Sen. John McCain: Presidential Phoenix VA visit was ‘more of a photo-op’
Mar 13, 2015, 2:57 PM | Updated: 5:13 pm
PHOENIX — President Barack Obama’s Friday visit to the Phoenix Veterans Affairs hospital was “more of a photo-op” than a productive meeting, Sen. John McCain (R-Arizona) said in a statement.
“The American people—and veterans in particular—should be as unimpressed by the President’s high-profile but empty gesture (Friday) as I am,” the statement read.
Obama hosted a roundtable discussion at the VA during his visit, something McCain felt was a hollow gesture.
“(Friday)’s roundtable, to which leading veterans service organizations were not even invited, served more as a photo-op for the president than it did a meaningful discussion of the challenges our veterans continue to face in getting the timely health care they have earned and deserve,” the statement read.
McCain heavily criticized Obama in the statement, accusing the president of “dragging his feet” on important issues that lead to delayed health care for veterans.
“Of the 10,000 Arizona veterans eligible for the Choice Card, only 500 have been able to make appointments at non-VA health care facilities in over four months since the VA reform legislation was enacted,” the statement said.
McCain also expressed concern about funding being pulled from the Choice Program. He said it signifies Obama’s administration has already called it quits on VA reform.
