The Department of Veterans Affairs admitted Wednesday that its definition of the word “accountability” doesn’t mean firing officials involved in the healthcare scandal, and instead said it sees the term as meaning that the VA will be “transparent about what our goals are.”
But that admission drew a sharp rebuke from House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who said the VA’s definition of the word “accountability” shows there’s still no accountability whatsoever at the VA.
“It seems the term ‘accountability’ has taken on a new meaning,” VA Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson said in prepared testimony before the committee. “Instead of the dictionary definition — ‘providing a record or explanation of one’s conduct’ — the term has become shorthand for firing people.”
“Secretary McDonald and I want to reclaim the term ‘accountability’ in its fuller meaning, in the sense of being transparent about what our goals are and how well we achieve them, what taxpayers can expect us to achieve with each dollar we receive, what veterans can expect us to do for them, by when, and to what level of quality and satisfaction,” he added.
And while Gibson did admit that “accountability” also means taking “appropriate actions” when things go wrong, he also said it means making sure VA workers are trained, and making sure the work environment is “free of fear.”
And, it means “rewarding people for exceptional performance.”
But the VA’s definition of “accountability” didn’t sit well with Miller, who tore up Gibson’s definition in an extended statement.
“Quite honestly, I think the tone of your statement proves why we are so disappointed with the lack of accountability at VA because it illustrates that the department and its senior leaders still refuse to take responsibility for the corrosive culture plaguing VA,” Miller said.
Miller also said he looked up the meaning of the word, and said the Merriam-Webster dictionary defines it as “an obligation or willingness to accept responsibility or to account for one’s actions.”
“Google uses the word ‘accountability’ in a sentence as follows, ‘their lack of accountability has corroded public respect,'” Miller added. “If you substituted the words ‘Department of Veterans Affairs’ for the word ‘their,’ it would be 100 percent appropriate.”
Miller said Gibson’s testimony also continued to blame Congress and the press for its misfortunes, which started with last year’s discovery that VA officials were systematically delaying healthcare services to thousands of veterans, many of whom likely died waiting for care.
“Obviously, to this day, there is no real acceptance of responsibility for VA’s continued and pervasive failure to seriously discipline its employees and it seems as if there is no serious effort to change that,” Miller said.
Miller also slammed the VA for firing just a small number of VA workers for the scandal, even as it publicly claims many more firings.
“It gets tiresome to constantly be told by you and other VA leaders that things are changing for the better and that you are, ‘committed to sustainable accountability’ as you stated in your testimony, but then to witness otherwise,” Miller said. “The department publicly continues to tout inflated numbers of those it has held accountable but then those numbers don’t square with the truth.”
More recently, the VA has been caught paying out hundreds of thousands of taxpayer dollars to its top officials in the form of relocation payments. The VA tried to punish two of these workers, but an internal VA paperwork error has spared them so far.
“Frankly, this ineptness clearly illustrates that VA can’t even slap a wrist without missing and underscores the department’s overall lack of focus on properly disciplining employees,” Miller said.
The Department of Veterans Affairs admitted Wednesday that its definition of the word “accountability” doesn’t mea… in Washington Examiner’s Hangs on LockerDome
