Jeff Miller
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Sloan Gibson, VA's deputy secretary, said he's proposed the removal of Susan Taylor, the deputy chief procurement officer at the Veterans Health Administration. Gibson will use the new authorities provided by Congress and President Barack Obama in August under the Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014.
October 06, 2014 -
Despite reports of delayed patient treatments, falsified records and preventable veteran deaths, the Department of Veterans Affairs said all of its 470 senior executives have been rated "successful" over the past four fiscal years. The ratings have sparked outrage among members of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, whose chairman called the performance rating and bonus system at the VA "outlandish."
June 20, 2014 -
The VA secretary promised the Senate Thursday that he will impose accountability for extended hospital wait times that may have led to veteran deaths, but not until investigations have run their course.
May 16, 2014 -
The House passed the GI Tuition Fairness Act of 2013 on Wednesday that includes an amendment to stop all bonuses for senior executives at the VA for five years. The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee says it will instill some much-needed accountability to the department.
May 01, 2014 -
The House will soon vote on a measure making it easier for the Veterans Affairs secretary to fire or demote senior career executives at the department, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said at a Capitol Hill briefing Thursday. The VA Management Accountability Act allows the VA secretary to remove or demote members of the Senior Executive Service (SES) based on their performance.
April 03, 2014 -
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) is the author of new legislation that would make it easier for the Veterans Affairs Department to fire its senior executives. Miller, chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, says the agency is too shy about cutting loose middle managers who are performing poorly.
February 17, 2014 -
The VA Management Accountability Act would give VA Secretary Eric Shinseki broad authority to remove Senior Executives Service (SES) members "if the secretary determines the performance of the individual warrants such removal," according to the bill. In addition to outright removal, the bill would allow the VA secretary to bump SES members down to the General Schedule at any grade level the secretary deems appropriate according to the bill.
February 12, 2014 -
Rep. Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) wants answers from the Veterans Affairs Department after its latest privacy and cyber breach of the data of more than 5,000 veterans through its eBenefits portal. VA says it has fixed the software defect and its Data Breach Core Team is investigating what happened.
January 27, 2014 -
Most workers in the Veterans Benefits Administration will be sidelined in the next few weeks if a shutdown continues. Funding for employees at the National Cemetery Administration will run out in the next few days.
October 10, 2013 -
A recent briefing between the House Veterans Affairs Committee, VA IT executives and DHS ended with the lead majority staff member walking out before the meeting ended. The rising tensions between the House Veterans Affairs committee's majority and VA come as a report surfaced showing veterans are at a higher risk of identity theft than the average citizen.
August 07, 2013 -
House Veterans Affairs Committee Ranking Member Rep. Mike Michaud (D-Maine) introduced a bill to establish quadrennial reviews and a five-year plan for VA's budget. The bill also would designate a chief strategy officer to oversee budgetary planning.
July 17, 2013 -
House Armed Services and Veterans Affairs committees inserted a provision in the fiscal 2014 Defense Authorization Bill requiring DoD and VA to have an interoperable health record system by 2017. Agency officials say they already are and will continue to share health care data, but having one integrated, interoperable health care management system is no longer necessary.
July 11, 2013 -
The Veterans Affairs Department made it a top priority earlier this year to handle all disability claims from veterans who've been waiting two years or longer. The department mostly succeeded in its two-month surge operation, but serious questions linger about the sustainability of the backlog elimination effort.
June 21, 2013 -
House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller (R-Fla.) and ranking member Michael Michaud (D-Maine) sent Secretary Eric Shinseki a letter asking for an explanation on why VA didn't tell the committee about multiple nation state attacks. The lawmakers call for VA to offer credit monitoring services to tens of millions of veterans.
June 14, 2013 -
All veterans who have waited two years or more for a decision will have their cases decided by next month, the Department of Veterans Affairs told Congress. Half of the Veterans Benefits Administration's oldest cases already have been removed from the backlog.
May 24, 2013