The first step to fixing the VA is fixing the accountability problem

Over the weekend, something remarkable happened at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Something that never would have happened under the last administration. Something that may just change the playing field in the fight for VA reform. 

The VA admitted it has a problem.

{mosads}After Secretary David Shulkin realized that he couldn’t immediately remove an employee who had been caught watching pornography during work hours with a VA patient, he issued a statement late Friday afternoon demanding that Congress pass legislation that would remove the red tape and bureaucratic barriers that prevent VA leaders from quickly firing bad VA employees. He then went on a Sunday news show to re-emphasize his support for VA accountability.

Shulkin’s calls for accountability are a refreshing change from previous VA leaders, who historically have spent most of their time denying that problems within the department existed. Let’s not forget how Secretary Bob McDonald repeatedly lied about how many VA employees he fired in the aftermath of the wait list manipulation scandal.

He’s new to the job of VA Secretary, but it didn’t take very long for Secretary Shulkin to publicly and vocally state the need for changes in the way the VA hires and fires employees. And his demands for change couldn’t have come soon enough. Since the Phoenix VA wait list scandal broke nearly three years ago, there remains in many parts of the VA a toxic culture that is driven by a lack of accountability.

Recent Office of Inspector General (OIG) reports show that wait list manipulation is still widespread in places like North Carolina and Virginia.

This happens when VA employees classify scheduled appointments as “desired appointment times,” even if the appointment is weeks or even months after when the veteran at hand requested it. It isn’t just a small administrative matter — many veterans die waiting for care at the VA because of manipulated wait lists.

But employee misconduct extends far beyond wait list manipulation. Just last week, reports emerged that a VA facility in Alaska held a job open for an accountant while he served a prison term for killing a man. The same VA facility also hired a convicted child molester, keeping him on the payroll while he repeatedly reoffended. 

Countless egregious H.R. transgressions, little change, one cause: the inability to quickly fire bad VA employees due to bureaucratic obstacles and cumbersome red tape put in place by past administrations and defended by Washington special interests like the American Federation for Government Employees.

Secretary Shulkin said it best himself, “without legislative changes, VA will continue to be forced to delay immediate actions to remove employees from federal service.” Luckily, legislation is currently on the table in the Senate that would make it easier to fire bad VA employees. All they have to do is send it to the President’s desk. 

The VA Accountability First Act would make it easier to fire bad VA employees by drastically shortening the overall termination and appeals process for VA employees who are found to have engaged in misconduct. As Secretary Shulkin recently experienced when he tried to fire the porn-watching employee, that process can take months or even years.

The bill also would empower VA Secretary Shulkin to retroactively recoup bonuses awarded to employees who don’t follow the rules or who even commit crimes. Additionally, the legislation would give the VA Secretary the ability to reduce the pensions of VA employees convicted of felonies that are related to their jobs at the VA.  

There is a broad, bipartisan coalition that supports the VA Accountability First Act which includes the VA Secretary, major veterans’ groups like Concerned Veterans for America and the American Legion, and members of both parties in the House of Representatives. But more importantly, these reforms are strongly supported by veterans across the country who need and deserve better care than what they’re currently getting from the VA.

We’re grateful that Secretary Shulkin is joining us in our fight. But for these reforms to become a reality, the Senate must act now to send this bill to the President’s desk and give the VA Secretary the tools he needs to fix the VA.

Dan Caldwell is the policy director for Concerned Veterans for America. Find him on Twitter at @dandcaldwell 

The views of contributors are their own and are not the views of The Hill.