Senators Call For VA Official To Quit

(CBS)  CBS News producer Pia Malbran wrote this story for CBSNews.com.

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In the wake of a CBS News report that revealed the Department of Veterans Affairs deliberately withheld critical information about the true suicide risk among veterans, Sens. Patty Murray, D-Wash., and Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, today both called for the resignation of Dr. Ira Katz, the VA's top official for mental health.

Murray, a senior member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, says "Dr. Katz's irresponsible actions have been a disservice to our veterans and it is time for him to go." She continues, "The number one priority of the VA should be caring for our veterans, not covering up the truth."

Akaka, the Chairman of the Committee, sent a letter to the VA's Under Secretary for Health, Michael Kussman, expressing similar concerns about Dr. Katz.

For months, CBS News has been trying to obtain veteran suicide and attempted suicide data from the VA. Earlier this year, the agency provided CBS News with data that showed there were a total of 790 suicide attempts in all of 2007 by veterans who were under the VA's care.

On February 13, however, Katz sent an e-mail indicating the total number of attempts was much higher. The e-mail was addressed to his top media advisor Everett Chasen and entitled, "Not for the CBS News Interview Request."

Katz wrote: "Shh! Our suicide prevention coordinators are identifying about 1000 suicide attempts per month among veterans we see in our medical facilitates." He then asked "is this something we should (carefully) address ourselves in some sort of release before someone stumbles on it?"

In another e-mail message, Katz told the VA's Under Secretary for Health, Michael Kussman, that there are "about 18 suicides per day among America's 25 million veterans." This is a figure that the VA has never made public.

Yesterday, CBS News that the reason the numbers mentioned in his e-mails had not been made public was because the "results were available for only one or two months, and there were and still are questions about how consistent or reliable the findings would be."

In other development today, Sens. Tom Harkin, D-Iowa, and Russ Feingold, D-Wisc., introduced legislation this afternoon requiring the VA to track veteran suicides. Harkin told CBS News that the e-mail controversy is what sparked the legislation. He said "anyone at the VA who is involved in this cover up should be removed immediately."
By Pia Malbran

[navyvet48]

WRONG!! Resignation?! Sen. Patty Murray you are out of your mind! This man should be PROSECUTED! He''''s a criminal of the lowest ilk!! I suggest YOU resign!

The sooner we get competent senators in Congress the sooner we''''ll get Bush administration officials impeached and prosecuted as they should be!


Thank you so much. Write your Senators and demand this man be prosecuted.

[navyvet48]

I am sure that these VA officials were wearing flags on their lapels...that makes them "true patriots", you know. Shame on them all.


Yes they all do. I had a friend who worked at the VA, he was good to us. He actually helped several vets get their 100% disability. These vets were from the Vietnam War. I miss him, he wore a flag pin and he was a former Marine. We had a change of administration at our VA which has actually made our VA worse. My friend saw the writing on the wall and went to work for the United Way.

[navyvet48]

Please go to the following site www.offe2008.org. We are a grassroots movement supporting full funding of the VA with our voices. Please sign our online resolution and pass it on to others. It will help us make our voices louder.

The Bush Administration has really screwed the VA up. We have 19 questionable deaths at a VA Medical Center in Obama''s home state of IL, we have the stolen identity thing (I was one of those who was on that computer), and so many other horrible things I can''t go into here. Just last week I had to advocate for a Gulf War veteran from 1992. They refused to give him his pain meds. He finally got aa referral to a civilian neurologist to evaluate him. The VA says he just has fibromyalgia except he is wheelchair bound. He actually looks like he has MS, it is presumptive in the first Gulf War vets but the VA here in KS refuses to recognize it. The problems are too numerous to list here. Help vets like me by visiting our web site.

[navyvet48]

I am one of those potential suicide numbers. I tried to commit suicide in 2000 while under the care of a Vet Center in KS. I am totally disgusted by this VA official.

I am doing very well now. I have a wonderful therapist and I am on a decent anti-depressant now. Not every veteran is as lucky as I am. I had several veteran friends who committed suicide. One of these friends was very close to me and my husband who is a Navy vet as well).

[p51338]

I am sure that these VA officials were wearing flags on their lapels...that makes them "true patriots", you know. Shame on them all.

[ranger1948]

I was thinking we should be asking for the resignations or impeachments of bush all the way down, and also trials for war crimes. Congress has done nothing to represent the American public the waym we want to be represented. We must not reelect anyone in office now. It is time to clean house and see if we can''t get people who care aout this copuntry and all if its citizens.

[vetsburg]

It''s completely hypocritical for all these politicians to now show righteous indignation. Veterans advocates have been telling them for a long time that the Ira Katz like bureaucrats are lying to Congress. They knew that stuff like this was going on and did nothing about it. They actually defended Ira Katz and others as "Doing the right thing by Veterans". That includes Obama who is on the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee. There are 120 Veterans per week committing suicide and the government won''t do the necessary things to stem that tide. It is criminal, and these criminals should be prosecuted.

[ov442]

Resign? are you joking? A) first thing he should have gotten was fired. Just like all the previous Bush appointees that have F-''ed up and caused harm.
B) they should prosecute him. If he was in the military and was responsible for this level of abuse to our veterans, he''d be hanging from the gallows right now

[bsimon2007]

Ugh. Despicable.

[stn_sage]

WRONG!! Resignation?! Sen. Patty Murray you are out of your mind! This man should be PROSECUTED! He''s a criminal of the lowest ilk!! I suggest YOU resign!

The sooner we get competent senators in Congress the sooner we''ll get Bush administration officials impeached and prosecuted as they should be!