Tim Huelskamp: “I am glad to join my colleague from Pennsylvania in cosponsoring this important amendment. But I must admit, it is…”

“I am glad to join my colleague from Pennsylvania in cosponsoring this important amendment. But I must admit, it is regrettable--actually, no. It is actually shameful we actually have to be here today discussing this topic. As a member of the House Veterans' Affairs Committee, I have heard over and over and over again stories of abuse, neglect, and mismanagement within the VA, but the one thing I never hear about is accountability. In fact, under the leadership of the current Secretary, a Senior Executive Service employee who has presided over mismanagement at the VA is more likely to receive a sizable bonus than to be disciplined or fired. This culture of anything goes has got to stop, and the best way to stop this is to send a strong signal across the Department of VA that Congress means business. It is obvious from the headlines about the sizable bonuses received by VA administrators at facilities in Georgia, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Phoenix that the performance award system at the VA is a failure. I have asked the VA in congressional hearing after hearing after hearing for a specific list of disciplinary actions that the Department has imposed on employees and executives who have presided over these delays and preventable veteran deaths. Instead of giving answers, they have only pointed to retirements, transfers, or bureaucratic slaps on the wrist, but not a single undeserved performance bonus has been returned to the taxpayers.…”