McDonald launches 100-day VA reform plan

[nitpicker]

http://www.navytimes.com/article/20140908/NEWS/309080040/McDonald-launches-100-day-VA-reform-plan

McDonald launches 100-day VA reform plan
Sep. 8, 2014 - 02:33PM |
By Leo Shane III
Staff writer

Veterans Affairs Secretary Bob McDonald said the recurring complaint he heard during a month-long listening tour across America is that his department’s culture is still too closed and unfriendly.

To counter that, he has been giving out his personal cell phone and email at every stop — to lawmakers, media members, employees, and large groups of frustrated veterans.

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McDonald, a former CEO of Procter & Gamble who took over the cabinet post after former secretary Eric Shinseki resigned, has promised significant changes in a short period of time.

He has mandated that employees reaffirm their commitment to putting veterans first, and re-examine their workload to jettison any tasks that interfere with providing direct care to veterans. On Monday, he noted that the department currently has 14 different websites to access veterans programs, each with a separate login and password.

“That’s just flat-out wrong,” he said, acknowledging that VA “is too complicated from a veteran’s standpoint.”

He has also promised to discipline workers found to be harming veterans, either through negligence or malice.
(snip)

He also said that fixing VA will require more than firing individuals, and spoke about the importance of building new leaders and recruiting top talent into the department.

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