Legion on Hickey resignation: No joy, only optimism

American Legion National Commander Dale Barnett issued the following statement regarding today’s resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey:

"Under Secretary Hickey is to be commended for her dedicated career as a member of the Air Force and her commitment to veterans. Although we called for her resignation, we take no joy in it. The widespread problems at the VA are not the fault of one person. She is one of three leaders that we asked to step down when the problems were first exposed last year. Now that the three senior officials that were in place at VA have left office, The American Legion is optimistic that Secretary McDonald can finally make the cultural changes that he needs so VA can be worthy of the veterans that it serves.”