Watchdog blasts VA for errors leading to $11M in improper bonuses – By Leo Shane III (The Federal Times) / May 9, 2024
A key Republican lawmaker accused Veterans Affairs leaders of knowingly misusing nearly $11 million in incentive pay awards to benefit senior department officials instead of retaining in-demand staff following the release of a critical report by a federal watchdog on Thursday.
The controversy stems from erroneous bonuses doled out to senior executives last summer and fall as part of the $117 million Critical Skill Incentive Payments program authorized by Congress. Money from that fund has been given to more than 13,000 staffers with high-demand skills in an effort to keep them in VA hospitals and benefits offices.
Last September, VA leaders acknowledged that about $11 million was given to 182 senior VA leaders who should not have qualified for the bonuses. In a statement, a department spokesman said investigators found no legal wrongdoing in the matter and attributed the improper payments to administrative mistakes.
However, a VA inspector general report into the errors released Thursday blamed the errors on “breakdowns in leadership and controls at multiple levels of VA,” including insufficient communication about bonus plans from Veterans Health Administration leaders and poor oversight by the department’s legal team.
