May 21 (Bloomberg) — President Barack Obama said any Veterans Affairs official responsible for delaying treatment for returning service members will be held accountable and that he's ordered a top aide to make recommendations on fixing the troubled agency.

Obama said the VA inspector general is investigating reports that some facilities kept secret waiting lists for veterans seeking care, to cover up failures to meet standards. Some veterans may have died while on the wait lists.

"If these allegations prove to be true, it is dishonorable, it is disgraceful and I will not tolerate it, period," Obama said at the White House after a meeting with Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki and Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors, who will be in Phoenix tomorrow to oversee a review of the system there.

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