Veterans Affairs Department officials ignore charges of retaliation against employees who blow the whistle on their bosses, VA managers alleged at a congressional hearing Thursday.
Six current and former VA managers and employees testified before the House Veterans Affairs Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations that they faced reprisals for exposing management problems at veterans hospitals.
"The VA has a history of turning a blind eye toward mismanagement and misconduct by its senior officials while punishing anyone who dares to speak up," said Rep. Terry Everett, R-Ala., chairman of the panel. "There is without question a good ol' boy network at VA."
In the most damning allegations presented at the hearing, three doctors at the VA hospital in Columbia, Mo., said hospital officials have tried to ruin their careers for their roles in bringing attention to the mysterious deaths of 40 veterans at the hospital in 1992. The doctors charged that a nurse at the hospital was responsible for the deaths, and that VA administrators failed to properly investigate the nurse's conduct and tried to cover up the incident.
A subsequent FBI investigation into the deaths failed to find evidence of crime, but last summer the U.S. District Court for Western Missouri awarded the widow of one of the veterans who died in the hospital $450,000 in a civil suit she brought against the government. The government is appealing that decision.
The doctors said they have been routinely harassed by VA officials as a result of having made the allegations. For example, the doctors said their performance evaluations always rated them as outstanding before the incident. Since then, they have received low marks. The doctors also said officials launched arbitrary investigations into their professional conduct. One doctor was investigated for taking a dosage of a euthanasia drug from a veterinary lab to put a neighbor's dog to sleep.
Everett called the VA's investigation into the dog incident "stupid and ridiculous."
Everett also blasted the VA for reprisals against two VA managers from his home state. The two managers alleged that their bosses retaliated against them for opposing a reorganization of VA operations in Alabama. In addition, a VA nurse from Philadelphia charged she was fired for trying to expose wrongdoing at the Philadelphia VA Medical Center.
VA Inspector General Richard J. Griffin said his office urges VA to take action against managers who make statements that threaten whistleblowers.
"Notwithstanding whether management intended to or not, such statements intimidate employees and discourage them from being forthcoming and cooperative in our oversight efforts," Griffin said. "These statements range from memorandums or policies requiring employees to contact management before and after the IG interviews them to statements indicating that the IG will not always be around to protect them after the investigation is concluded."
Two VA headquarters officials promised Everett that the department will improve its handling of complaints of whistleblower reprisals. Eugene A. Brickhouse, assistant secretary for human resources and administration, and Leigh Bradley, VA's general counsel, said they are heading an effort to better inform employees and managers of their rights and responsibilities under whistleblower protection laws.
"VA is serious about improving all aspects of whistleblower protection," Bradley told Everett.
Everett said VA has been saying the same thing for years about handling sexual harassment and discrimination complaints, but that little has changed.
"There's simply no follow-through," Everett said.