President Obama calls VA scandal "disgraceful"; Governor Christie demands more action

NEW YORK (WABC) -- The president today sought to head off a growing scandal that has angered many Americans--about the treatment of veterans at V.A. Hospitals.

Today Obama said he will not stand for it. But he refused to fire embattled V.A. Secretary Eric Shinseki.

"It is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and we will not tolerate it. Period."

The scandal centers on a v.a. Hospital in phoenix. At least 40 vets died there while waiting almost two years to see a doctor.

"The families deserve to know the facts, once we know the facts I assure you if there's misconduct it will be punished," said the President.

The V.A. Now says the investigation has expanded to 26 different facilities across the nation... up from just 10 a week ago.

Ralph Nicastro, a decorated veteran, Purple Heart recipient, died while waiting for a specialist to diagnose a lump found on his neck.

The delays have horrified many Americans, including New Jersey governor Chris Christie.

"All we've heard from the President is he's angry about it but we haven't seen him yet say what steps he's going to take to fix the problem."

Governor Christie said that Americans expect the president to fix the problem... not just say he's troubled by it.

"When something wrong does happen on your watch you're going to take responsibility for it and you're going to go about fixing it. I think the President has just not shown a great interest in fixing these problems."