WASHINGTON – Today the U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment, co-sponsored by Congressman Tim Huelskamp (KS-01), to ban Senior Executive Bonuses at the Veterans’ Administration. In light of the systematic leadership failures within the VA leading to preventable veteran deaths, benefit backlogs, and construction delays, Congressman Huelskamp spoke on the House floor to voice his opposition to these “performance” bonuses and instead promote accountability within the VA.

“As a member of the House Veteran Affairs Committee, I have heard again and again and shocking stories of abuse, neglect, and mismanagement within the VA. The one thing I never hear about though is accountability. In fact, under the leadership of Secretary Shinseki, a Senior Executive Service employee who has presided over negligence or mismanagement at the VA Is more likely to receive a sizable bonus than to be disciplined or fired.

“This culture of anything-goes has got to stop. And the best way to stop this is to send a strong signal across the Department of Veteran Affairs that Congress means business. It is obvious from the headlines about the sizable bonuses received by VA administrators at facilities in Georgia, South Carolina, Pittsburgh, and Phoenix that the performance award system at the VA is a failure.

“I’ve asked the VA in countless congressional hearings for a specific list of disciplinary actions the department has imposed on employees and executives who have presided over the delays and preventable veteran deaths. Instead of giving answers, they have only pointed to retirements, employee transfers, or bureaucratic slaps on the wrist. And not a single undeserved performance bonus has been returned to the federal taxpayers. These smokescreen attempts to create the appearance of accountability are unacceptable and tragic.

“Unfortunately, the story last week regarding potentially 40 preventable veteran deaths due to delays in care at a Phoenix VA hospital is not an isolated event. Just three weeks ago the VA admitted to another 23 preventable veteran deaths occurring within VA health facilities. The senior VA bureaucrats responsible for the management of the facilities consistently saw sizable bonuses. These administrators have been given a sacred trust to care and serve our nations veterans, and quite frankly, they’ve broken that trust and it is time for accountability.”