{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["http://toomey.senate.gov?p=news&id=1842", "Toomey Demands Accountability From VA", "2016-10-26", "2016", "2016-10", "Republican", "House", "PA", "Patrick Toomey", "T000461", "toomey.senate.gov", null, null, "legacy", "Washington, D.C. - As part of his effort to increase accountability and improve services at the VA, U.S. Senator Pat Toomey (R-Pa.) has asked the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to detail how many agency executives and supervisors have been fired or disciplined for manipulating wait times for veterans seeking medical care.\nIn a letter to VA Secretary Robert A. McDonald, Toomey joined some of his Senate colleagues to ask how many executives and managers were permitted to retire or ease into other jobs without consequences for their roles in the unlawful waitlists.   Last month, President Obama said that the VA had \"fired a whole bunch of people who are in charge of these facilities.\"  The facts say otherwise.  The Washington Post fact checked this statement and rated it \"Four Pinocchios.\"\u00a0\n\"The men and women who served in uniform should be first in line for the best quality medical care in the world,\" said Sen. Toomey.\u00a0\"Many Pennsylvanians were outraged to learn of rampant mismanagement at the VA that included excessive wait times; substandard care; dishonest reporting; and cutting corners that probably cost veterans' lives.\n\"I supported bipartisan legislation to hold VA employees accountable but it appears that neither the spirit nor the intent of that law has been implemented.  Very few of the people who directed the outrageous waitlist scheme have been held accountable, and the VA has not put the correct systems and protections in place to prevent this type of fraudulent activity from happening again.\n\"I hope Secretary McDonald will clarify the actions he has taken and I look forward to working with him if he needs additional authority from Congress to successfully turn things around at the VA.\"\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": ["http://toomey.senate.gov?p=news&id=1842"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.5027881599962711, "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"}