The upcoming House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs hearing on Tuesday, June 4th, is set to expose the deep-rooted dysfunction within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), with a particular focus on the bonus scandal involving over $10.8 million in improperly awarded incentive payments to senior executives agency wide. The hearing will also delve into the broader issues of overall dysfunction at the VA, as well as the lack of oversight and accountability within the VA’s top leadership.
House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Meeting
Tuesday, June 4, 2024 @ 10:15 AM EST
More info: https://veterans.house.gov/calendar/eventsingle.aspx?EventID=6461
This lack of oversight and accountability at the VA is reflected in the recently released all-employee survey (AES) scores, which reveal that the Board of Veterans’ Appeals (the Board) is an embarrassment to the Department, Secretary McDonough, and President Biden. The Board is now ranked 444th out of 459 agency subcomponents, dropping over 10 points from the previous year and landing in the same quartile as the Federal Bureau of Prisons. Chairman Jaime Areizaga-Soto and Vice-Chairman Kenneth Arnold are directly responsible for these abysmal AES scores. Both executives should be removed for unacceptable performance. Instead, senior executives at the Board are receiving large bonuses while Secretary McDonough continues to ignore multiple requests by AFGE to hold these “leaders” accountable.
Last year, Vice Chairman Arnold received a massive $25,000 bonus, effectively elevating his compensation beyond the salary of the Vice President of the United States. Senior Deputy Vice Chairman Christopher Santoro also received a hefty $20,000 bonus, all while presiding over an organization experiencing a precipitous decline in performance and morale. A November 2023 Government Accountability Office (GAO) report highlighted significant leadership gaps within the Board, and two recent hearings before the House Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs further exposed the organization’s dysfunction.
During one of these hearings, Congressman Scott Franklin (FL-18) issued a stern warning to Vice Chairman Arnold, stating, “Honestly, if we are here two and a half years from now, it either should be radically different, or you shouldn’t be the one sitting there testifying, because to me, it’s unacceptable that this [referencing the systematic hiring of Veterans Law Judges with no experience in Veterans Law and the Board’s grossly inadequate training and quality assurance processes] hasn’t changed.” Notably, this hearing occurred before the AES scores were released. But the question remains: Where is the oversight from Secretary McDonough?
The embarrassing AES scores – which rate senior officials significantly lower than first-line supervisors – stem from incredibly poor decisions by the Board’s leadership team. These decisions have lowered the Board’s overall quality while demoralizing the workforce. For instance, until recently, the Board required Veterans Law Judges (VLJs) to have a minimum of seven years of relevant experience in Veterans Law. This experience was deemed necessary due to the complexity of Veterans law and procedural requirements. However, the Board has recently hired over 40 VLJs without any prior experience in this field. This decision has sparked outrage among attorneys who have observed a decline in the quality of Board decisions. This move has limited the promotional opportunities for Board attorneys who possess superior qualifications and deprived attorneys of the opportunity of being trained and mentored by their VLJ supervisors. The VLJ position description and performance standards contemplate expertise in Veterans law and an ability to conduct training in the field of Veterans law.
If that were not enough, Board leadership recently downgraded the Attorney-Advisor position from GS-14 to GS-13. While this only impacts new hires, it sent a powerful message to the attorney workforce that they are not valued. Moreover, an arbitrator recently found that the Board violated federal law by improperly denying grade promotions for numerous attorneys, which the arbitrator held was an unfair labor practice. It is clear from these decisions that senior leaders are withholding compensation from Board employees while advocating for and receiving large bonuses for themselves. Adding to employees’ frustration is Chairman Areizaga-Soto’s professed motto of “mission first, people always.” These words are as empty as the Chairman’s commitment to the Board.
Meaningful oversight and intervention are needed to restore the Board’s integrity. Secretary McDonough’s repeated claims of being unaware of critical issues, such as the improper awarding of hefty bonuses and the sexual harassment scandal at ORMDI, mirror past failures of VA leadership. In 2014, Secretary Eric Shinseki was forced to resign over his lack of awareness concerning manipulated wait times at VA hospitals, a scandal eerily similar to the current issues. McDonough’s reliance on information from senior executives while ignoring employees’ concerns, which has proven unreliable in the past, further erodes confidence in his leadership.
But Secretary McDonough cannot feign ignorance about the problems at the Board of Veterans’ Appeals because:
- AFGE has kept the Secretary abreast of the many problems due to poor leadership.
- The abysmal AES results of 444/459 speak for themselves.
- VA’s Office of Labor-Management Relations is aware of the unfair labor practices found by two different arbitrators.
- The hearing before the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs on November 29, 2023, exposed problems with the Board’s training and quality assurance program.
Secretary McDonough either knows or should know that Board leadership is an embarrassment to the Department and requires immediate intervention.
