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The head of the VA is getting skewered after comparing waits for healthcare to lines at Disneyland

May 25, 2016, 00:28 IST

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Veterans Affairs (VA) Secretary Robert McDonald testifies before a Senate Veterans' Affairs hearing on &quotFY2016 Budget for Veterans' Programs and FY2017 Advance Appropriations Request" at the U.S. Capitol in Washington.Joshua Roberts/Reuters

The head of the Department of Veteran Affairs was heavily critic zed by Republicans after comparing wait lines veterans face for healthcare to lines at Disneyland. 

Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald compared VA wait times to lines at Disneyland during a Monday breakfast with the Christian Science Monitor. 

"When you go to Disney, do they measure the number of hours you wait in line? Or what's important? What's important is, what's your satisfaction with the experience?" McDonald said during the breakfast. "And what I would like to move to, eventually, is that kind of measure."

Republicans were quick to denounce McDonald for his statements. Arizona Sen. John McCain said Tuesday that McDonald's statements reflected a "fundamental lack of understanding about the serious problems plaguing veterans' healthcare." 

"Secretary McDonald's comparison further erodes what little confidence the American people have left in the Department of Veterans Affairs and its commitment to our veterans," McCain said. 

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McCain's comments were echoed by Illinois Senator Mark Kirk, who said McDonald "should be embarrassed for making such a comparison."

Kirk went on to say that veterans were consistently disappointed by the services that the VA provided and that McDonald should more thoroughly make amends for his statements. 

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