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ByAmyTaxin The Associated Press SANTA ANA The federal government has resumed checking the fingerprints of people other than par- ents who step forward to care for migrant chil- dren detained at the bor- der amid concern by immi- grant advocates that skip- ping the screening could put children at risk. Kenneth Wolfe, a spokes- man for the Administration for Children and Families, said the agency overseeing the shelter program for mi- grant youth has gone back to a previous policy of only exempting parents and le- gal guardians from having their fingerprints taken. No child was harmed by the more lax fingerprint pol- icy, Wolfe said. The number of unac- companied Central Amer- ican children apprehended at the border with Mex- ico has surged in recent weeks and could reach 90,000 this year. To speed children through shelters and free up bed space, offi- cials had stopped running fingerprint checks against criminal databases for parents and other spon- sors who offered to care for them, immigrant ad- vocates said. Until last year, advocates said officials had checked the fingerprints of all spon- sors, including parents. "Any time you are reduc- ing the requirements, that is a concern," said Kimi Jackson, director of the South Texas Pro Bono Asy- lum Representation Proj- ect, which offers know- your-rights presentations to children in detention. "There are people who will sponsor kids out in order to use them for things that are not in their best interest." Immigrant advocates say rising gang violence and threats have driven the children to leave their countries and trek across Mexico to reach the United States. Since last month, the Obama administration has opened temporary shelters on military bases to help care for the children until they can be reunited with a sponsor, preferably a par- ent or close adult relative. Most of the children are reunited with family, ac- cording to Wolfe's agency, which on Thursday started a bilingual hotline for par- ents trying to find out if their children are in cus- tody. Advocates say the gov- ernment faces a daunting task of balancing speed and safety when releasing the children, many who are fleeing violent crime back home, to relatives or friends they haven't seen in years. The average stay of a mi- grant child in a shelter is now near 35 days. It was 61 days between 2008 and 2010 in a study of 14,000 children by the Vera Insti- tute of Justice. For years, advocates pushed for a quicker re- lease so children could be reunited with family. While they don't want the children to be unneces- sarily detained, advocates now worry they aren't get- ting vital social or legal services because they are being funneled through the system so quickly. IMMIGRATION US revamps screening of migrant kid sponsors By David Espo The Associated Press WASHINGTON Rep. Kevin McCarthy of California, a former aide elected to Con- gress in his own right less than eight years ago, won election as House majority leader Thursday as fellow Republicans shuffled their leadership in the wake of Rep. Eric Cantor's primary defeat in Virginia. McCarthy, 49, triumphed over Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho to continue his ex- traordinarily rapid rise through the ranks. The to- tals of the secret ballot elec- tion were not immediately disclosed. McCarthy has been serv- ing as his party's whip, or chief vote counter. His as- cension set up a three-way election to fill his current spot in the leadership, in- volving Reps. Steve Scal- ise of Louisiana, Peter Ros- kam of Illinois and Marlin Stutzman of Indiana. The changes take effect when Cantor steps down as majority leader on July 31. The current leader attended the day's elections but did not speak. Whatever the results of the elections, the challenges facing the leadership aren't likely to change. Within moments of Mc- Carthy's election, the League of United Latin American Citizens issued a statement calling on him to schedule a vote in the House on legis- lation to overhaul immigra- tion law, including a path to citizenship for millions of immigrants currently living in the country illegally. In setting quick elections, Speaker John Boehner and other leaders hoped to avoid a drawn-out, divisive strug- gle that might complicate the party's drive to retain its majority in midterm bal- loting on Nov. 4. The timing of the day's events made it unclear whether the winners — or perhaps Boehner, himself — might face fresh challenges when the rank and file gath- ers after national elections. McCarthy, moved quickly to line up the votes for ma- jority leader in the wake of Cantor's defeat at the polls in Virginia, deploying an or- ganization developed since he became whip more than three years ago when Re- publicans took control of the House. One potential rival, Rep. Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, de- cided against joining the race, while another, Rep. Jeb Hensarling of Texas, de- ferred to a second Texan, Rep. Pete Sessions. Sessions quickly dropped out, though, saying it was obvious that a successful campaign would have created painful divi- sions within the party. Rep. Raul Labrador of Idaho jumped in, but by then, the California front- runner had amassed sup- port from across the rank and file. He was aided not only by personal ties, but by the fundraising prowess he has displayed since joining the leadership. His Majority Committee PAC gave nearly $1.2 mil- lion to Republican House candidates and organiza- tions during the two-year election cycle of 2011-2012, and an additional $480,000 to candidates so far in ad- vance of this fall's balloting. McCarthy was first elected to Congress in 2006, after first serving as an aide to Rep. Bill Thomas of Cali- fornia and a member of the California Legislature. WASHINGTON Ho us e GO P ma ke s Ke vi n McCarthy majority leader J.SCOTTAPPLEWHITE—THEASSOCIATEDPRESS House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy of California is pursued by reporters as he crosses Independence Avenue on Capitol Hill in Washington on Thursday a er being elected the new House majority leader by the Republican Conference. By Matthew Daly The Associated Press WASHINGTON Tens of thousands more veterans than previously reported are forced to wait at least a month for medical ap- pointments at Veterans Af- fairs hospitals and clinics, according to an updated au- dit of 731 VA medical facili- ties released Thursday. The updated report in- cludes new figures show- ing that the wait times ac- tually experienced at most VA facilities were shorter than those on waiting lists for pending appointments. For instance, new patients at the Atlanta VA hospital waited about an average of 44 days for an appointment in April, the new report said. But the average wait for pending appointments at Atlanta was 66 days. Similar disparities in av- erage wait times were found around the country. Pending appointments, for example, don't include patients who walk into a clinic and get im- mediate or quick treatment, VA officials said. They also don't reflect rescheduled ap- pointments or those that are moved up because of open- ings due to cancellations. VA officials said the two sets of data complement one another, but both are evidence that many veter- ans face long waits for care. More than 56,000 veterans were waiting more than 90 days for an initial appoint- ment, the new report said. "In many communities across the country, veter- ans wait too long for the high quality care they've earned and deserve," acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said Thursday. The department has reached out to 70,000 veter- ans to get them off waiting lists and into clinics, Gibson said, "but there is still much more work to be done." The report released Thursday showed that about 10 percent of veterans seeking medical care at VA hospitals and clinics have to wait at least 30 days for an appointment. That's more than double the 4 percent of veterans the government said last week were forced to endure long waits. Gibson called the increase unfortunate, but said it was probably an indication that more reliable data was be- ing reported by VA sched- ulers, rather than a big in- crease in veteran wait times. Administrators at local VA medical centers ques- tioned the results of an au- dit released June 9, which looked only at pending ap- pointments. The report did not match internal data on completed appointments showing waits actually were far shorter, the local officials said. The reliability of both sets of data is in question. The VA is investigating widespread manipulation of appointment data by schedulers following an up- roar over since-confirmed allegations that dozens of veterans died while await- ing appointments at the Phoenix VA medical center. Some 13 percent of sched- ulers surveyed by the audi- tors reported being told by supervisors to falsify appointment records to make patient waits appear shorter. The VA's inspector general has cited a since- abandoned performance bonus system as a reason for the falsifications, which schedulers used to mask frequent, long delays in treatment for veterans. VA Secretary Eric Shin- seki resigned three weeks ago amid an election-year firestorm over the treat- ment delays and waiting list problems at VA facilities na- tionwide. Shinseki took the blame for what he decried as a "lack of integrity" through the VA network, which serves nearly 9 million veterans. The House and Senate have approved separate bills to al- low more veterans who can't get timely VA appointments to see local doctors listed instead. The proposals also would make it easier to fire senior VA regional officials and hospital administrators. The June 9 audit found that more than 57,000 vet- erans were waiting at least 90 days for their first VA medical appointments, and an additional 64,000 appeared to have fallen through the cracks, never getting appointments after enrolling for VA care within the past 10 years. VA Audit indicates more vets wait 30 days; some waits shorter JOSE LUIS MAGANA — THE ASSOCIATED PRESS People walks part the entrance of the Washington VA Medical Center in Washington on Wednesday. STOVEJUNCTION The TheNorthState'spremiersupplierofstoves 22825 Antelope Blvd., Red Bluff 530-528-2221 • Fax 530-528-2229 www.thestovejunction.com Over 25 years of experience Tues-Sat9am-5pm• ClosedSun&Mon Now Carrying! GreenMountainGrills & Accessories Serving Butte, Glenn & Tehama Counties www.TehamaCountyRealEstate.com 530529-2700 314 Washington St, Red Bluff, CA 1375MontgomeryRd. Red Bluff, CA 529-0797 Our team is ready to earn your trust | NEWS | REDBLUFFDAILYNEWS.COM FRIDAY, JUNE 20, 2014 8 A