By Mike Riopell , Nov 27, 2007 -

SPRINGFIELD — As Illinois tries to create programs and spend more money intended to help veterans, U.S. Rep. Phil Hare said Thursday that federal officials need to do more because it’s their responsibility.

Hare, a Rock Island Democrat, met with Illinois Department of Veterans Affairs Director Tammy Duckworth to talk about how the state and federal governments could better cooperate to deal with problems some veterans face getting health care.

Duckworth, who lost both legs while serving in combat in Iraq in 2004, has criticized the federal government for not being prepared for the influx of veterans coming from the current conflicts overseas.

“This is a cost of the war that’s being shifted from the federal government to the state government,” she said.

Because of that, Duckworth said, Illinois has been working on programs to try to pick up some of the slack.

“And I don’t think that’s fair,” said Hare, who sits on the House Veterans Affairs committee.

He suggested one possible solution could be sending federal money to pay for states taking the lead with their programs. But some have

questioned the cost.

“How can we afford not to do this?” Hare said.

Recently, the VA medical center in the southern Illinois city of Marion came under fire after the number of deaths there spiked and a surgeon was found to be unqualified.

Hare said Thursday he didn’t think substandard care was the norm at VA hospitals across the country. But he said he supports federal legislation proposed by U.S. Sens. Dick Durbin and Barack Obama that would increase scrutiny of surgeons hired to work in the VA system.