Eric Shinseki resigned Friday as the Department of Veterans Affairs chief. Sen. Bernie Sanders called the retired four-star general “an American hero.” He also pledged to work with new leadership at the VA to transform the culture and punish those responsible for manipulating records to conceal how long it really takes to see a doctor. New calls to abolish door-to-door mail service are part of a “fierce attack on the Postal Service,” Sanders said on Wednesday. A new report prepared for Sanders looked at when and why people enroll for Social Security retirement benefits. And the industry-friendly Nuclear Regulatory Commission turned down calls by Sanders and others to improve the safety of spent radioactive fuel rods. The senators plan legislation to make the NRC do the right thing. Sanders also planned to revive a comprehensive veterans benefits bill that, as MSNBC’s Rachel Maddow reported, was sidetracked last winter by Senate Republicans. Watch

Secretary Shinseki

Sanders was saddened to hear that VA Secretary Shinseki resigned and said he would have been the best person to clean up problems at VA hospitals and clinics. “The unequivocal goal of the VA must be to provide the highest-quality health care possible to all of our veterans in a timely manner. The new leadership must transform the culture of the VA, establish accountability and punish those responsible for the reprehensible manipulation of wait times. As chairman of the Senate veterans’ committee I look forward to working with President Obama, the new VA leadership and my Senate colleagues to make that happen.”

Doc Shortage Cited in VA Delays

Sanders called it “unacceptable” that some veterans are forced to wait too long for care at Department of Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics. And he said it was “totally intolerable” that some VA employees manipulated records to hide how long veterans really have to wait to see doctors. But he also offered some perspective on the situation as chairman of both the Senate veterans committee and a subcommittee on primary care. He has warned for years that the nation’s entire health care system is facing a crisis in primary care. Merritt Hawkins, a health care consulting firm, found this year that the average wait time to see a family physician in 15 markets studied was 19.5 days. That’s longer than the VA’s goal of 14 days. Sanders is the chief sponsor of legislation that the Senate debated in in February that would have expanded the department’s health system with 27 new facilities. Read more here.

A Fierce Attack on the Postal Service

New calls to end door-to-door mail delivery are part of “a fierce attack against the Postal Service and the people who work there” by Republicans in Congress, Sanders said on Wednesday. The Postal Service would post a profit of more than $1 billion this year except for one thing: a unique mandate signed into law by President George W. Bush to sink billions into a fund for future retiree health benefits that already has a big cushion. Watch Sen. Sanders on MSNBC here.

Nuclear Safety

The NRC rejected calls by Sanders, two other senators and watchdog groups to move spent nuclear fuel from storage pools into safer, sturdier dry casks.  “We are one natural disaster, mechanical failure or terrorist attack away from a disaster,”  Sanders said after The Associated Press on Tuesday obtained an NRC memo showing the commission accepted its staff’s recommendation to stop considering expedited transfer of the spent fuel to dry cask storage.

Protecting Social Security

“Deciding when to retire and claim Social Security benefits can be one of the most important financial decisions older Americans make,” according to a report prepared for Sanders and released on Tuesday. “Despite higher monthly benefits for those who delay, many people still claim Social Security retirement benefits at age 62, the earliest age of eligibility. In 2014, these early retirees will see their monthly benefits reduced by 25 percent compared to what they would have received if they had delayed retirement until they were 66, the current full retirement age. At the same time, some early retirees do not have access to government or employer-sponsored health insurance.” Sanders requested the Government Accountability Office report in his capacity as chairman of a Senate subcommittee on aging. Read more here. Read the full report here.