Shulkin: VA Still Has Challenges After Administration's First Year

President Donald Trump has remained consistent he wants the government to do better for the nation's veterans, and there have been many improvements, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said Thursday, but there is still much that needs to be done.

"I would say that we still have a lot of issues, a lot of problems that we have to address," Shulkin told Fox News' "America's Newsroom." ". . . We have to step it up to do better for our veterans."

The challenges remain to get the right people into place, and already there are "amazing people" who work in the VA, but there are still "way too many vacancies" that need filled, Shulkin said.

"We have to make sure that those that are deviating from their commitment to veterans are no longer welcome at the VA," Shulkin said. "We have some work to do there as well as modernizing our facilities and technology to make sure veterans are getting the best services possible."

The top four positions within the VA remain unfilled, show co-host Sandra Smith pointed out, and Shulkin said his department also is concerned about that, but it has been difficult to find the right people.

"Getting the right people to want to leave private sector or come in to serve in public service is a difficult challenge these days," Shulkin said. "We see what's happening in Washington, and we know what it takes in terms of the amount of time and energy to do public service jobs . . . we're looking for people who will come in and make a difference."

Meanwhile, with a government shutdown looming, Shulkin said it is important the government continue to operate.

"When you look at the key functions that serve all Americans, people didn't send any of us here to Washington to shut the government down, so it's important that we work through this," he said.

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