VA nominee Shinseki vows to clean up agency

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VA nominee Shinseki vows to clean up agency

By Chris Adams | McClatchy Newspapers


WASHINGTON — The retired general selected to lead the Department of Veterans Affairs pledged Wednesday to modernize and overhaul the veterans' disability and health-care system, which is straining to serve soldiers back from Iraq and Afghanistan as well as those who served in previous wars.

Before a friendly audience at the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, retired Gen. Eric Shinseki told lawmakers that he'd transform the department by making it more efficient and better able to serve veterans.

His confirmation is expected to proceed without problems. Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka, a Democrat from Hawaii, hopes to have the nomination to the full Senate floor for a vote after President-elect Barack Obama is sworn in Tuesday.

Shinseki, 66, a former Army chief of staff, gained fame earlier this decade when he clashed with the Bush administration over the number of troops needed to prosecute the Iraq war and retired early. He left the Army in 2003, ending 38 years in the service that included two combat tours in Vietnam, where he lost part of his right foot.

If he's confirmed, he'll inherit an agency that's been mired in dysfunction for much of President George W. Bush's tenure.

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