Veterans Affairs Secretary Robert McDonald on Thursday disputed claims by members of Congress that his scandal-plagued agency hasn’t dismissed enough employees, saying, “You can’t fire your way to excellence.”
McDonald told the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee that he and other top leaders are turning the VA around, “providing more and better care than ever before” and holding employees accountable, including firing about 2,600 workers since he took office 18 months ago.
The VA has struggled to respond in the nearly two years since a scandal emerged in Phoenix over chronic delays for veterans seeking medical care, and falsified records covering up the long waits. Similar problems were soon discovered at VA medical centers nationwide, affecting thousands of veterans and prompting an outcry in Congress.
Despite the scandal, his “vision for VA (is) to become the No. 1 customer-service agency in the government,” McDonald said.
The agency has “a lot of work to do to reach that goal, but we are making progress,” he said, noting that VA increased the number of health care appointments by more 1.2 million last year, completing 96 percent of those within 30 days of clinically indicated dates or those preferred by veterans.
McDonald’s comments came as he outlined a 12-point plan he said would achieve “breakthrough outcomes” by the end of President Barack Obama’s term. The plan includes improving veterans’ access to health care, making it easier for veterans to navigate the complicated VA website, reducing chronic backlogs in disability claims and continuing to reduce veteran homelessness.
McDonald praised passage of a 2014 law intended to make it easier for veterans to receive private care, noting that VA authorized 12 million private appointments last year alone. The move to private care was intended to alleviate chronic delays many veterans face in getting treatment at the VA’s nearly 1,000 hospitals and outpatient clinics, or to make it easier for veterans who live far away from a VA health site.
Bolstered by the new law, the VA hired more than 41,000 people last year, bringing the total number of employees to more than 340,000, McDonald said. The new hires included 14,000 health care workers, 1,300 of them doctors and 3,600 of them nurses.
Still, McDonald said the agency is plagued by “critical shortages” in health care, including 34 vacant positions directing VA medical centers nationwide.
“Negative news articles” published since the wait-time scandal broke out in Phoenix have hampered recruitment efforts and made it difficult for the VA to hire and retain qualified workers, McDonald said. Employment applications are down by about 75 percent compared to two years ago, he said.
Many Republican lawmakers have urged the VA to fire more workers to demonstrate what they say is sorely needed accountability at an agency hamstrung by career employees who face few consequences for wrongdoing. Lawmakers were flabbergasted last year after two high-ranking VA officials were demoted rather than fired amid allegations that they forced lower-ranking regional managers to accept job transfers against their will and then stepped into the vacant positions themselves.
Disappointment turned to anger after it was revealed that even the demotions were rescinded following a paperwork mix-up. “Frankly, this ineptness clearly illustrates that VA can’t even slap a wrist without missing the wrist,” said Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
Earlier this month, the VA said that the two senior executives, Diana Rubens and Kimberly Graves, were demoted to general workers within the Veterans Benefits Administration.
Rubens, a former top official at the VA’s Washington headquarters, now serves as assistant director of the VBA’s Houston regional office. Graves, a former director of VBA’s 14-state North Atlantic Region, serves as assistant director in Phoenix. Both received unspecified pay cuts.
Senators appeared generally sympathetic to McDonald’s message, in contrast to often contentious hearings in the House.
Sen. Joe Manchin, D-W.Va., said McDonald has a tough job. Reforming the VA “is like turning the Titanic,” he said.
The Associated Press contributed to this article.Â
You were put in that position to fix the problem Ronald McDonald . If you can’t stand the heat,get out of the kitchen.
If he has to FIRE people, they needed to be fired because they failed to do their job that we PaY them for! Zero sympathy! He knows he has a mess, it’s PAST time to clean it up and get things running like a health system is supposed to run. This is why big government doesn’t work. It gets complacent and lazy. Rand Paul, Trump and Cruz are right REDUCE the size of the federal government!
McDonald should be tried for murder, grand theft, embezzlement, and fraud.
YESSS, you have to FIRE ppl who are Incompetent, I know you ppl in GOVT think that it doesn’t matter if you are Incompetent or not, you just let them continue drawing their pay!!!!!!! YES you need to FIRE PPL, you didn’t even FIRE the ones responsible for the WORST crimes, you just let them keep working in a different postion!! They need to be FIRED!!!!!!!
They finally fired our chief of staff who was drugging vets to the point they could not function. He had his patients and threatened staff if they did not give his patients the drugs they wanted even if they were severely impaired. So when our Senators held a town hall interviewing staff who quit due to his over prescribing of numerous narcotics to veterans, I sent an email to Ron Johnson to make sure they fire him and not just pass him to another VA to destroy that one too. Our VA will take years to recover from 10 years of this man. Our director was complacent and was also fired. Others were sent to other VA’s or resigned. Our veterans deserve better than this. They don’t deserve to be turned into drug addicts.
YESS!!
IT IS EASY TO FIX THE PROBLEM, ELINIMATE THE INTRIRE DEPARTMENT. ALL VETERANS HAVE ID CARDS, SO, ALLOW THEM TO GO TO ANY DOCTOR, HOSPITAL OR PHARMACY OF THEIR CHOICE. THIS WOULD SAVE THE TAX PAYER BILLIONS OF DOLLARS AND GIVE A LOT BETTER SERVICE. INSTEAD OF HAVING TO TRAVEL 200 MILES TO A HOSPITAL THEY CAN GO TO ONE WITHIN A FEW MILES OR BLOCKS OF THEIR HOME. WHY BUILD CLINCS EVERYWHERE, WHEN YOU HAVE TO TRAVEL TO A HOSPITAL.
Their is no way the VA can get results by cutting 2,600 people who were not doing their jobs.They must hire competent people to replace those who were fired. The Government does not care about our Veterans. If we treated our Veterans as good as we treat the Illegals and Refugees. Our Veterans would get proper care. The Illegals and Refugees are votes for the Demonicrats.
My step-dad is a Vietnam vet and I deal with the VA Dr’s all the time. All they want to do is fill him full of chemicals instead of finding out why his blood pressure is high among other things. Just a runaround like everything else in Obama’s control.
The VA system has been like this for a lot longer than Obama has been president. Trashing Obama for everything under the sun is flip and easy for persons who don’t like to think, and shows a lack of understanding of complex long-standing problems.
Obozo hired Ronald McDonald to fix it and Ronald has failed so has King Fuzzy Britches.Apparently you think your master has Never done anything wrong. The Va is a test case for how this country’s medical system will be ran with single payer healthcare. What do the DemonRat socialist want? Single Payer Healthcare.
I am a veteran and deal with Orlando (Lake Nona) (Lake Baldwin) and Daytona Clinic. VA doesn’t need to fire more people in this area, they need to hire more. They are staffing the new Lake Nona Hospital in Orlando. They are pulling people from the two other locations leaving them overwhelmed and under staffed. They combination of all three just saved my life in one weeks time. They moved quickly and saved my life. The Senators need to stay out of VA and look to IRS to cut to the bone or even salaries of Senators or their retirement program as well as their health care before looking at the VA. Thanks Cricket
Mr. R. McDonald has no idea of management. Yes you can “fire your way to excellence” It is standard experiential management practice. It is not taught at Bus. Schools as they are run by Educators. (You know if you can’t ‘do’, ‘teach’) and is considered Politically Incorrect.
First get people who are committed to what the Organization stands for. In this instance it’s all about veterans. So obviously, EMPLOY VETERANS.
With all the wars the US has been involved in, there should be a surfeit of hapless Vets of all ages and experience who would bring an extra understanding and compassion as well as camaraderie to the work place. Anyone who has not served, transfer into other Govt. departments (who don’t mind “drones of the insect kind”) or FIRE.
There are currently, roughly more than 100 million on food stamps it is inconceivable that VA cannot find appropriate replacements who already served their country and are willing to work serving their comrades for a fair wage.
Here is a bit more focused advise, try to get people who went ‘under fire’ when they served. They’re usually more focused on getting results instead of a$$ covering than some paper pusher during his service.
It’s called Management Common Sense, no organization is better than it’s worst worker. No worst worker exists than an unmotivated worker. No worker is more unmotivated than one who cannot see the point of his work! Obviously VA, is full of those, who don’t derive pleasure from a “job well done” of and by itself.
Good luck – advertise for Vets, you’ll be pleasantly surprised. They’re “can do” people.
They need to fire him. Clearly he is the problem. No more messing around about this issue. Our Vets deserve way better. Fire everyone who will not do their jobs and hire people who will. I can’t believe there is so much need for talk about the issue.
McDonald has not been in charge long enough to have fixed a problem that has been around for years. And, no, he cannot fire everyone until he gets people to replace them, & that has been a problem with the VA almost all over. The real sad part is the fact that like other government agencies, instead of firing people who do not have a clue, they transfer them from the place they screwed up, to another, so they can screw it up too. But what can we expect from our government, when the Republicans & Democrats in the House & Senate cannot or will not run the government like they should. I am a veteran & go to VA clinics & hospitals, & am thankful, however they manage to piss me off quite often.
Demotion of the 2 executive personal was uncalled for. The two women should have been fired and ordered to pay back the over $400,000.00 they took illegally. But they are most likely democrats. I was volunteering at a fire department and the VA paid me 100% and found out I was a volunteer and took my 100% back and said I had to pay back $64k.and took me to court, made me a felon and these women are still paid and working for the VA. I did get my benefits back but the VA has garnish my pay and I’m still a felon.
Why is the VA even necessary. We have regular medical care for everyone else. The gov owes it to vets to pay medicAl care for any service related ailment, injury, psychological problem. No need for a completely dedicated medical delivery system.
Head in the sand or up someones can’t say that, I’m a veteran been almost over 120 days trying to get appointment from VA My Doctor ordered and then New Doctor ordered needed consolidation. This is for heart test EKG, stress test, that’s not that hard I’m 71 years old been heart patient for over 15 years it’s not care it’s carless .