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IT'S TIME TO STOP BELIEVING THE HYPE ABOUT VA

EXECUTIVE BONUSES -- The fabricated anger surrounding

bonuses for VA execs is nonsense. The problem is not VA

employees who are trying to make the system work.

The problem is Congress who continues to

underfund the VA healthcare system.

 

 

Story below:

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by Larry Scott

(NOTE:  A few days ago I wrote about this issue.  That story here...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf050407-3.htm
Today, I would like to expand on those thoughts.)

 

It's easy to get angry...and, with veterans waiting in line for healthcare services, with the VA chronically underfunded, we veterans do get angry.

But, our anger, of late, is being vented in the wrong direction.

We are being fed nonsense and being told to be angry about a system to give bonuses to VA employees.  Story here...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf050407-1.htm

For 29 years the federal government has had a bonus system to reward employees.  So, after 29 years, why all the anger now?  Why all the hype?

There are three "pushers" trying to inspire anger in the veteran community:

1.  A number of veterans' activists who can get their names in the headlines and their faces on TV by criticizing the VA for anything.

2.  The press, who is looking for the next big "Walter Reed-type" story and will try to fabricate a scintillating headline out of thin air.

3.  A very few Members of Congress who, sensing a chance to get some headlines, are taking advantage of the situation.  One of these is Rep. John Hall (D-NY) who has introduced legislation to withhold VA bonuses for 2007 unless the VA claims backlog is reduced.  Story here...
http://vawatchdog.org/07/nf07/nfMAY07/nf050507-4.htm

So, we are looking at, in 1-2-3 order:  personal gain, the big headline and political gain as the motives for trying to make a "scandal" where none exists.

The veterans' activists have done excellent work in bringing to light many problems in the VA healthcare system.  In this case, they should set aside personal goals and focus on the real problem...VA underfunding. 

The press should be more balanced in their reporting of a bonus system that helps recruit and keep quality personnel in government work. 

And, Congress should stop trying to grab a quick headline and get down to the business of properly funding the VA.  To stop VA bonuses would send a chilling message to all government workers that their bonuses can be held hostage on a whim and it would solve nothing.

The money spent on bonuses for top-level VA employees ($3.8 million) is less than 5/1,000% of the VA budget.  And, the money does not come out of VA healthcare.  There is NO cause-effect relationship.  Bonuses do NOT equal VA healthcare problems, as some would have you believe.

It's time to stop the hype and get realistic about this issue.

Should we, as veterans, be angry?  Of course!  But not at those who get a bonus.

Our anger should be taken out on a Congress that has underfunded the VA healthcare system for years.  The Democrats, now in control of both Houses, have promised to solve this problem time and again.  Where are they now?  Where is the mandatory funding for VA healthcare that has been promised for so many years? 

Get angry?  Yes!  At Congress!

VA employees do the best they can with what they have.  But, Congress isn't giving them the funding they need.  Underfunding leads to understaffing which leads to veteran healthcare being delayed and denied.

Get angry?  You bet!  At a Congress who has the ability to solve the VA's problems but would rather create distractions that divert our anger where it doesn't belong.

FINAL THOUGHT:  Many are now calling for the resignation of VA Secretary Jim Nicholson.  Nicholson should resign, but not because of anything to do with bonuses.  Nicholson should resign because he is incompetent.  But, that won't happen.  Nicholson will go when he wants to...and, that may be soon because political insiders in Colorado say he is eyeing a run for U.S. Senator.  So, let's not waste our time on calling for his resignation...that's just another distraction.  Let's get on the ball and push Congress into movement on the mandatory VA funding issue.

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Larry Scott  --