With today’s political polarization, it’s worthwhile to pause and focus on what’s going right in Washington. Let’s start by commending the new secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs, David Shulkin, for his steady and decisive leadership in the last several months.
Shulkin was not my first choice to lead the VA. I had hoped to see a chief executive at the department with a military service background. Moreover, I feared that by elevating someone from the last administration’s leadership (he served previously as undersecretary for health), we would just end up with “more of the same.”
Base on Shulkin’s initial performance in the job, that worry was unfounded. He has dramatically exceeded expectations.
Shulkin’s predecessors, Eric Shinseki and Robert McDonald, were both military veterans, and both were fundamentally decent, well-meaning men. But they seemed too ready to defer to the VA status quo, which made it difficult for them to deliver the changes the department requires.
Their successor appears more action-oriented and has made a number of positive moves to boost confidence and improve performance. He’s made it clear he wants to bring a different style of leadership to the historically troubled VA.
“Slow, incremental, steady change isn’t what this organization needs,” Shulkin said in a June 20 press briefing. “What we need is bolder, fundamental change, dealing with the issues that — frankly — are really hard to deal with, that go back decades. That means, by definition, we’re going to have to take greater risks.”
What does “bolder, fundamental change” look like? Consider some of Shulkin’s initial actions:
Pledging to work within a budget. In a May 31 White House briefing, Shulkin supplied a detailed overview of the challenges the VA faces, and the steps he will take to address those challenges. He was forthright in saying the VA’s problems don’t stem from a lack of funding (though he has noted there are legacy issues with technology and healthcare costs that will need to be addressed).
“I have said that the problems in VA are not largely going to be solved through additional money,” Shulkin told reporters. “These are going to be solved through management practices, focus, and some legislation changes. But our issues are not because we’re lacking the financial resources to be able to accomplish our mission.”
The VA’s problems are cultural and managerial, and simply pouring more funding into a dysfunctional bureaucracy will only magnify that dysfunction. Kudos to Shulkin for recognizing that reality.
Improving accountability for poor performers. Shulkin has been a vocal proponent of VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which would enhance the department’s ability to discipline or fire underperforming employees. That bill passed Congress and was signed into law by President Trump on Friday. Now it’s up to the VA to implement the law, which will be the hard part — but at least the department has a leader who’s on record pledging support for greater accountability.
He’s made it clear he doesn’t intend mass firings, but that removing those who deserved to be fired will improve morale and recruitment. Shulkin’s efforts to expedite firing of VA employees involved in prescription drug thefts suggest he’s serious about holding people accountable.
Embracing choice for veterans’ healthcare. Congress passed legislation in 2014 to expand healthcare choice for veterans, allowing them to seek compensated care from physicians outside the VA system. While President Barack Obama signed that measure into law, the program was limited, temporary and badly implemented. But Shulkin has signaled an openness to integrating private care choice into the VA model more effectively. If he holds to that commitment, it will go a long way toward fixing what’s broken in VA healthcare.
Cutting waste. Elected officials and bureaucrats like to talk about reducing “waste, fraud and abuse,” yet somehow the needed cuts never arrive. This week, Shulkin took a concrete step in that direction by presenting a plan to dispose of at least 431 vacant VA facilities in the next two years and putting a freeze on new office space, for tens of millions of dollars in estimated savings.
“We owe it to the American taxpayer to apply as much of our funding as possible to helping veterans,” Shulkin said in a statement. “Maintaining vacant buildings, including close to 100 from the Revolutionary War and Civil War, makes no sense, and we’re working as quickly as possible to get them out of our inventory.”
Sure, it’s low-hanging fruit — but then why didn’t previous administrations go after the low-hanging fruit? Again, it’s a step in the right direction, and one hopes Shulkin and his team will keep pushing to cut unnecessary spending and put the VA’s dollars back to work on behalf of veterans.
To be sure, Shulkin has a steep hill to climb in fixing what’s broken at the VA. He can expect opposition from a recalcitrant bureaucracy and stubborn government labor unions that can be expected to stymie any kind of reform. If he wavers in the face of such opposition, he should be held accountable. He will no doubt make decisions that the veterans’ community may disagree with, and in that case we should make our concerns known.
But in the meantime, he’s demonstrated a high degree of professionalism, integrity and respect for both veterans and taxpayers, and that deserves our support.
Finally, let’s celebrate Shulkin’s example of mature, forward-looking leadership, which is lacking in Washington today. While Democrats and Republicans in Congress, egged on by an unhinged and unreliable media, continue their increasingly absurd investigation of alleged Russian hacking and “collusion”—a charge that looks more strained and bogus by the day—it’s reassuring to know there are those within the Trump administration who are focusing on issues that matter to Americans.
If others in Washington hope to rebuild trust with the public, they should take note of Shulkin’s example.
Sean Parnell (@SeanParnellUSA) is a contributor to the Washington Examiner’s Beltway Confidential blog. He is a retired U.S. Army infantry captain who served in Afghanistan with the 10th Mountain Division. He is CEO of Branding Freedom, co-founder of the American Warrior Initiative, and author of the critically-acclaimed, national bestseller “Outlaw Platoon: Heroes, Renegades, Infidels, and the Brotherhood of War in Afghanistan.”
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