In the wake of a CBS News report yesterday that revealed the Department of Veterans Affairs deliberately withheld information about the suicide risk among veterans, Senate Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Daniel Akaka (D-HI) and Sen. Patty Murray (D-WA) called for the resignation of Dr. Ira Katz, the VA’s top official for mental health, who questioned whether to give information on new suicide statistics from CBS. Akaka wrote to Michael Kussman, the Undersecretary for Health:
Dr. Katz’s personal conduct and professional judgment have been called into question by his response to the mental health needs of veterans, and in particular to veteran suicides. I believe veterans, and the Department of Veterans Affairs, would be best served by his immediate resignation.
“How do we trust what you’re saying when every time we turn around we find out that what you’re saying publicly is different from what you’re saying privately? How can we trust what you’re saying today?” Murray asked VA Deputy Secretary Gordon Mansfield.
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