On the recordMarch 2, 2015
I thank the chairman for yielding me this time. Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 280 because, like most Americans, I am appalled at the bonuses awarded to officials within the Department of Veterans Affairs despite gross mismanagement and incompetence by those very same officials. In my home State of Colorado, a VA director conveniently announced her retirement just days after yet another secret waiting list was discovered at her hospital in Denver. Incredibly, she had received over $100,000 in bonuses over the past 7 years. I believe bonuses are a reward for exceptional work and not an entitlement for simply showing up at the job. However, the VA's broadly abused bonus system has spread a sense of entitlement and a complete lack of accountability. This law gives the VA Secretary the ability to reclaim bonuses paid to corrupt VA officials. On behalf of the American taxpayer, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense measure to help combat VA's broken culture.
