According to the Blaze, as part of a broader reform package, the chairmen of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees settled on a compromise of up to $3.6 billion over the next decade in bonuses for Department of Veterans Affairs officials.
Although the $360 million in annual bonuses constitutes a reduction from the "$400 million in bonuses the VA has distributed in recent fiscal years," it marks a reversal for the U.S. House of Representatives, which recently voted to strip the troubled VA of all bonuses through 2016.
The Blaze reports:
The House voted 421-0 in June to strip VA bonuses in retaliation for what they saw as an incompetent VA that was handing out millions to senior officials. The bonuses outraged members of both parties, since they were being given out even as officials conspired to make it look like veterans were not waiting very long for health appointments, and then covered up their efforts to manipulate this data. […]
The bill stripping VA bonuses was so popular, the House held the vote again because some members missed the vote — members approved it later the same day 426-0.
The compromise agreement also backtracked on the House’s approach to disciplinary measures. Instead of authorizing the VA secretary to fire or demote employees for poor performance, effective immediately, the agreement calls for an extensive appeals process.