by Sarah Schauerte
Just a few weeks after American tax dollars funded paid vacations for Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employees, the U.S. House of Representatives plans to pass legislation as early as today (October 28th) to chop bonuses for VA employees by at least 14 percent. The VA currently pays out about $400 million in bonuses to its workers each year, and the bill could cap total annual bonus payments at $345 million through fiscal year 2018.
Why? Congress is fed up.
A report on the bill, H.R. 1405, from the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee noted the growing frustration in Congress with the VA, in particular the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA), under which the backlog of veterans’ disability claims has grown.
“[C]oncerns have been raised regarding VA’s provision of merit-based bonuses to managers and supervisors who have led troubled offices, including Veterans Health Administration medical centers with demonstrated incidences of gross negligence in care, and VBA positions where a growing inventory of claims and poor workload management practices abound,” that report said. It added that the VA’s own inspector general has found that bonuses are being given to “employees with less than satisfactory performance and retention incentives being awarded to employees who had stated their intention to retire in the very near future.”
It’s not as though awarding and/or retaining government employees for behavior that would get them fired in a hot second from a private sector position is anything new. Just last week in Montana, county officials were given a written reprimand for enlisting the help of ghost busters and installing a camera to detect paranormal activity at their office location. (Read about that nonsense here). Can you imagine doing that when working for a private business? Don’t let the door hit you on the way out… (If it does, it’s only shutting – that isn’t Slimer on your tail).
But even with the security government jobs afford, people are fed up with the VA. They’re fed up with wait times, with errors, with excuses, and, high on the list, a lack of accountability. This bill doesn’t pack a hard punch – allowing $345 million instead of $400 million in bonuses is still roughly 86% of the bonus allowed – but still, it’s something.
The bill isn’t limited to a cut in VA bonuses. Among other provisions, H.R. 1405 requires the VA to include an appeals form (a Notice of Disagreement form) when it mails out a notice denying a veteran a specific benefit. It also gives reservists honorary “veteran” status if they serve for more than 20 years, allows veterans to access information about pending benefits claims, and allows the VA to appoint a fiduciary for veterans who are mentally incompetent to manage their finances. The text of the bill may be accessed here.
I admit it. When I heard about the cut in VA bonuses, I got excited. But now that I know it’s more of a thin slice, I’m left wanting more. I want something to happen that prompts VA employees to work to make sure veterans receive their due. Famous psychologist B.F. Skinner had it right – reward the good, punish the bad.
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