OKLAHOMA CITY (AP) - A state senator says he wants to know whether inadequate training and oversight are responsible for problems at the Oklahoma Department of Veterans Affairs' and its seven veterans' centers.

Sen. Frank Simpson of Ardmore made the comments Tuesday as a Senate committee launched a study into the structure and responsibilities of the Oklahoma Department of Veterans' Affairs and the state War Veterans Commission.

The Senate approved the study following reports of deaths and abuse of veterans at state facilities. Retired Air Force Maj. Gen. Rita Aragon, secretary of Military and Veterans Affairs, says there are seven pending wrongful death lawsuits against the state involving the deaths of veterans in state care.

Simpson, a Navy veteran, says he wants to know how reports of abuse and neglect are investigated and resolved.