Freezing bonuses for VA officials
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- May
- 4
Congressman John Hall, D-Dover Plains, wants to freeze all 2007 bonuses for senior level Veterans Affairs Department officials until the VA reduces its benefit case backlog to fewer than 100,000 claims.
Under Hall’s proposal, 2007 bonuses could not be released until the VA pares down its backlog to under 100,000 cases  a feat the VA has said could take many months, if not years. Currently, the backlog of claims ranges from between 400,000 to more than 600,000, with delays averaging 177 days.
“It is shocking and scandalous even by the VA’s own low standards that top officials at the VA would be getting the most lucrative performance bonuses in government when there is a backlog of over 600,000 benefits cases,” said Hall, chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs. “Why are these top political appointees being rewarded with budget busting bonuses when veterans are waiting longer and longer for benefits they desperately need?”
Hall’s proposed legislation follows revelations by the Associated Press yesterday that senior officials received more than $3.8 million in 2006 as bonuses while the underfunded Veterans Affairs Department faced a shortfall of $1 billion that jeopardized veterans’ health care.
One of the officials to receive a top bonus of $33,000 was the deputy undersecretary for benefits, who helps manage a disability claim system with a backlog of more than 600,000 cases and average delays of 177 days.
The Associated Press also reported that the annual bonuses to senior VA officials, which averaged more than $16,000 for 2006, are the highest in government.
The VA’s fiscal year 2007 bonuses are currently set to be paid in September of this year.
Legislation Hall plans to introduce would prevent the payment of these bonuses until the VA reduces the claims backlog to fewer than 100,000 cases.
This entry was posted
on Friday, May 4th, 2007 at 12:28 pm by Susan Elan.
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i for one am very disturbed that va officals are given more than their regular pay check. there should not be a monitary bonuse. just being able to keep their job for another week should be enough reward.