Breaking procurement laws and violating government ethics did not stop a top Department of Veterans Affairs official from being hired at another federal agency, the Washington Examiner has learned.
Susan M. Taylor, the subject of a scathing VA inspector general’s report released Friday, landed the new job as director of procurement planning at the Department of Energy and was slated to start Sunday, Oct. 5.
That offer was rescinded after the IG’s findings were reported by the Washington Examiner and other media.
Thomas Johnson, associate deputy assistant secretary for acquisition at DOE, said he and others involved in the selection of Taylor were unaware of the IG’s investigation when she was hired.
The internal DOE announcement was posted in an email sent by Johnson Sept. 12.
“Obviously a pretty strong IG report came out Friday with some pretty strong allegations and findings against Ms. Taylor,” Johnson told the Examiner on Thursday.
“The IG report came out several weeks after my email that was announcing the hiring of Ms. Taylor. Once we received the IG report, obviously the department went back and reviewed that report and reconsidered. At that point, that’s when the decision was made to not hire Ms. Taylor.
“At the time the selection was made, we didn’t know that the IG was investigating, nor did we know that there were any outstanding allegations or anything against Ms. Taylor,” Johnson said, adding the job offer has been rescinded. “She will not be hired by the Department of Energy.”
The IG report found Taylor misused her position and violated numerous government ethics rules by manipulating her subordinates into awarding a contract to FedBid Inc., a company based in Vienna, Va.
Taylor also supplied the company with inside information and then tried to cover her tracks when the IG began investigating, according to the findings.
“Ms. Taylor had complete disregard for the laws, regulations, and VA policies which governed her ethical conduct,” the IG report said. “We found that Ms. Taylor continually misused her position.”
Taylor was in charge of procurement for the Veterans’ Health Administration, which runs all of VA’s hospital and healthcare facilities.
FedBid provides what are called “reverse auction” services, in which suppliers seeking sales with the VA or other agencies turn in bids to the company. The lowest bid for a particular product wins.
The IG recommended criminal charges of conflict of interest and making false statements against Taylor. The Department of Justice declined prosecution.
DOJ officials refused to say why no charges were brought. Spokesman Peter Carr released a statement that decisions are generally made based on numerous factors, including the seriousness of the allegation and “whether there is a substantial federal interest in pursuing charges.”
Taylor’s last day at VA was Wednesday, according to Genevieve Billia, an agency spokeswoman.
The job offered to Taylor at DOE was in the Senior Executive Service, the top level of the career federal civil service.
Johnson said there are personnel rules limiting what a job candidate can be asked during an interview.
“Had I or the folks that were on the interview panel, those who actually made the selection, been aware of the allegations against her or ultimately the findings against her, I can say unequivocally an offer never would have been extended to her,” Johnson said.
Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, said Taylor’s ability to land another federal job despite the blistering IG report demonstrates the lack of accountability at VA and across the federal government.
“Instead of doing the right thing and holding people accountable, lazy bureaucrats are content to simply transfer problem employees to other areas of the government,” Miller told the Examiner.
“Everyone involved in this matter should be ashamed, especially Department of Justice officials, who need to have their heads examined after the inexplicable decision not to press charges as the OIG recommended,” he said.
UPDATE: Taylor’s status at VA is unclear.
At 11:16 a.m., Genevieve Billia, a VA spokeswoman, issued a statement, saying “Taylor is no longer employed at the VA, her last day was yesterday.”
At 2:39 p.m., Billia sent a revised statement saying, “as of right now, Susan Taylor is still employed with the Department of Veterans Affairs.”
Asked to explain the conflicting statements, Billia said Taylor’s “status has changed since I was last updated this morning.”
