Wasted VA money

By Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald Journal

Posted: September 2, 2009 at 5:46 a.m.

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SPARTANBURG, S.C. — Congress should exercise its oversight authority and investigate the finances of the Department of Veterans Affairs.

The VA's inspector general issued a report last week on $24 million in bonuses given out by the agency to its employees. The report found that many of the thousands of employees who received bonuses over the two-year span studied may not have deserved them.

It also found nepotism and agency money that apparently funded an improper affair between two agency employees.

The report indicated that one VA official acted "as if she was given a blank checkbook" as she gave bonuses and awards to friends and family. ...

Congress has the authority and an obligation to oversee the operations of the agency. It also has a duty to make sure the nation's veterans get the best care and service the federal government can deliver.

Those obligations require Congress to take a look at VA operations and determine how wide this corruption is and at what level within the agency heads must roll.

If the matter is handled internally, the VA will remove and punish those who have been caught, but will it thoroughly examine the rest of the agency to determine whether the corruption has spread? Probably not.

To keep faith with the nation's veterans and its taxpayers, Congress needs to investigate the agency itself.

- Spartanburg (S.C.) Herald Journal

Opinion, Pages 4 on 09/02/2009

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