{"id":2246173,"date":"2024-05-16T15:59:02","date_gmt":"2024-05-16T19:59:02","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/veterans-outraged-after-investigation-finds-va-gave-10-8-million-in-bonuses-to-senior-executives\/"},"modified":"2024-05-16T16:02:17","modified_gmt":"2024-05-16T20:02:17","slug":"veterans-outraged-after-investigation-finds-va-gave-10-8-million-in-bonuses-to-senior-executives","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/veterans-outraged-after-investigation-finds-va-gave-10-8-million-in-bonuses-to-senior-executives\/","title":{"rendered":"Veterans angered by discovery of $10.8 million in bonuses for VA senior executives"},"content":{"rendered":"<aside class=\"mashsb-container mashsb-main mashsb-stretched\"><div class=\"mashsb-box\"><div class=\"mashsb-count mash-medium\" style=\"&quot;\"><div class=\"counts mashsbcount\">26<\/div><span class=\"mashsb-sharetext\">SHARES<\/span><\/div><div class=\"mashsb-buttons\"><a class=\"mashicon-facebook mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/www.facebook.com\/sharer.php?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.conservativenewsdaily.net%2Fbreaking-news%2Fveterans-outraged-after-investigation-finds-va-gave-10-8-million-in-bonuses-to-senior-executives%2F\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Facebook<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-twitter mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"https:\/\/twitter.com\/intent\/tweet?text=&amp;url=https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/?p=2246173&amp;via=ConservNewsDly\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Twitter<\/span><\/a><a class=\"mashicon-subscribe mash-medium mash-nomargin mashsb-noshadow\" href=\"#\" target=\"_top\" rel=\"nofollow\"><span class=\"icon\"><\/span><span class=\"text\">Subscribe<\/span><\/a><div class=\"onoffswitch2 mash-medium mashsb-noshadow\" style=\"display:none\"><\/div><\/div>\n            <\/div>\n                <div style=\"clear:both\"><\/div><\/aside>\n            <!-- Share buttons by mashshare.net - Version: 4.0.47--><p>Veterans <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/abc-political-director-rick-klein-calls-for-cleansing-pro-trump-movement\/\" title=\"ABC Political Director Rick Klein calls for \u2018cleansing\u2019 pro-Trump movement\">expressed outrage<\/a> over the discovery \u200bthat the\u200d Department\u2062 of Veterans Affairs awarded $10.8 million in bonuses to <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-lincoln-project-execs-knew-of-weaver-allegations-in-march-before-big-donors-ponied-up\/\" title=\"Report: Lincoln Project Execs Knew of Weaver Allegations in March, Before Big Donors Ponied Up\">senior executives<\/a>, as revealed in \u2064a VA Office of Inspector General report.\u2062 Despite \u200dcanceling the payments later, some\u200b funds remain \u2064unrecovered.\u2063 Calls\u2063 for accountability and\u200d resignations of \u2064VA officials have been made, with concerns\u200d raised about misplaced priorities in veteran support.  <\/p>\n<p class=\"readmore\">\n    <button onclick=\"showReadMore()\" id=\"readmorebtn\">Read more&#8230;<\/button>\n<\/p>\n<hr id=\"line\">\n<span id=\"more\"><\/p>\n<div>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/veterans\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Veterans\">Veterans<\/a> expressed outrage after an investigation found the Department of <a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/tag\/veterans-affairs\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"Veterans\">Veterans Affairs<\/a> gave out $10.8 million in bonuses to senior executives.<\/p>\n<p>The 92-page <a href=\"https:\/\/www.vaoig.gov\/sites\/default\/files\/reports\/2024-05\/vaoig-23-03773-169.pdf\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"report\">report<\/a> from the VA Office of Inspector General found that though the payments were canceled after the alarm was raised, some haven\u2019t been recouped yet.<\/p>\n<p>Shelby Anderson, a disabled Marine veteran, expressed his frustration with the news.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cMany of us have been shot at in the line of fire and risked our lives for this country, so it\u2019s a slap in the face to see $11 million spent on bonuses while countless veterans wait for the support they desperately need,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s especially disheartening when the VA system appears very corrupt, prioritizing bonuses over the well-being of those who served. Witnessing firsthand how poorly the VA is run, it\u2019s clear that no one should be rewarded for their work or job well done with bonuses that amount to more than a yearly salary for most military members.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Concerned Veterans for America Executive Director Russ Duerstine is <a href=\"https:\/\/cv4a.org\/news-media\/cva-on-bonus-scandal\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"calling on\">calling on<\/a> Undersecretary of Health Shereef Elnahal and Undersecretary of Benefits Joshua Jacobs to resign in light of the news.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cIn light of the recent bonus scandal, the message to Secretary McDonough and VA leadership is clear: VA officials must be held fully accountable for their actions,\u201d he said.\u00a0\u201cWe\u2019re calling for both Undersecretary Elnahal and Jacobs to resign from their positions immediately.\u00a0 Leaders who do not honor the public trust need to be <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/fire-fauci-new-study-finds-closing-schools-in-response-to-covid-19-delayed-herd-immunity-and-will-increase-overall-deaths\/\" title=\"FIRE FAUCI: New Study Finds Closing Schools In Response to COVID-19 Delayed Herd Immunity and Will Increase Overall Deaths\">held accountable<\/a>. At a minimum, <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/ex-obama-white-house-doctor-to-biden-do-your-damn-job-address-nation-now-or-resign-immediately\/\" title=\"Ex-Obama White House Doctor To Biden: \u2018Do Your Damn Job,\u2019 Address Nation Now Or \u2018Resign Immediately\u2019\">veterans deserve<\/a> to feel confident that the VA system can allocate funds properly.\u201d <\/p>\n<p>Kate Monroe, CEO of VetComm, expressed similar outrage.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cThis money awarded by Congress was specifically to help ease the backlog and make it easier for the men and women who served our country and became injured or disabled to receive the compensation they deserve,\u201d she said in a statement. \u201cTo instead see that money go toward lining the pockets of execs and not help those who served should upset a lot of people.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Rep. Abigail Spanberger (D-VA) is leading a group of bipartisan lawmakers in <a href=\"https:\/\/spanberger.house.gov\/posts\/spanberger-demands-answers-accountability-from-va-over-nearly-11-million-misspent-on-executive-bonuses\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title=\"demanding\">demanding<\/a> accountability for the affair, specifically expressing outrage over the fact that many of the bonuses haven\u2019t yet been recouped despite being notified in September.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cWhile we appreciate that upon learning of these payments in September you demanded the executives reimburse the VA, eight months have passed, and the money is still being recouped,\u201d a letter to VA Secretary Dennis McDonough read.\u00a0\u201cThe VA has an obligation to the veterans and families they serve to claw back the millions of dollars that were improperly distributed, reallocate the funds to their original purpose, and discipline the senior executives who do not comply.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The money for the bonuses was taken from <a href=\"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/report-va-erroneously-paid-out-big-bonuses-to-federal-employees\/\" title=\"Article: VA Mistakenly Distributed Large Bonuses to Government Workers\">critical skill incentive<\/a>, or CSI, payments, which were created through the PACT Act, which itself was primarily meant to help veterans who had been exposed to toxic substances during their service. CSI payments are supposed to be used as an incentive for employees who \u201cpossess a high-demand skill or skill that is at a shortage\u201d in order to help the VA meet its staffing requirements.<\/p>\n<p>The erroneous bonus payments were doled out to 182 senior executives, with the amounts for each ranging from $39,000 to over $100,000. The Office of Inspector General reviewed the matter and found that the issuance of the bonuses \u201clacked adequate justification\u201d and was due to \u201cbreakdowns in leadership and controls at multiple levels of VA.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Many of those who received the payments, only to be notified that they must be returned, also expressed outrage.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"https:\/\/www.washingtonexaminer.com\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\" title><strong>CLICK HERE TO READ MORE FROM THE WASHINGTON EXAMINER<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n<p>\u201cFolks don\u2019t have this money that was given to them. \u2026 Folks paid college tuition for their children. People paid off debt. People did all types of things to better their lives, and now VA says we made an error [and we] want that money back,\u201d one executive said. \u201cI think leadership really needs to see the human factor of what they\u2019re doing because the accountability is gone, and the trust is absolutely shot.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>The report from the Office of Inspector General said two executives decided to retire over the recoupment of the payments.<\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<p><\/span><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Veterans are furious over revelations that the Department of Veterans Affairs distributed $10.8 million in bonuses to senior executives. The VA Office of Inspector General&#8217;s 92-page report highlighted that although the payments were halted once the issue was raised, some remain unrecovered. Disabled Marine veteran Shelby Anderson voiced her disappointment<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2653,"featured_media":2246174,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_mo_disable_npp":"","fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/iStock-1166132888-1024x683.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[538],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2246173","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-washington-examiner"],"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/wex-s3.s3.us-east-1.amazonaws.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/03\/iStock-1166132888-1024x683.jpg","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246173","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2653"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2246173"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2246173\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2246174"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2246173"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2246173"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.conservativenewsdaily.net\/breaking-news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2246173"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}