VA nominee advances; Heller votes yes

By STEVE TETREAULT STEPHENS WASHINGTON BUREAU

10 years ago

Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Robert McDonald of Ohio is flanked by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, left, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, right, ahead of a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearings to examine his nomination to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. The committee on Wednesday voted 14-0 to approve McDonald to become VA secretary. (AP Photo)

Veterans Affairs Secretary nominee Robert McDonald of Ohio flanked by Sens. Sherrod Brown, D-Ohio, left, and Rob Portman, R-Ohio, right, listen during a Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee hearings to examine his nomination to be Secretary of Veterans Affairs on Capitol Hill in Washington, Tuesday, July 22, 2014. The committee on Wednesday voted 14-0 to approve McDonald. (AP Photo)

WASHINGTON — The Senate is wasting little time in advancing President Barack Obama’s pick to head the embattled Department of Veterans Affairs.

The Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday voted 14-0 to approve Robert McDonald to become VA secretary. The unanimous vote was taken less than 24 hours after McDonald, the former chairman and chief executive of Proctor & Gamble, faced senators in a confirmation hearing.

Committee Chairman Sen. Bernard Sanders, an independent from Vermont, said the full Senate could complete McDonald’s confirmation as soon as this week. McDonald, 61, from Cincinnati, has faced no opposition.

Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who sits on the veterans panel and questioned McDonald on Tuesday about delays in processing benefits claims for Nevada veterans, was among senators voting for the nominee.

“Mr. McDonald has assured me and members of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that he will ensure veterans have access to world-class care as well as tackle the terrible claims backlog,” Heller said in a statement following the vote. “I will hold him to that commitment.”

McDonald, an Army veteran, told senators he would take a series of actions within 90 days to deliver reforms to the agency that has been wracked by scandal in processing benefits and delaying care for aging veterans as well as large numbers of new veterans who served in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Contact Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.