My must read of the day, "The VA Moves to Ax 4 Senior Execs in Scandal Response," in the Associated Press:
The Veterans Affairs Department said it is firing four senior executives as officials move to crack down on wrongdoing following a nationwide scandal over long wait times for veterans seeking medical care, and falsified records covering up the delays.
The dismissals are the first since Congress passed a law this summer making it easier for veterans who experience delays to get care outside VA's nationwide network of hospitals and clinics. The law also made it easier for the agency to fire senior officials suspected of wrongdoing, shortening their appeals process to 28 days.
Among those being fired were a top purchasing official at the Veterans Health Administration, directors of VA hospitals in Pittsburgh and Dublin, Georgia, and a regional hospital director in central Alabama, the VA said. […]
But a Republican congressman challenged the VA, saying that at least one of the employees being fired has already announced his retirement. John Goldman, director of the Carl Vinson VA Medical Center in Dublin, Georgia, said last month he was stepping down. Employees at the hospital have admitted to keeping false records to hide long wait times for veterans.
These firings are a good move by the VA, and most everyone who has investigated the agency or reported on the scandal would likely agree—but it’s also not an inspiring response.
The scandal broke in April. The House and Senate came to an agreement and passed a reform bill in late July. The president signed it into law on Aug. 7. The VA has had more authority to fire executives for almost exactly two months and they only fire four?
I spoke to Republicans on the House VA Committee this morning, and they argue that these aren’t even real firings—that they are proposed firings. Meaning none of those executives are officially out.
I covered many of the hearings held by the House Veteran Affairs Committee and there appeared to be more than enough evidence to swiftly fire executives from more facilities, and the VA has known and been investigating this for months now.
If these four people are fired it is certainly an improvement, albeit from a bar that was set incredibly low, but with over 350 senior executives it still doesn’t seem to be nearly enough.
Changes within the VA will be slow because they have to correct systemic problems, but letting go four executives—one who possibly already retired—is a rather weak start. Optics matter greatly in national scandals like this and whether it’s the VA’s misleading IG report of the Phoenix facility or these minor firings, the agency does not seem particularly serious about correcting problems.