Secretary of Veterans Affairs says shutdown could lead to veterans not being paid

Secretary of Veterans Affairs says shutdown could lead to veterans not being paid

By: Geoff Bennett

10/09/2013 05:54 PM http://rochester.ynn.com/content/politics/699910/secretary-of-veterans-affairs-says-shutdown-could-lead-to-veterans-not-being-paid

WASHINGTON, D.C. -- Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki reminded the House committee members that actions have consequences and that the consequences of the government shutdown are hitting veterans hard.

"Today, we’re in the 13th year of the war in Afghanistan, providing care and benefits to veterans of that war and the war in Iraq, as well. Members of this latest generation of veterans are enrolling in VA at a higher rate than ever before," said General Eric Shinseki, Secretary of Veterans Affairs.

That high enrollment contributed to a backlog of veterans’ disability and pension claims, something the VA has been working to fix. But Shinseki said that the worker furloughs connected to the shutdown have stalled their progress.

Eric Shinseki

Eric K. Shinseki is the secretary at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs for the Barack Obama administration, a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), and was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Note: George Soros is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), and the founder & chairman for the Open Society Foundations.

Open Society Foundations was a funder for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank).

Togo D. West Jr. is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), was the secretary for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and the general counsel for the U.S. Department of Defense.

Chuck Hagel is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), the chair for the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), the secretary for the U.S. Department of Defense, and was the deputy administrator for the U.S. Veterans Administration.

Marc Grossman is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), was a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and a special representative for Afghanistan.

Richard C. Holbrooke was a director at the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), a special envoy to Afghanistan, Pakistan for the Barack Obama administration, and a 2008 Bilderberg conference participant (think tank).

Zalmay Khalilzad is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations (think tank), a director at the Atlantic Council of the United States (think tank), and was a U.S. ambassador for Afghanistan.