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Shinseki’s VA confirmation looks likely

No major obstacles appear to block the path of former Army chief of staff Eric Shinseki’s nomination to be secretary of veterans affairs, but he and the Obama administration face a long list of challenges.

Shinseki, who retired in 2003, is expected to be among a batch of Obama cabinet nominees confirmed by the Senate as early as Jan. 20, the day President-elect Obama is sworn in.

“It is my hope Gen. Shinseki will be confirmed on Jan. 20,” said Sen. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, chairman of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee.

Ranking Republican member Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina also predicted Shinseki will be easily confirmed for the job.

The retired four-star acknowledged during a Jan. 14 confirmation hearing before Akaka’s committee that there is much he doesn’t know about veterans issues, like details of the complicated disability ratings system that is the bane of veterans trying to get help, and could be part of the reason it is so difficult to quickly reduce the backlog of claims awaiting processing. But, he promised to learn.

“I intend to be a forceful advocate for veterans,” he said, noting Obama “charged me to ensure that veterans receive the benefits and services they earned and that the nation expects.”

Shinseki listed four priorities if confirmed, beginning with implementation Aug. 1 of the new Post-9/11 GI Bill, the biggest increase in veterans’ educational benefits since World War II. Also on his short list is an overhaul of the disability claims system, including cutting processing time, reducing errors and updating the benefits; getting enough money to cover health care costs; and transforming into a smooth-running organization that uses technology to make processes better and faster.

Akaka warned the job ahead will not be not easy. Being VA secretary is always challenging, and heading the department during a time of war is even harder, Akaka said.

The head of a major organization for Iraq and Afghanistan veterans said a lot will be expected of Shinseki.

“The new secretary of the VA will be leading an urgent and critical fight to improve support for this country’s veterans,” said Paul Reickhoff, executive director of Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America. “Currently, one in five veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan is facing serious mental health injuries like post-traumatic stress disorder or depression. Wounded veterans are waiting months, sometimes years, to receive disability benefits. And, the struggling U.S. economy is hitting new veterans especially hard.”

Burr also raised the issue about the economy, saying that as veterans lose jobs they are more likely to turn to the VA for help — but finding more money to cover health care costs will be challenging with tight federal budgets.

“I cannot think of a better person to look after our 25 million-plus veterans,” said former Senate Republican leader and disabled World War II veteran Bob Dole. The Bush administration had turned to Dole for help in trying to improve veterans’ benefits and health care. Dole said he and Shinseki share the view that the VA secretary may be a member of the president’s cabinet, but the post and the VA are mostly free of politics.

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