Key Lawmaker Wants To Ban VA Bonuses For Five Years

This story was last updated at 5:34 p.m. to include a comment from VA.

The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee proposed legislation that would ban all bonuses for senior executives in the Veterans Affairs Department for the next five years. The move by Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., is in response to VA’s disability claims backlog and patient deaths in VA hospitals.

“The fact that so many VA executives collected huge performance bonuses year after year while continually failing at their jobs calls into question whether department leaders even know the meaning of the word ‘accountability,’ ” Miller said. Nextgov has learned that from 2007 through 2011, VA paid 398 bonuses to members of the Senior Executive Service totaling $16.8 million.

Last month, the department said senior executives in the Veterans Benefits Administration will not receive 2012 performance bonuses. The funds will instead be used to accelerate plans aimed at eliminating the claims backlog.