Political Quotes

“Mr. President, I intend to object to any unanimous consent request relating to the nomination of Joshua D. Jacobs, to be Under Secretary for Benefits at the Department of Veterans Affairs, PN195. Mr. Jacobs, if confirmed, would lead the Veterans Benefits Administration at VA. This VA component is at the heart of my many congressional oversight requests dating back 2 years, which the VA has failed to adequately respond to. The whistleblower allegations raised in my oversight inquiries that the VA Office of Inspector General-- OIG--investigated have been vindicated, with the OIG issuing a report last year identifying potential conflicts of interest by the senior VA official at issue, Ms. Charmain Bogue. That official left Federal service and failed to cooperate further with OIG, as did the organization her husband worked for, Veterans Education Success, which had business before VA. This leaves questions open that VA has yet to resolve. I raised other issues as well that the OIG did not investigate, but which VA needs to respond to. This includes allegations that VA failed to protect sensitive and confidential information about publicly traded companies. The OIG decided that this was more properly investigated by the Securities and Exchange Commission, but to my knowledge, they have not investigated the matter either. It falls upon VA to provide transparency on the issue. I have also raised questions regarding FOIA records that show a senior VA official, Mr.…”