Hagel on VA scandal: "It makes me sick to my stomach"

(CNN) – Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel told CNN's Jake Tapper that the scandal surrounding the VA involving delayed care for several veterans in need is upsetting.

"It makes me sick to my stomach," Hagel said. "Because it is a clear responsibility we have as a country, as a people, to take care of these men and women and their families who sacrificed so much."

Hagel, who served as deputy administrator of the VA in the Reagan administration, says he still backs Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, but cautioned the focus now should be getting the facts. "Let's see what happened, why it happened, how it happened. Then we've got to fix it."