Story highlights Audit confirms widespread scheduling problems at VA 
 
 CNN first reported on the issue in November, VA Secretary Eric Shinseki resigned over the scandal 
 
 Twenty-one senators from both parties call for FBI investigation 
 
 VA acting inspector general says his office is now looking at 69 VA facilities 
 
 An internal Veterans Affairs audit released Monday said tens of thousands of newly returning veterans wait at least 90 days for medical care, while even more who signed up in the VA system over the past 10 years never got an immediate appointment they requested. 
 
 The review provides a more complete picture of widespread problems at the agency's health care facilities -- as reported by CNN over the past seven months -- than preliminary findings last month that led to the resignation of Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki 
 
 "This data shows the extent of the systemic problems we face, problems that demand immediate actions," said acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson, who took over after Shinseki stepped aside. 
 
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 Deadly waits 
 
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 Reports of the sometimes fatal waits, with the VA acknowledging 23 deaths nationwide due to delayed care, sparked public anger over problems at the VA that have existed for years. 
 
 Despite efforts to address some issues in recent years, including reductions in backlogs for benefits and the number of homeless veterans, the long waits have continued for newly enrolled veterans to get initial appointments for care. 
 
 Reasons for the chronic problems include the increasing number of veterans returning from wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, and a bonus system that rewarded managers for meeting goals regarding access to treatment. 
 
 14-day goal "not attainable" 
 
 The audit findings, covering 731 VA facilities nationwide and based on interviews with more than 3,700 staff members, said a 14-day goal for providing care to newly enrolled veterans proved "simply not attainable" due to growing demand and a lack of capacity. 
 
 "Imposing this expectation on the field before ascertaining the resources required and its ensuing broad promulgation represent an organizational leadership failure," it said of the deadline imposed under Shinseki. 
 
 According to CNN's previous reporting, managers in Phoenix and elsewhere used secret waiting lists to cover up the amount of time it took for veterans to get appointments. 
 
 "In some cases, pressures were placed on schedulers to utilize unofficial lists or engage in inappropriate practices in order to make waiting times appear more favorable," said a fact sheet released with the audit. 
 
 At the same time, the audit said that questions it posed "were not worded to ascertain the reason that policy may have been violated," adding that its findings "cannot be extended to identify deliberate deception, fraud, or malfeasance." 
 
 The figures in the audit -- 57,436 newly enrolled veterans facing a minimum 90-day wait for medical care; 63,869 veterans who enrolled over the past decade requesting an appointment that never happened -- show the scope of the problem. 
 
 At the same time, both figures represent about 1% of the total 6 million or so appointments in the VA system now, and don't reflect possible changing circumstances, such as enrolled veterans who seek care at a different facility than the one where they first signed up. 
 
 Gibson's statement said the VA has contacted 50,000 veterans "to get them off of wait lists and into clinics" so far, and planned to contact another 40,000. 
 
 Steps taken 
 
 Other steps he announced included: 
 
 • Removing the 14-day scheduling goal. 
 
 • Suspending all performance awards for VHA senior executives for fiscal year 2014, which runs through September. 
 
 • A hiring freeze at VA central headquarters in Washington and the 21 VHA regional offices, "except for critical positions to be approved by the secretary on a case-by-case basis." 
 
 • A new patient satisfaction measurement program. 
 
 • Ordering an independent, outside audit of VHA scheduling practices across the system. This would differ from a review being conducted by the VA inspector general's office. 
 
 • Applying reforms announced for the Phoenix VA facility to others considered the "most challenged." 
 
 • Deploying mobile medical units to provide services to veterans awaiting care. 
 
 CNN first reported the extensive problems at the Phoenix VA facility, including an interview with a whistleblower who said dozens of veterans died while waiting for care there. 
 
 Changes needed 
 
 White House spokesman Josh Earnest said the new audit showed "some personnel changes need to be made and some have already," in reference to Shinseki's departure and some top managers in Phoenix placed on administrative leave. 
 
 "It's also clear there need to be some management changes in terms of ... the procedures that the VA has in place to fulfill their responsibilities," Earnest said. 
 
 Some in Congress on both sides of the aisle have called for a criminal investigation, and 21 senators sent a letter Monday to Attorney General Eric Holder asking for the FBI to get involved. 
 
 "This challenge requires resources that only the Department of Justice can provide in developing and assessing evidence, pursuing leads, and initiating active prosecutions aggressively if warranted," said the letter from 10 Republicans and 11 Democrats. 
 
 Bring in the feds 
 
 The signers included Kay Hagan in North Carolnia, Mary Landrieu of Louisiana and Mark Pryor of Arkansas -- Democrats from traditionally conservative states who face tough re-election battles in November. 
 
 Richard Griffin, the acting VA inspector general conducting his own review of the system, has said he regularly consults with the Justice Department as part of his inquiry. 
 
 A Justice spokesperson said Monday that "the department continues to consult with the Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General regarding their ongoing review." 
 
 Declining further comment on an "ongoing matter," the spokesperson said the department "often consults with inspectors general on legal matters and acts on any referrals should they find sufficient predicate for a criminal investigation." 
 
 Griffin said on Monday that his office is now looking at 69 VA facilities. ||||| WASHINGTON (AP) — More than 57,000 veterans have been waiting for up to three months for medical appointments, the Veterans Affairs Department said in a wide-ranging audit released Monday. An additional 64,000 who enrolled for VA health care over the past decade have never been seen by a doctor, according to the audit. 
 
 FILE This April 28, 2014 file photos shows the Phoenix VA Health Care Center in Phoenix. The Veterans Affairs Department says more than 57,000 patients are still waiting for initial medical appointments... (Associated Press) 
 
 The audit is the first nationwide look at the VA network in the uproar that began with reports two months ago of patients dying while awaiting appointments and of cover-ups at the Phoenix VA center. Examining 731 VA hospitals and large outpatient clinics, the audit found long wait times across the country for patients seeking their first appointments with both primary care doctors and specialists. 
 
 The audit said a 14-day target for waiting times was "not attainable," given growing demand for VA services and poor planning. It called the 2011 decision by senior VA officials setting it, and then basing bonuses on meeting the target "an organizational leadership failure." 
 
 The audit is the third in a series of reports in the past month into long wait times and falsified records at VA facilities nationwide. The controversy forced VA Secretary Eric Shinseki to resign May 30. Shinseki took the blame for what he decried as a "lack of integrity" in the sprawling system providing health care to the nation's military veterans. 
 
 The audit released Monday said 13 percent of VA schedulers reported getting instructions from supervisors or others to falsify appointment dates in order to meet on-time performance goals. About 8 percent of schedulers said they used alternatives to an official electronic waiting list, often under pressure to make waiting times appear more favorable. 
 
 Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said the audit showed "systemic problems" that demand immediate action. VA officials have contacted 50,000 veterans across the country to get them off waiting lists and into clinics, Gibson said, and are in the process of contacting an additional 40,000 veterans.
– The Department of Veterans Affairs' problems extend far beyond its much-maligned Phoenix facility, a new audit has confirmed. In a review of 731 hospitals, investigators found that more than 57,000 patients have been waiting up to 90 days for an appointment, and that another 64,000 had enrolled for VA healthcare, but never seen a doctor. What's more, 13% of schedulers reported being ordered by management to falsify appointment dates to meet performance goals, and 8% said they used off-the-record waiting lists, the AP reports. The audit concluded that the department's 14-day wait target for newly-enrolled veterans was "simply not attainable," and that basing managers' compensation on meeting it was "an organizational leadership failure." In response to the findings, the VA eliminated all performance bonuses for its senior management for this year, CNN reports.