Washington – Veterans Affairs Secretary Jim Nicholson is not returning to Colorado to run for the state’s open U.S. Senate, he said today, hours after announcing his resignation from the Bush administration.
Nicholson’s decision to leave the Cabinet post set off questions about whether he’d jump into the contest for the seat Republican Sen. Wayne Allard is vacating.
Nicholson, 69, said today that he received many calls this year about possibly entering the Senate race.
“I looked at it and considered it briefly and decided not to run,” Nicholson said.
A former home developer who transformed Parker into a burgeoning Denver suburb, Nicholson came to the VA on Feb. 1, 2005. He said he will leave the agency no later than Oct. 1.
In his role as VA secretary, Nicholson had to explain the theft of agency computer files containing personal data on millions of veterans and active service members
Nicholson, who is returning to the private sector, is the latest in a lengthening line of senior officials heading for the exits in the final 1-1/2 years of President Bush’s administration.
Nicholson, a decorated Vietnam War veteran, was U.S. ambassador to the Vatican and chairman of the Republican National Committee.
Allard issued a statement about Nicholson’s departure.
“I was surprised to hear about the resignation of my friend and fellow Coloradan, Secretary Jim Nicholson. Having assumed control of the VA at an extremely difficult time, he has been a tireless advocate for veterans, and his efforts have helped to bring the VA up to speed in order to meet the current needs of our veterans.
“I would especially like to commend Secretary Nicholson for the instrumental role he played in reinvigorating the construction of a new VA hospital in Aurora on the Fitzsimons campus,” Allard wrote.
Nicholson also headed an interagency task force of seven Cabinet officers that Bush set up in response to problems with patient care at the Walter Reed Army Medical Center in Washington. The administration had been embarrassed this year by revelations of shoddy care at the Army facility for veterans wounded in Iraq and Afghanistan.
Nicholson, who oversaw a vast network of 1,400 VA hospitals and clinics that provide supplemental care and rehabilitation to 5.8 million veterans, defended the administration’s performance on veterans issues but conceded there was room for improvement.
“When you’re seeing over 1 million patients a week, you have to be very good, and if there is any one patient who doesn’t get the care that they deserve, that’s unacceptable,” he said last March.
“The American people can feel very good about the health care system that their VA is providing to veterans,” he said at the time, “but if there is a case where a veteran gets lost in the system, or suffers anxiety or their family does as a result of something we’re not doing, that is unacceptable.”
Within months of taking office at the VA, Nicholson had to deal with a $1 billion shortfall at the agency, requiring the administration to appeal to Congress for emergency spending.
Republicans blamed the shortfall on unexpected health care demands from veterans. But Democrats said it was an example of what they said was the administration’s inadequate planning for the war in Iraq.
Nicholson came under harsh criticism in Congress after it was revealed in May 2006 that VA computer files with personal data, including Social Security numbers for 26.5 million veterans and military troops, were missing.
Burglars had stolen computer equipment from a data analyst’s Maryland home. Law enforcement officials recovered the laptop and hard drive about two months later after being tipped by an informant who’d heard about a $50,000 reward and knew where they could be found.
Called to account at Capitol Hill hearings, Nicholson said he was angry that he hadn’t been told about the burglary until nearly two weeks after it happened.
Nicholson acknowledged at the time that officials, including Deputy Secretary of Veterans Affairs Gordon Mansfield, knew about the incident earlier, but he would not say whether Mansfield should be punished, citing a need for a full investigation.
“As a veteran, I am outraged. Frankly I’m mad as hell,” Nicholson said, pledging strong action against those responsible. “I can’t explain the lapses of judgment on the behalf of my people. We will stay focused on these problems until we get them fixed.”
Sen. Patty Murray, a Washington Democrat who sits on the Veterans Affairs Committee, said that “we need the president to send us a serious nominee to fill the job. That means a truthful advocate for veterans, not an apologist for this administration’s failures to plan.”
Nicholson just this week pledged to add mental health services at more than 100 VA medical centers. In addition, the VA is adding new VA-run Vet Centers, hiring more suicide prevention coordinators and hosting state mental health conferences to facilitate collaboration of veterans services.
— The Associated contributed to this story.
