Caring for Our Veterans Means More Accountability and Transparency at the VA

Sergeant George Thursby, a resident of New Florence in Pennsylvania’s Twelfth District, served in the Army Air Force during World War II and was held in a prisoner-of-war camp.

This week, decades after his release, he finally received his long-overdue recognition in a ceremony at the Pentagon.  He received rapturous applause from all the families, servicemembers, and citizens in attendance.

We owe veterans like Sergeant Thursby a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid.  That is why the 2015 Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act (MilCon-VA) the House passed this week is so important.  Notably, the bill provides significant funding for mental health care, suicide prevention, traumatic brain injury treatment, and homeless veterans programs.

It is also why the amendment I offered, which passed as part of the final bill, is so important.

As public servants, employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs have a solemn obligation to ensure that veterans receive the respect, support, and care they have earned and rightly expect.

Unfortunately, the VA has failed veterans in Western Pennsylvania and across the country.

At least six veterans contracted Legionnaires’ disease and died because of mismanagement, mistakes, and systemic failures at the VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System.

Over the past year, I have worked with the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, Senators Pat Toomey [PA] and Bob Casey [PA], and Congressmen Tim Murphy [PA-18] and Mike Doyle [PA-14] to find answers and demand accountability for the families of William Nicklas, John Ciarolla, Clark Compston, John McChesney, Lloyd Wanstreet, and Frank “Sonny” Calcagno.

John Ciarolla, the first of these veterans to fall to Legionnaires’ disease, died in July 2011. William Nicklas, the last, died in November 2012.  It has been almost one-and-a-half years since Mr. Nicklas died and almost three years since Mr. Ciarolla died.  It has been over a year since the VA Office of Inspector General determined that systemic failures resulted in the deaths of these veterans at the Pittsburgh VA.  Where is the accountability?  Where is the transparency?

My colleagues and I have asked VA Secretary Eric Shinseki and Under Secretary for Health Robert Petzel what actions they will take to hold accountable those responsible for these deaths.

Officials at the VA owe the families answers to these questions but they have provided none.

Even more outrageous, the now-retired VA regional director was awarded and accepted the government’s highest award for civil servants and a $63,000 bonus only three days after the inspector general found that under his watch systemic failures at the Pittsburgh VA resulted in these deaths.

Across the nation, the VA has demonstrated a widespread and systemic lack of accountability according to a recent investigation by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee.  This has manifested itself in not just infectious disease outbreaks and preventable deaths but also in wasteful spending and backlogged disability claims.

Paying bonuses to senior executives of an organization with an abysmal performance record is ridiculous.  Yet the VA gave its senior executives bonuses totaling $2.8 million in 2011 and $2.3 million in 2012.  These valuable resources should be used to fix the problems at the VA and ensure that our veterans receive the first-rate service and care they rightfully deserve.

VA executives need to take responsibility, fix the problems, and do their jobs.

Last year I offered an amendment directing that none of the funds appropriated may be used to pay for senior executive bonuses.  The amendment was adopted by voice vote and was included in last year’s MilCon-VA bill, which passed the House by a vote of 421-4.  The Senate did not consider a MilCon-VA bill last year and the measure was not included in the omnibus.

Unfortunately, one year has passed and this measure is still needed.

The amendment once again passed by voice vote and was included in the final Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act, which passed by a 421-4 vote.

I urge the Senate and President to stand with our nation’s veterans and expeditiously approve the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs Appropriations Act.