VA Secretary David Shulkin: Agency Focused on Restoring Trust

The Department of Veterans Affairs is focusing on restoring trust for America's veterans, new Secretary David Shulkin said on Monday.

"We are going to focus on three things," said Shulkin on Fox News' "Fox & Friends" program.

"We are going to focus on accountability to make sure that we have the very best employees working at the VA. We have thousands and thousands of the very best employees in healthcare and all [at the] VA."

However, he admitted there are still a few working for the federal agency that should not be there, and that will change.

Shulkin said that the VA also is working to focus on giving veterans more choice when it comes to healthcare services, and to be a "very transparent organization. We're going make sure that we can earn back the trust of our veterans."

President Donald Trump's new budget will likely reflect his commitment to fixing the VA, Shulkin also said on Monday, but money isn't all that's needed.

"We need the ability to restructure this system and to make the changes that have plagued it for years," he told the program. "This is about making sure that people understand why the Department of Veterans Affairs is there in the first place. It really is a mission-driven organization to serve those who have served us, and we have to make sure that, number one, is that everybody understands those values. If you don't have those values, you shouldn't be working in the VA."

The employees' union also needs to partner with the VA to show it's willing to work for change, but even if it doesn't, "they don't have the ability to stop us from making the changes that we need to," Shulkin said.

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