{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=719fbd91-a20b-45c2-9393-83e1577b985a", "Heitkamp Statement on VA Secretary Shinseki Resignation", "2014-05-30", "2014", "2014-05", "Democrat", "House", "ND", "Heidi Heitkamp", "H001069", "www.heitkamp.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "WASHINGTON, D.C.  U.S. Senator Heidi Heitkamp today released the following statement following the resignation of U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Eric Shinseki.\r\n\"Our veterans deserve the best care possible  because they earned it. And it should never be a question that they get access to such care in a timely manner. It is my hope that the resignation of Secretary Shinseki will allow us to focus on what should be everyones key goals: improving care for those who served and fixing the problems of access to services at VA hospitals around the country, including in Arizona, so they don't ever happen again.\r\n\"Secretary Shinseki has given decades of service to our country, both on the battlefield and in his government service. He deserves credit for expanding access to benefits for veterans exposed to Agent Orange, reducing the backlog of disability claims, and working to end homelessness among veterans.\r\n\"We can now focus on the task at hand  rebuilding trust in the VA. I'll demand regular updates from the agency as they address these issues. I'll also continue to push for passage of a comprehensive veterans health and benefits bill  which was blocked in the Senate earlier this year  because it would provide significant improvements for the services we offer our veterans. Congress also must appropriate the needed funds to support all of our veterans  new and old. We have a moral responsibility to get this done right.\"\r\n###", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://www.heitkamp.senate.gov/public/index.cfm/press-releases?ID=719fbd91-a20b-45c2-9393-83e1577b985a"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 0.9584971703588963, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}