The panel is considering a bill to require all new VA employees to get trained on responsibilities to report crimes and wrongdoing to the IG. Image: The Bold Bureau/Shutterstock.com
The inspector general’s office at the VA has supported a House bill to increase training for the department’s employees on their obligations to cooperate with that office, saying “there have been instances in which the VA personnel have been told that they cannot share information with OIG staff without first clearing it through supervisors or leaders” contrary to the law.
“In several other instances, VA personnel have provided incomplete, significantly delayed, or potentially misleading information to the OIG,” deputy IG David Case added in a hearing before the House Veterans Affairs Committee. The panel is considering HR-2733, which would require all new VA employees to receive training on their responsibilities to report crimes and serious wrongdoing to the IG and to cooperate with that office’s requests for information.
He said that while the VA under its current leadership does require training of employees in their first year, a change is law is needed to prevent that policy from being dropped in the future.
He said that “many VA personnel do not report serious misconduct, failed systems, and suspected crimes in a timely manner—in part because they lack a basic understanding of the OIG’s authority and their duty to cooperate with the OIG.” A misperception that the IG shares complainants’ identities with VA—which would leave them vulnerable to retaliation—also contributes to that reluctance, he said.
He cited a case in which employees delayed reporting alleged wrongdoing by a senior official and instances where “personnel in VA medical facilities stop reporting that inventory and other supply chain systems were not working . . . The OIG needs early notification of these issues to help VA instill a culture of accountability where employees feel empowered to effect change.”
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