Veterans Secretary West To Resign
Updated 2:31 PM ET July 10, 2000
By DEB RIECHMANN, Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Veterans Affairs Secretary Togo West Jr., whose two-year tenure was marred by accusations of mismanagement, is stepping down with less than seven months left in the Clinton administration.
"Under his leadership, the VA has begun to confront some long-neglected problems head-on, reaching out to more than 400,000 veterans who were exposed to Agent Orange, pressing for answers to the Gulf War syndrome and proper care for those who suffer from it," President Clinton said Monday at the White House.
West, a former Army secretary and lobbyist who plans to return to the private sector, will be succeeded by his deputy, Hershel Gober of Monticello, Ark., a veteran of both the Army and the Marine Corps.
"Hershel has already made his mark on the critical issue of veterans' health care," Clinton said, referring to the more than 400 outpatient clinics the VA has opened during the administration to help serve more than 3 million veterans and their survivors.
West's tenure as head of the federal government's second largest department was problematic.
In January, the department's inspector general reported that the agency's congressional affairs office was in disarray, saying it responded so late to congressional inquiries that some documents were backdated to "hide ... processing delays."
Congressional investigators previously reported that the department used $61 million in travel funds for salaries and equipment and allowed some top administrators to approve their own expenses. Another inspector general report said West violated government regulations and cost taxpayers thousands of dollars by using military aircraft in 1998.
David Autry, a spokesman for the Disabled American Veterans, which has accused West of not pushing the administration to spend more on veterans, said he was troubled by the timing of West's departure.
House and Senate conferees are just preparing to finalize funding for the agency, including more than $20 billion in discretionary funds for veterans' health care. Without strong leadership at the agency, Congress could reduce these health care funds.
"The funding levels are anything but set in stone," Autry said.