- The Washington Times - Monday, June 23, 2014

The Phoenix VA facility allegedly edited the records of dead veterans to make it seem like they didn’t die while waiting for care, even in recent weeks as the department has been under a microscope, CNN reported Monday night.

Lawmakers questioned Dr. Thomas Lynch, assistant deputy undersecretary for health for clinical operations, as the allegations broke during a Monday evening House Veterans Affairs Committee Hearing.

Dr. Lynch said he was not aware of the allegations.

Rep. Jackie Walorski, Indiana Republican, said she couldn’t believe the department didn’t know about the most-recent scandal even as officials have made several trips to the Phoenix facility in recent weeks to respond to secret wait lists and data manipulation first discovered in Phoenix, but now believed to be more widespread problems.

Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans of America, said the department has lost all credibility and should not be given control over how to reform the broken system.

“In order to hide how many veterans have died while waiting on secret lists, administrators have gone so far as to resurrect dead veterans on paper. It’s a horror, and yet another example of why the VA bureaucracy needs to be ripped out by the roots and fundamentally reformed. To say it’s time for accountability is an understatement,” he said in a statement.

• Jacqueline Klimas can be reached at jklimas@washingtontimes.com.

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