Embattled Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki fought to keep his job as the US Congress pressed for his resignation in the wake of a scandal involving the agency's alleged "systemic" failure to provide timely medical benefits to thousands of war veterans.

On Thursday, Shinseki appealed to Democrat lawmakers and veterans groups to give him a chance to fix the mess in his department saying he had been too trusting of VA employees on the filed but would make sure that those who falsified the wait-list records of veterans will be held accountable.

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The scandal broke out after the Inspector General, in an independent review, found that Veterans Affairs officials throughout the healthcare system have deliberately manipulated hospital records to cover up for the fact that war veterans were made to wait for years to get medical treatment.

In the independent review, Inspector General Richard Griffin reported that around 1,700 war veterans in Phoenix waited to see a doctor but were never actually scheduled for an appointment or placed on the hospital's official waiting list.

In an interview with CNN, Dr. Sam Foote, retired VA doctor, said that around 40 veterans die while waiting for an appointment at the Phoenix VA.

Veterans who die waiting are deleted from the hospital's database, showing no evidence that the patient had ever sought help from the VA, he added.

The initial report released on Wednesday had indicated a number of schemes employed by the Phoenix VA such as "tricking veterans into accepting appointments far into the future, deleting appointments more than 14 days old and manipulating data without having doctors see veterans," CNN reported.

In reaction, members of the U.S. Congress, who are up for re-elections this year, have expressed their outrage on this matter and called for Shinseki's removal as VA head..

Rep. Steve Israel of New York sent a letter to Attorney General Eric Holder demanding that the justice department conducts a criminal investigation on the matter.

"I want to know if anybody at the VA doctored papers, engaged in a cover up, withheld care from veterans," he said, adding that those responsible for the scheme be investigated, "prosecuted" and "fired".

Likewise, Republican Rep. Jeff Miller was also reported to have sent a similar demand letter to the Justice Department to carry out a formal investigation.

Democrat Lundergan Grimes, running against Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, said the government failed in its responsibility toward U.S. war veterans.

"I don't see how that breach of trust with our veterans can be repaired if the current leadership stays in place," she said.

McConnell had also challenged the VA's management earlier this week, adding that it needs to be changed.

House Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy was said to have referred to the VA scandal as a "national embarrassment" and urged Shinseki's resignation.

President Barack Obama on Wednesday said that those responsible for the scheme will be held  responsible but explained that he needed to review the matter before making a decision on whether to retain or relieve Shinseki of his post as VA secretary. 

TagsEric Shinseki, VA, jeff miller, steve israel, richard griffin, veteran health care, US Veterans, war veterans