Sen. Byron Dorgan, D-N.D., has called for a GAO review of the senior executive performance appraisal process after learning that over two-thirds of the SES got special bonuses last year.
"It seems those who administer this bonus program at the various agencies think all the senior executive service employees are above average," Dorgan said in a letter to GAO, signed also by Sens. Daniel Akaka, D-Hawaii, and George Voinovich, R-Ohio.
The letter follows criticism of the Department of Veterans Affairs for awarding $3.8 million in bonuses in fiscal 2006 to senior executives — $16,000 on average — in light of controversies over care for veterans and other issues such as coming up $1 billion short in 2005 after botching budget projections.
The VA maintains that bonuses are necessary to retain and motivate talent to tackle difficult problems.
In May, Rep. John Hall, D-N.Y., introduced legislation that would put on hold fiscal 2007 performance bonuses for top VA political officials until the department reduces its disability claims backlog, currently over 600,000, to under 100,000.
