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Uninsured and went to the va. and the iraq and afghanistan wars created not by this administration, brought 3 million new veterans who had access to the va that didn't -- remember the bush plan in the war was to foe to 30,000 by the end of 2003. that didn't happen. the system got overrun. it is a funding issue. medicare is fully funded every year. not discretionary. we have a hard time predicting how much money the va needs. doctors make half at the va what they would make if they worked for a private hospital. >> you touched on the core issue there, we have too many people who need help now, ...

In each instance, my primary decision is based on how can i deliver service to the american people and in this case how can i deliver for our veterans? and because they are people of integrity, i think in both cases of secretary sebelius but certainly in the case here of rick shinseki, they've got the same priority. their view is what is it that is going to best deliver on behalf of folks who as rick said this morning have been let down? >> if i remember at the time you felt she had knowledge about what had gone wrong that you couldn't afford to lose that. does someone with three months of lea...

Sterling. hello, i'm wolf blitzer reporting from washington. the secretary of veterans affairs resigns over the scandal at va hospitals across the country. secretary shinseki met with president at the white house earlier this morning. the president later explained shinseki's decision to step down, praised him for the work he has done. >> i am grateful for his service, as are many veterans across the country. he has worked hard to investigate and identify the problems with access to care, but as he told me, the va needs new leadership to address it. he does not want to be a distraction becaus...

Hearings. they have a backlog more than a year long of information requests out of the va for simple facts. things that the va can turn over to them in a matter of hours up. but they just would not respond to requests for information. >> the war veterans from iraq and afghanistan, what's the single biggest problem they face now? they come home, they do two, three, four tours. they come home. what's the single biggest problem many of them are facing right now? >> i think one of the biggest problems, they certainly face many problems. one of the biggest is going to be stigma and stepping forward...

Rapists behind bars. >> and the example you just cited shows you can do it. these backlogs can be cleared. i know this legislation will help a great deal and all of the law enforcement officials reporting on the story and victims said it would make a big difference. we appreciate your keeping in on this and championing this. we had to ask, what's your reaction to eric shinseki's resignation. >> i've been sitting through hearings for months. it's clear to me this is about the veterans. this is about providing health care to veterans. this is a systemic problem through the va and we've got to pr...