U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs firing four senior officials

WASHINGTON (KGO) -- The U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs says it is firing four senior officials as part of a crackdown following a nationwide scandal over long wait times for veterans needing medical care, and falsified records covering up the delays.

The dismissals are the first since Congress passed a law this summer making it easier for veterans to who experience delays to get care outside VA's nationwide network of hospitals and clinics. The law also made it easier for the agency to fire senior officials suspected of wrongdoing, shortening their appeals process to 28 days.

Among those fired are a top purchasing official at the Veterans Health Administration, directors of VA hospitals in Pittsburgh and Dublin, Georgia, a regional hospital director in central Alabama and another in Washington, DC, accusing them of neglect, poor conduct and manipulating data.