As more developments emerge about VA negligence and mismanagement, the Obama administration and Congress scramble to do damage control. However, many within the government and outside believe little is being done, and a new course of action is needed.

The Department of Veterans Affairs handles care for military veterans; however, in the last couple of months a rising wave of damaging allegations regarding medical care has pummeled the organization. Secretary Eric Shinseki, the official in charge of the department, recently appeared in front of a senate committee regarding the allegations and vowed to remedy the situation.

According to CNN, veterans have had to endure extremely long waiting periods before they see doctors. Some medical centers, out of the 152 operated by the agency, have been accused of falsifying records to make it appear that veterans are not waiting longer than the mandated 14-day wait period.

Forty veterans have died because of a Phoenix VA medical center's negligence, CNN reported. However, the V.A. greater culture of deceit may prove a bitterer pill for the agency and the secretary to swallow.

"Any allegation, any adverse incident like this makes me mad as hell," Shinseki told the Veteran's Affairs Senate committee, urging the legislators to wait for the investigation's finding. Acting Inspector General Richard Griffin is currently heading an investigation into the alleged claims against the agency. However, legislators want more to be done now, almost claiming the agency's leadership to be incompetent.

"With the numerous GAO, IG and Office of Medical Inspector reports that have been released, VA senior leadership, including the secretary, should have been aware that VA was facing a national scheduling crisis," Sen. Richard Burr (R-N.C.) said. "VA's leadership has either failed to connect the dots or failed to address this ongoing crisis, which has resulted in patient harm and patient death."

In an attempt to appease legislators and the public, Shinseki ordered three VA officials to resign, including two high level officials. Yet, Shinseki still does not see the need for an overhaul of the agency, but President Obama has appointed one of his senior advisors to help Shinseki, according to CNN.

Regardless, the truth about the VA's malfeasance is infallible. According to USA Today, some V.A. centers encouraged the "cooking the books," including one in Fort Collins, Colorado. One whistleblower, Lisa Lee, recounted to the newspaper how the medical center encouraged falsifying records to boost the administration chances of receiving bonuses.

According to Lee, a former Navy reservist said that the agency uses the mandated 14-day time frame for appointments as a performance evaluation for centers. When Lee refused to doctor the records, she was transferred and subsequently suspended after she filed an internal complaint.

Her ordeal reveals a culture of deceit within the agency that spreads further than Phoenix. Though the president does not see it fit to fire Shinseki, politicians and commentators do. Dana Milbank, opinion writer at the Washington Post, agrees.

"Worse was Shinseki's response when he finally appeared before a congressional committee Thursday to answer questions about the scandal," he wrote, referring to the sorrowful events revealed. "He refused to acknowledge any systemic problem and declined to commit to do much of anything, insisting on waiting for the results of yet another investigation."

Shinseki, Milbank argues, has done as much damage as the V.A. and should resign.

"Shinseki's denial and sluggish response to an obvious problem ... are reminiscent of the whitewash of the neglect of wounded troops at Walter Reed," he wrote. "This isn't some phony, Republican-hyped allegation aimed at embarrassing the White House and inflicting political damage; this looks to be a serious and longstanding problem, where official wrongdoing has led to needless deaths."