Impatient at the slow pace of accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs, the head of the nation’s largest veterans’ group wants corrupt managers in the agency to be fired now.
“The only way those culpable will get their just desserts, and credibility will be restored to the thousands of VA employees who really deserve it, is for you to demand that those who caused this scandal, and those who oversaw it and did nothing, be fired and removed from government,” said Michael Helm, national commander of the American Legion in a letter sent Thursday to President Obama.
“Let me assure you that if someone on my staff were found to be cooking the books, committing fraud or putting career ambitions ahead of veterans’ lives, they wouldn’t be transferred or suspended with pay,” Helm said.
“They would be fired immediately. Our VA employees should be held to the same standard,” he said.
No one at VA has been fired since the scandal over falsified waiting lists at the Phoenix VA hospital erupted in April.
Three top officials from that facility have been proposed for termination — the agency’s term for beginning the procedure to fire them — Secretary Robert McDonald told a House committee Wednesday.
The former director of the Phoenix hospital remains on the federal payroll on administrative leave, according to the latest statement from the agency.
The hearing Wednesday was called to question acting VA Inspector General Richard Griffin as to why language that absolved the agency in any deaths caused by delays was inserted in the final draft of the report.
The language that the IG could not “conclusively assert” any deaths were caused by delays or poor-quality care was not in draft versions of the report sent to the agency for comment, but was in the final document.
Griffin insisted it was his own staff, and no one at VA headquarters, that had the language inserted.
Under questioning from committee members, Griffin grudgingly acknowledged that delays and improper treatment “may have” contributed to patient deaths.
Griffin’s deputy, Dr. John Daigh, assistant VA inspector general for healthcare inspections, was more forthcoming, admitting delays contributed to deaths and the IG could not “conclusively assert” no deaths resulted.
Inspectors general are independent watchdogs within federal agencies.
Helm said he was shocked by the language inserted into the final report after the draft was reviewed by agency administrators. Testimony from agency officials Wednesday showed “an absence of contrition and an unseemly arrogance on the parts of many VA witnesses,” Helm said without naming names.
The Legion last month called for an independent authority outside of VA to examine whether negligence contributed to the deaths of veterans in Phoenix or elsewhere. The IG confirmed falsification of patient wait lists to hide delays in care is “systemic” nationwide.
“The American Legion has proven repeatedly that this scandal has tentacles that extend far beyond the Phoenix VA medical center,” Helm said in his letter to the president.
“Yet we are hearing little about the pervasiveness of corruption and incompetence that has now been brought to light. And we hear nothing about the consequences for those who are responsible for this situation,” he said.
The Legion’s call in May for the ouster of McDonald’s predecessor, former Secretary Eric Shinseki, was a turning point in the unfolding scandal.
Members of Congress, who had been supportive or silent about Shinseki, began calling for his resignation after the Legion sought his removal. Shinseki quit May 30.
Helm vowed that the Legion would not let the scandal die until the problems are fixed and people are held accountable.
“A perception exists that scandals in Washington are resolved by ignoring the problem and counting on the American people to forget,” Helm said.
“Mr. President, some Americans may forget what happened at VA, but I can assure you that The American Legion never will,” he said.
