House to vote on VA bonus freeze
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- May
- 15
The House of Representatives will debate a bill today that would freeze lucrative bonuses for top Veterans Affairs Department officials until they clear up the massive backlog of benefit cases.
Congressman John Hall, D-Dover Plains, proposed H.R. 2292, the Pay Veterans First Act, which would freeze fiscal year 2007 bonuses set to be paid to senior level VA brass.
The Associated Press recently reported that senior VA officials received more than $3.8 million as performance bonuses in 2006 although the department faced a shortfall of $1 billion that jeopardized veterans’ health care.
One official to receive a $33,000 bonus 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. Annual bonuses to senior VA officials averaged more than $16,000 for 2006 and are the highest awarded in government.
Under Hall’s bill officials would have to reduce the claim backlog to fewer than 100,000 before getting their bonuses.
The VA’s fiscal year 2007 bonuses are to be determined in September and paid soon after.
Hall serves as chairman of the House Veterans’ Affairs Subcommittee on Disability Assistance and Memorial Affairs.
This entry was posted
on Tuesday, May 15th, 2007 at 12:52 pm by Susan Elan.
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I have been on appeal for over 2 years and I have proof in writhing from my doctor plainly stating that I am disabled. I sent an apeal in that stated about 6 things that I was filing for and when I called they had made it like that I had only filed for 3. maybe they should all be fired and replaced with someone that cares more about the American Soldier!!!