Florida Sens. Rick Scott and Marco Rubio are demanding that the VA explain how select senior leaders were paid almost $11 million in unjustified bonuses and want those responsible for the payments to be fired.
The Republican senators, in a letter last week to Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough, said they were “deeply concerned about mismanagement and accountability failures” within the veterans’ agency after a damning inspector general’s report that highlighted “egregious mishandling” of what the VA calls Critical Skill Incentives or CSIs.
Scott and Rubio backed GOP Sen. Marsha Blackburn of Tennessee, who is spearheading the effort to hold the VA accountable.
That IG report, issued on May 9, noted that in September 2023 the VA announced it had “erroneously” awarded $10.8 million in CSI bonuses to senior executives at its central office. The VA reportedly cancelled the payments, notified Congress, and requested an Office of Inspector General review.
According to the report, CSIs are a new “recruitment and retention tool” authorized by the PACT Act, a federal law designed to expand access to VA health care and benefits for veterans exposed to toxic substances.
CSIs are meant to incentivize staffers who possess “a high-demand skill or skill that is at a shortage” to help the VA meet a anticipated staffing requirements.
As it turned out, the VA doled bonuses, ranging from about $39,000 to more than $100,000 each, to 182 senior executives in the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) and the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) under the agency’s central office.
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The IG found that paying the bonuses “to nearly all VHA and VBA central office executives lacked adequate justification and was inconsistent with the PACT Act and VA policy. This was due, in part, to breakdowns in leadership and controls at multiple levels of VA.”
In their letter to McDonough, Scott, Rubio, and 10 other GOP senators ripped the agency for its “lack of accountability.”
They said they “demand immediate and decisive action to restore integrity and trust within the VA.”
“This blatant misuse of taxpayer funds is not just a breach of public trust but also a disservice to the courageous men and women who have selflessly served our nation,” the lawmakers wrote.
“Furthermore, the OIG report outlines systemic failures in internal controls and transparency within the VA. It underscores the need for urgent reforms to strengthen governance processes and ensure accountability for decision-making regarding financial management practices.”
Scott, Rubio and the others also demanded that McDonough fire his top deputy as well as the leaders of the health and benefits sections and anyone else involved in this decision.
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They also demanded that McDonough “take swift action to recoup CSIs improperly awarded to executives who do not meet the criteria for high-demand skills.” “Executives who have failed to repay these unjustified bonuses must be held accountable through appropriate disciplinary measures,” they added.
“It is imperative that the VA demonstrate its commitment to upholding the highest standards of integrity and accountability in serving the needs of our nation’s veterans,” the GOP senators wrote. “Failure to take decisive action in response to these revelations will undermine public confidence in the VA and the trust of those who have sacrificed so much for our country.”
“Congress passed the PACT Act to expand access to VA health care and benefits for millions of veterans exposed to toxic substances, not pad the pockets of career bureaucrats, particularly during a time when a majority of them were working remotely,” the letter continued.
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“Congress worked in good faith with the Department to provide for the necessary resources to recruit and retain employees with high-demand skills or skills that are in short supply. The brazen entitlement by senior executives appointed by this Administration shows a clear lack of judgment and selfishness and these individuals must be held accountable.”
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