Big news from Washington

Big news from Washington. Yesterday, Secretary Jim Nicholson, head of the Department of Veterans Affairs, announced his resignation. With our veterans care system suffering from poor planning, inadequate preparation and a lack of quality leadership, this is a welcome change.
Under Secretary Nicholson, the VA has been woefully unprepared for the influx of Iraq and Afghanistan veterans, consistently underestimating the number of new veterans who would seek care, and failing to spend the money Congress has allotted to treat mental health issues.
Thousands of veterans are still waiting for their first VA appointment, and the backlog of veterans' benefits claims has increased by more than 50% over the past three years, to more than 350,000.
IAVA has been holding Secretary Nicholson's feet to the fire for years. Over of the past several months, many of you joined us in signing a petition to Nicholson, calling for increased mental health staffing at VA Hospitals. This should never have even been an issue, but under Nicholson, it was.
President Bush now has a tremendous opportunity to replace Secretary Nicholson with a well-qualified and effective candidate. IAVA will fight to ensure that Iraq and Afghanistan veterans are involved in the process, and considered as replacements.
Our nation's heroes and their families deserve the best possible leadership this country has to offer.
Thank you for your continued support.
Sincerely,
Paul RieckhoffIraq VeteranExecutive DirectorIraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America
P.S. For more information on Secretary Nicholson's tenure at the VA, you can download our Fact Sheet by clicking here.