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 The allegations are the latest problem for a scandal-plagued
agency that has become a punching bag in the Nov. 8 presidential
election campaign, particularly for Republican front-runner Donald
Trump.
In a letter to the department's Inspector General, Portman urged a
"swift and independent" probe after a report showed 34 current and
former employees had blown the whistle about problems at the VA
hospital in Cincinnati.
"These allegations are deeply disturbing. Those who have served
their country in uniform are entitled to the best possible medical
care," wrote Portman, who is up for reelection in November
congressional elections.
The House of Representatives' Veterans Affairs committee is also
investigating the allegations, said Republican Representative Brad
Wenstrup from Ohio, a member of the panel who said he was "appalled"
at the allegations.
 "We will continue to investigate these troubling claims and hold the
VA accountable," Wenstrup said.
The lawmakers were responding to an investigative report published
on Tuesday by Scripps' Washington bureau and WCPO, the ABC affiliate
in Cincinnati.
The report found surgeries and specialist care at the hospital,
which treats 40,000 veterans, had been cut to save money, and
described surgical instruments delivered to operating rooms
contaminated with blood and bone debris from previous surgeries.
The report also alleged a top hospital official was improperly
drawing two salaries and had prescribed controlled pain medication
to the spouse of the regional director without a valid license.
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The Department of Veterans Affairs declined to comment directly on
the allegations. But on Saturday, an official said oversight of the
clinic would be "temporarily realigned" to a VA regional office in
Pittsburgh as it looked into the allegations.
The agency also said it had asked its Inspector General to launch a
separate probe.
In 2014, a cover-up of long wait lists and shoddy medical care for
veterans at a hospital in Phoenix, Arizona, embarrassed the Obama
administration and led to the resignation of the department's chief.
Obama appointed Bob McDonald, a former CEO at Cincinnati-based
Procter & Gamble, as the new secretary and charged him to fix the
problems at the agency.
(Reporting by Roberta Rampton; Editing by Bernard Orr)
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