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VA officials grilled over botched colonoscopies
Lawmakers sharply criticized the Veterans Affairs Department on Tuesday about why a national scare over botched colonoscopies earlier this year didn't prompt stronger safeguards at the agency's medical centers.

Agency officials apologized for the continued weaknesses and told a House subcommittee they would do better. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki said he would be disciplining staffers.

The strong reaction came as the agency's inspector general reported that fewer than half of VA facilities selected for surprise inspections last month had proper training and guidelines in place. That was months after the VA launched a nationwide safety campaign over the discovery of errors at facilities in Miami, Augusta, Ga., and Murfreesboro, Tenn., that could have exposed veterans to HIV and other infections....