranks as the second concern, and the economy in general rounds out the top three problems facing America. I think Republicans have an opportunity here to offer bold solutions to create jobs, kick start our economy and show leadership at a time of heightened mistrust.   >>TV Tonight (10pm ET on Fox News) Senator John McCain on just how the government is failing our veterans.     l involving the delayed treatment of our veterans at VA hospitals around the country continues to spread. The latest comes from The Dayton Daily News and WSB-TV in Atlanta who did some investigating and found that the VA has paid over $36 million to settle 167 claims since 2001, which included the description "delay in treatment."  According to records obtained through the Freedom of Information Act, "The number of dead veterans could total more than 1,100 from 2001 through the first half of 2013 - including 16 at the Dayton VA Medical Center and 11 at the Cincinnati VA." As the stories continue to roll in and whistleblowers continue to break their silence, we learn that the White House has known about some of these VA failures since 2008.  According to the Washington Times, "Veterans Affairs officials warned the Obama-Biden transition team in the weeks after the 2008 presidential election that the department shouldn't trust the wait times that its facilities were reporting."  Officials wrote, "This is not only a data integrity issue in which [Veterans Health Administration] reports unreliable performance data; it affects quality of care by delaying - and potentially denying - deserving veterans timely care."  Where's The Outrage? So it's probably safe, at this point, to say the White House knew.  Barack Obama and Joe Biden have been aware of these problems for years, and yet what has been done about it?  Clearly nothing.  The best they've been able to do is announce the resignation of VA undersecretary Robert Petzel, who was going to retire anyway.  And that happened only after the public brought this issue to light, and not because the administration was concerned for the welfare of our veterans.  Over the weekend, White House chief of staff Denis McDonough said, "Nobody is more outraged about this problem right now ... than the president of the United States.  As it relates to these allegations, what we're going to do, is we're going to get to the bottom of them and ensure we understand exactly what happened and ensure that it never happens again."  We've heard that promise before.  It sounds similar to the White House's initial reaction to scandals like the IRS and Benghazi, both of which have since been turned into partisan non-issues by this administration.  Will the same happen here with the VA?  After all, the administration has known about these problems since 2008! The Wrong Direction, The Right Opportunity According to the latest Gallup polling, only 25% of Americans are satisfied with the direction of the country.  This number is virtually unchanged over the last year, except during the government shutdown when it dipped to just 13%. I can't blame Americans for being dissatisfied with the direction of our country.  Our economy isn't growing like we need it to, and millions of Americans still need jobs.   According to another Gallup poll, jobs and unemployment remain the top concern for Americans.  Dissatisfaction with government ranks as the second concern, and the economy in general rounds out the top three problems facing America. I think Republicans have an opportunity here to offer bold solutions to create jobs, kick start our economy and show leadership at a time of heightened mistrust.   >>TV Tonight (10pm ET on Fox News) Senator John McCain on just how the government is failing our veterans.