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ByMatthewDaly The Associated Press WASHINGTON Supportfor embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki eroded quickly Thursday, es- pecially among congressio- nal Democrats facing tough re-election campaigns, even as Shinseki continued to fight for his job amid allega- tions of delayed medical care and misconduct at VA facili- ties nationwide. Shinseki spoke privately with lawmakers and met with nearly two dozen vet- erans groups, assuring them that he takes the reports se- riously and is moving swiftly to fix problems. On Friday, he is to address the National Coalition on Homeless Veter- ans, outlining his plans for corrections. A federal investigation of operations in the troubled Phoenix VA Health Care System found that about 1,700 veterans in need of care were "at risk of being lost or forgotten" after being kept off an official waiting list. While initially focused on Phoenix, the investiga- tion described Wednesday by the VA Department's in- spector general found broad and deep-seated problems in the sprawling health care system, which provides med- ical care to about 6.5 million veterans annually. The interim report con- firmed earlier allegations of excessive waiting times for care in Phoenix, with an average 115-day wait for a first appointment for those on the waiting list — nearly five times as long as the 24- day average the hospital had reported. House Speaker John Boehner and House Minor- ity Leader Nancy Pelosi said they were reserving judg- ment about Shinseki. But with the situation threaten- ing to affect congressional elections in November, the chorus of lawmakers call- ing for his departure grew by the hour. Democratic Sens. Mark Warner and Tim Kaine of Virginia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana, Jeff Merkley of Oregon and New Mexi- co's Tom Udall and Martin Heinrich all urged Shinseki to step aside. Eleven Senate Democrats have called for Shinseki's resignation since Wednesday, when the VA in- spector general report came out. All but Heinrich are on the ballot this fall. White House press sec- retary Jay Carney declined to say whether President Barack Obama still has full confidence in Shinseki, who has led the VA since the start of the Obama administra- tion. The president is wait- ing for a full investigation into the VA before deciding who should be held account- able, Carney said. Rep. Steve Israel, the New York Democrat who chairs the party's campaign com- mittee in the House, called for a criminal investigation of the department by the Justice Department and said of Shinseki, "If his resigna- tion is what it takes to fix the problem, then yes, he should resign." And Dick Durbin of Illi- nois, the No. 2 Democrat in the Senate, said that he re- spects Shinseki, a former four-star Army general who served in Vietnam but that the IG's report "does really move us closer to that point where we have to question his leadership." He said, "If this is what I think it is, it could mean we need new leadership." The American Legion and dozens of Republicans have called for Shinseki to resign, including Jeff Miller of Flor- ida, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Commit- tee, and Richard Burr of North Carolina, senior Re- publican on the Senate vet- erans panel. Arizona's two Republican senators, John McCain and Jeff Flake, also have called for Shinseki to step down. VETERANS Su pp or t fa lt er s as S hi ns ek i fig ht s fo r hi s job J.SCOTTAPPLEWHITE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS Dr. Maureen McCarthy, deputy chief patient care services for the Veterans Health Administration, center, flanked by Dr. Mary Lawrence, deputy director of the VA's Vision Center of Excellence, right, and Lorraine Landfried, deputy chief information officer for product development in the Depart of Veterans Affairs Office of Information Technology, appears on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday. By Alicia A. Caldwell The Associated Press WASHINGTON President BarackObama'slatestattempt to pressure House Republi- canstoactonimmigrationleg- islationwillbackfireandmake action harder, a House chair- man said Thursday. Judiciary Committee Chairman Bob Goodlatte, R-Va., criticized Obama's move this week to delay the results of a review of the na- tion's deportations policy un- til late summer. White House officials said they wanted to allow House Republicans op- portunity to act before Con- gress' August recess and No- vember midterm elections. If they don't, Obama is ex- pected to take steps on his own to curb deportations, which have reached record highs on his watch. "When the president says he's going to set a time limit and then consider taking ac- tions himself ... that makes doing immigration reform harder not easier," Goodlatte saidduringanoversighthear- ing with Homeland Security Secretary Jeh Johnson. Legislation is stalled in the House 11 months after the Senate passed a sweeping bill dealing with border secu- rity, workplace enforcement and eventual citizenship for millions. Action is looking in- creasingly unlikely even on narrowmeasures,suchasone offering citizenship to immi- grants here illegally to serve in the military. The House did vote on one immigration-related mea- sure Thursday. Rep. Steve King,R-Iowa,animmigration hardliner, offered an amend- ment to an annual spending bill aimed at encouraging the Justice Department to spend $5 million investigating the release of convicted criminal immigrants. The measure passed 218- 193. Immigration advocates complained that the House should not be voting on puni- tive measures by King when votes on overhauling the im- migration system haven't gone forward. Johnson has given little in- dication about what he will recommend. He said Thurs- day, as he's indicated in the past, that a program to iden- tifyimmigrantsinthecountry illegally who are booked into local jails should get a "fresh start." But he told lawmakers the program known as "Secure Communities," which uses fingerprints submitted to the FBI to identify potentially de- portable immigrants, should not be eliminated. "I don't believe we should scrap Secure Communi- ties," Johnson said. "I believe, given the reality of where we are with this program in this country, that we need a fresh start ... I think the goal of the program is a very worthy one that needs to continue." The program has drawn complaints from local law en- forcement, and an increas- ing number of counties, cit- ies and states are opting not to participate in the wake of recent court decisions rais- ing questions about the pro- gram. Goodlatte called the program"oneofthemosteffi- cient mechanisms for remov- ingdangerousaliensfromthe United States." Johnson also confirmed Thursday that his review is looking at refocusing priori- ties for who is deported. Pri- orities should include peo- ple who are threats to na- tional security, public safety and border security, he said. Advocates are pushing for broad action to shield large groups of people from depor- tation. Federaldatapublishedthis monthshowedthattheHome- landSecurityDepartmentre- leased36,007convictedcrim- inalimmigrantslastyearwho arefacingdeportation,includ- ing those accounting for 193 homicide and 426 sexual as- sault convictions. WASHINGTON Re pu bl ic an s br is tl e ov er O ba ma p re ss ur e on i mmi gr at io n le gi sl at io n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| NEWS | 3 B