VA Secretary: 'Insulting' to Suggest Shutdown Could Cause Veteran Suicides

Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert Wilkie called on a federal union Monday to apologize for a chapter president's suggestion that veterans affected by the partial government shutdown might resort to suicide. "The notion that most veterans are so fragile from their service that the slightest hint of hardship can push them to the brink of mental breakdown or even self-harm is preposterous," Wilkie said in his letter to J. David Cox, president of the American Federation of Government Employees. For more details, see this Military.com article.