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Subscribe to RSSMembers of Congress angrily vowed Wednesday to crank its investigative floodlights far brighter on the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, accusing agency leaders of dodging direct questions on travel and conference spending, failing to disclose a gathering in Las Vegas, and exhibiting “total incompetence” as veterans wait in record-long lines for medical help.
During a hearing before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., said that one day after he and VA Deputy Secretary Scott Gould had held a “civil conversation” on the same issues, Gould’s vague responses to the panel's precise and lengthy interrogation “raised the hackles on the back of my neck.”
“The truce is over. It lasted less than 24 hours. Expect much more oversight from this committee,” Miller said. “Expect more questions from this committee because they’re coming — in great volumes.”
The fiery, two-hour hearing was primarily held to examine how the VA plans to prevent future, exorbitant spending lapses like the estimated $9 million the agency doled out for two Orlando gatherings in 2011. During those conferences for VA human resources personnel, the VA invested, for example, $84,000 for VA-branded promotional items, including pens, highlighters and hand sanitizers, according to Office of the Inspector General. But at the close of the hearing, Gould complained the committee’s line of questioning had devolved into “a slap at the employees who work at VA every day.”
Miller interrupted Gould.
“No, no, no, no,” Miller said, his voice rising. “Don’t you ever accuse a Democrat or a Republican on this committee of slapping any of the hardworking 300,000 VA employees. Rest assured, it’s the leadership that we’re concerned with.”
Earlier, Gould opened by describing the VA’s beefed-up oversight to block other Orlando-type escapades, which he called: “abdications of responsibility, failures of judgment, and serious lapses of stewardship.”
Those tightened measures include requirements that all VA conference planning now include “a detailed business case analysis.” And, from this point, any VA gatherings estimated to cost $20,000 to $100,000 must receive prior approval by a VA under secretary or assistant secretary, conferences estimated to cost $100,000 to $500,000 must be approved by the deputy secretary, and conferences costing more than $500,000 “are generally not permitted,” he said.
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But the hearing quickly turned into larger prosecution of VA leadership by the committee. The members complained about what they called the VA’s chronic lack of responses — or its fuzzy answers — to dozens of congressional requests for information on items ranging from VA spending to its internal discipline of employees caught making ethical errors.
For example, on Aug. 16, Congress asked the VA to disclose how much it spent during 2011 on conferences. According to Miller, the VA first reported the price of those events was $20 million but later amended that figure to more than $100 million. At Wednesday’s hearing, VA Chief Financial Officer Todd Grams testified that the events cost, in total, $86.5 million.
Miller asked Gould if he “or anyone at the table” had been ordered to withhold information from Congress. Gould responded: “No.” Miller then blasted VA leaders for failing to answer 75 specific congressional questions.
“Unfortunately, lengthy delays or not responding to requests at all has become normal for VA,” Miller said. “We clearly have a problem here.”
The Orlando conferences had served as the initial spark for ramped up congressional scrutiny of the agency. But several members said the VA’s lack of answers had left them increasingly irked — and several members sounded so Wednesday, their voices sometimes breaking or shaking, including Rep. Tim Huelskamp, R-Kan.
“It’s been 106 days since I asked some of these questions. I have asked for: a list of the attendees at the July 2011 conference in Orlando; a list of attendees at the August 2011 conference in Orlando; a list of individuals involved in planning these conferences; the names and titles of employees who are being held accountable. Why have you refused to answer all of these?” Huelskamp asked Gould. “Those were all ignored. When will you find it out — in another 106 days? These are simple questions.
“This is an issue of competence, the failure to either know the answers or refuse to answer them,” Huelskamp added. “It’s about a gentleman in Syracuse, Kan., who had to drive 522 miles to the nearest VA hospital. In that time, you could fly folks to Orlando for a great conference. And you won’t even tell the American people who attended? Either you’re trying to hide something or it’s total incompetence.”
In response, Gould testified that VA leaders “understand we have an obligation to respond to Congress.” He further testified that, following the many information requests from Congress, the VA has supplied 35,000 documents and answered 6,000 policy questions and attended 100 hearings and 1,100 staff briefings.
“Sir,” Gould added, “you can sit here and shake your head, but the reality is there’s a tremendous amount of information that flows to this committee and others on a daily basis by a very competent team.”
But Congress has grown so impatient with the VA’s silence on the issues, Miller said, he and other congressional members and their staffs have begun perusing VA’s Facebook and Twitter accounts to try to independently piece together a more complete list of the VA conferences and training seminars.
Miller discovered, for example, posts on the VA Facebook page about a VA senior management conference at Las Vegas' Venetian Hotel in August 2010. That event included teachings on “yoga, massage therapy (and) acupuncture,” according to the VA Facebook post, which showed pictures of people — ostensibly VA employees — getting massages. Beneath those images, someone commented: “Sounds like my kind of conference!” That observation was followed by a comment posted by the administrator of the Facebook page for VA’s Veterans Canteen Services: “It’s amazing how immediate the results are!”
Miller asked Gould why the VA had not mentioned the Vegas conference when Congress had requested a full accounting of all VA conferences since 2005.
Gould testified that he had no explanation other than the VA has hosted thousands of conferences since 2005.
That post on the VA Facebook page was removed shortly after the hearing.
“The perception out there, if you’re a taxpayer just barely getting by ... is you’ve got one set of rules for people in government, and (another set for) the rest of us out there in the real world, said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn. “And perception is reality.
"It’s embarrassing for me to go home and try to explain to people why their money is being wasted,” added Roe, a physician. “I have veterans who come up and say, ‘I can’t get into a hospital down here, Doc. I’m in a line 40 miles long.’ And then they show me this plush event that occurred in Orlando. It’s very hard to explain that to people. It’s embarrassing for the 300,000 hardworking VA people who are then tagged with this.”
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Leave a Comment:
Is anyone taking bets, that "Congress" via Congressional Oversight will actually improve the VA?
Think for a moment, has Congress ever improved a government agency? Then go on and imagine that Congress already has the budget authority for the VA and knows what is being spent minute by minute? Then imagine that Congress has given total administrative authority to the VA, and will hold the head of the VA responsible for screw-ups? Now that you are ready to believe that Congress has done its job, imagine what happens to the VA administration every time a member of Congress calls up and asks for a favor of the VA or makes an inquiry. This makes for 535 persons able to call the VA, get immediate attention, and foul up the VA Administration. If you understand how all administrations work, you do understand that having 535 outside managers is not conducive to getting things done right.
We 'cannot' know the intention of Congress visa the VA. It could be like Congress making war on government to make government look bad. Unfortunately that last statement proves that Congress doesn't know how to do its job, since Congress assumes that Congress can do the job better.
Give the VA administration the Authority it Needs, and give Congress the axe it need to take care of Administration failures.
Fire every single one of these management personnel! they are all POS and there is no excuse regarding how veterans are being treated and these scum managers are getting away with this. Enough is enough!! SCUM
Start at the top with the POtuS.
This is the kind of waste Romney said he wanted to eliminate. He pointed out 82 different offices that had oversight on the exact same issue. He wanted to get rid of redundancy and government bloat.
Too bad we have to go through four more years of this kind of disgusting waste.
Romney is no different than the current jackasses! He'd just put his jackass people in! Same outfit, just a different pocket! Congress calling out on the VA, a bad joke at best. Bottom line they're all slaves to the Lobbyists! The Vet loses. The VA run by vets? How quickly they forget where they come from! Congress only acts when there is a profit to be gained for those putting them into office via contributions and not votes. No profit to be gained by dicking with the VA! Congress calling the kettle black! Congressional dip$hits ought to look in the mirror! Semper Fi.
Crud, you are spouting party political drivel with no proof or evidence to support your assertions.
It's attitudes like yours, no doubt, that helped get us in the mess we are in.
Fire the whole lot of the VA executives on the bureaucratic tit. Make them also pay back every dime that they used on the government dole for their extravagant nonsensical nonproductive conferences. Power to the veterans that took the oath and not these political clowns.
Well I have worked at the VA for 11 years and I am a Vet. There are exceptional workers, good managers and terrible waste! I am glad for the oversight, I just hope it goes far enough and clears out all the dead wood and we can get back to caring not only for our Vets but for those in the trenches that take care of our Vets!
Homeless Vets, waiting for up to 6 months for treatment of PTSD, and TBI. I guess "gatherings" costing upwards to 9 mil are more important than our Vets. More than a disgrace and a travesty, I'd say.
The VA has money to spend on everthing else, but the veterans treatment. Where I live ,our VA does not have a doctor and must rely on a nurse practioner to make decisions about my health. Not good. The VA does not give us good medical care, just enough to get you by and does not help to solve the problem.
Wow....WWII has been over for some time....as long as the problems with VA have existed. Congress is "upset" of VA...Wow. I wish I could replace all those who "talk" about change in Congress...it's about time those of us who elect them select representatives who actually do something about the "issues" that exists in the VA and in federal government.
Want to solve the problems at the VA? Try these concepts; 1. Only hire vets for all postions first, then move to a non vet list;2. Require everyone who applies for a job to pass English language tests both verbal and written;3. Require all employees to take a course on human relations/communications and sensitivity to the needs of vets;4. Establish a VA building committee composed of patients to semi annually rate the facility, those facilities that do not meet a minimum score of 75% positive review or better merit a change at the top levels of management;5. Take the VA out of the federal bureaucratic jungle of life long tenure that rewards incompetence and make jobs contingent upon performance; and if the clowns in Congress are really serious let them check into a VA facility under an assumed name to view the place first hand. I doubledare Congress to institute any of these recommendations.. and I doubledare the VFW, Legion, VV Of America, and other vet groups to raise their voices to support such changes..
This is obviously a case of "if it ain't broken, screw with it until it is broken and then you have a reason to destroy it." Romney, Ryan and the Republicans have wanted to destroy the VA for years, but they lost the election, so the Republicans in congress are going to do their dirty work for them. I am a veteran and I use the VA facilities in Tucson and I haven't seen any of those long lines they describe. Certainly no longer than you see at for-profit hospitals, so that's an out and out lie. The other "problems"? Bulls--t. Politics as usual. I and thousands of other veterans like the service provided by the VA. At least they do their jobs, unlike those losers in congress who haven't worked in years. I believe there are something like 23 million veterans in this country and we vote. Believe me, destroy the VA and you'll never serve another term in congress.
I work for a different DoD agency. The thought that our veterans have to wait for services and some of the driving distances in this article break my heart! DoD should have a central intranet website where when one agency needs help or if our veterans need help those of us working in other agencies can volunteer to fill the need. The congressmen mentioned in this article are from Tennessee and Kentucky if anyone reading this lives in those districts go Please go on your congressman's website and e-mail this suggestion to them. WE owe our veterans so much, they ask for so little, and then we give them even less.
It all boils down to this.... Congress will put on a good show bad mouthing the VA, but in the end NOTHING will happen to change the way it is ran, and no one will lose their job, and no one will be made an example of! Just more soldiers not getting the treatment they need, while an other party rages on for the big guys at our expense.
Finally the Dems and Repubs can agree on something that pisses us all off, that wasteful spending has to end
I hate those who feel entitled to blow our money on their good time. Save you paycheck and go on your own vacation
I do not know who to beleive congress? or the VA? I do know I served 18 months in Vietnam as a marine, and filed a claim for a agent orange related cancer 393 days ago and Im still waiting to hear something besides the letter I received saying we are working on your case. I wish somone would do something.
Maybe after Congress is done their they can start on the VA leadershipe here, and get the spending under control. We pissaway more in 3 months then a normal person makes in 3 years. The system is not the problem it's the one's in Charge they just dont get it! Just do as I say! JUMP low lifes jump
Too bad these lackeys don't have any oversight on welfare giveaway programs and obama phones, etc.
I'm a veteran....they outta fire the fraudalent bastids running every gov't agency. Most of them are like a majority
of politicians.........they think they're entitled & above the law. Government itself, has been a scenerio of fraud, waste, & corruption for many years. Damn glad I've never had to use thousands & millions of dollars of other people's money to get a job............
I'd also like to ask this @!$%# how the West Los Angeles VA manager fraudulently "sold" and are having "condo's" built for non-military veterans at a price of $330,000 per studio apartment in 2 buildings on the North Hills VA when this land was specifically deeded by the privious land owners to be used "only for Veterans of our Military" and nothing else! These units are going to be used for drug and alcohol addicts. This will impact the entire area with crime and blight. The LAPD has already said they can not provide enough patrols to keep the area safe. There is a High School directly across the street and at least 2 elementary schools within eye site. Not to mention the surrounding residential area with many young families. All this when Veterans need this facility for their health and mental care!
That would be a blue state?
California?
After several trip to the VA all I can say is its about time to dump the VA and cut are losses. I spent 29 years in the AF and have never seen a place that could give a damm less it you are a vet or not all they care about is the pay check. they may have helped some but I think they have harmed more than they helped.
This is another perfect example of the Civil Service System. Once you are hired it is almost impossible to get fired even when you comit a feony act. And the higher you go the harder it is to be fired. Oh, by the way, who decides when to fire a civil servant - You got it another civil servant. As strange as it is, even the President cannot fire a civil service employee.
Of course there's waste in government. There's waste in companies, in our family budgets, and on and on. What I find hypocritical is that Congress has the nerve to point out waste in others, but never looks in the mirror. Do you receive free health care for life? Do you receive retirement for working 6 years? Do you get an allowance from work for travel to play golf? Has your company ever sent every one to a retreat that had nothing to do with your job? How about all the free "membership" gifts politicians get golf courses, museums, beach property, etc...Congress can start by cleaning up it's own backyard first, then they can go around pointing fingers. Isn't also interesting that nobody seemed to care about a lot of these issues until a Democrat was elected and re-elected. Now, all of a sudden, government is all bad and corporations do nothing but good. Give me a break.
this is what we need. i am a vet that was medically retired from the army and can't get my case handled. I am going to have to get a lawyer to even accept the issues that the army already retired me for and said was service related. on top of that it takes months to get responses from these people. if this is what gov universal health care looks like I will laugh at all of you people that say its a good idea when you start complaining about what vets have been complaining about for years. the gov can not handle a health care system. too many beauracrats
I once spent 34 days waiting for $80.22 in travel pay, after giving the VA my banking info so they could direct deposit it into my account. One contact told me they were 30 days behind, another (an Email) told me some one would contact me in 2-5 business days. Ten days later on a follow up of this Email pointing out it had been 10 business days, I received an Email telling me the VA travel policy. The last contact told me I had not filled out the proper forms?? After receiving the forms filling them out and turning them on another visit, I was paid cash money for the travel pay.
Privatize, privatize, make the guy at the top a CEO and give him a golden parachute when he quits. 100 million sounds about right.
I am a fairly new VA employee who previously worked in the private sector. After losing my private sector job as a result of the greed driven financial collapse, I decided that I wanted to do something that would actually matter. I am a 20 year retired veteran myself, and although knowing that I would take a huge pay cut, I wanted to help vets. Here is my 2.5 year experience. First: Congress needs to take some responsibility for the long lines and red tape. They are the ones who sign all of the procedures, rules, regs, and parameters into law the VA employees must abide by. Needless to say many of the regs are out of date, very poorly written and open to interpretation (often by the most junior personnel), and they are also sometimes conflicting. I have pointed out numerous issues to my supervisors who have all taken the attitude that by me being so new to the VA I could not possibly know what I am talking about. It seems that there is no will to stand up and demand change from the trenches up. The decisions are all made from the top down. I feel that it is a very ego-driven top-down, my way organization. Second: Promises are constantly made that have zero chance to come to fruition. Shinsheki might appear as tho he is kicking ass and taking names by fist pounding mandates, but the truth is they are either un-funded, or under-funded and doomed from the start. Lastly: And this is the beast no one wants to belive exists, but here it is. There simply are NOT enough employees to do the job in the timeframes everyone expects. Numerically, it is impossible. Think about a government agency where you dont have to wait. The government couldnt get away with employing enough people to do the job. One final Final. I have worked with many very great and caring people in the VA who really want to do a good job for our veterans. It is a thankless and all consumming task. The employees and the veterans are getting the lie and shaft from its "leadership" We all have every right to be damned angry at the lies!
Exactly Mike