A hospital with a cockroach infestation, $150 million of unaccounted equipment and supplies and dirty medical supplies – that’s not a facility where most people would want to receive care.

But that’s only part of what veterans allegedly faced at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs medical center in Washington D.C., under its former director, Brian Hawkins.

Although he was fired in late July, Hawkins is back with the VA after the Merit Systems Protection Board reversed his dismissal earlier this month.

This latest incident at a VA medical facility epitomizes why the recently passed VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act was so sorely needed.


The legislation, which was signed into law in June, makes it easier for VA Secretary David Shulkin to fire bad employees.

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Although this legislation cuts the time it takes to remove bad employees, the unaccountable MSPB remains for rank-and-file employees — reminding us why this new authority was warranted.

Issues at the Washington D.C. VA first came to light in April when the department’s Office of Inspector General released a rare preliminary report alleging that veterans there were in imminent danger and at “unnecessary risk.”


One of these issues cited involved the operating room running out of devices that prevent blood clots and surgery proceeding without the devices. The inspector general also found a shortage of tubes that provide oxygen to patients, which risked their safety during an emergency.

Hawkins was removed as director and reassigned to another VA position following this report. However, another inspector general investigation found that Hawkins allegedly emailed sensitive VA information to his wife.

According to the report, he refused to hand over his emails, citing “spousal privilege.” He was subsequently fired in late July.

In light of these reports of mismanagement and the high risk that patients faced, it’s clear that veterans deserve more from their leadership than what they were receiving at the D.C. facility.


Getting bad employees off the VA payroll as quickly as possible should be a no-brainer.

But the MSPB — with the support of big labor unions, like the American Federation of Government Employees — has a history of blocking demotions or firings of negligent and bad senior VA employees.

In 2016, the MSPB ruled that two senior VA executives’ demotions were not permitted, even though the employees used their positions to receive over $400,000 in kickbacks.

Again in 2016, the board made a string of rulings forcing the VA to retain bad employees. That led then-House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Florida, to call it an “unaccountable board with a strong bias against accountability.”


The MSPB consists of three unelected, unaccountable bureaucrats. Yet, the board now has two vacancies — it doesn’t even have a quorum.

It’s absurd that the one remaining board member of this obscure federal panel should be able to force the secretary of the Veterans Affairs to retain senior executives who engaged in gross misconduct.

With the new authority granted to him by the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, Shulkin has indicated he will fight the MSPB’s ruling and protect veterans.

In a forceful statement, Shulkin said that “no judge who has never run a hospital and never cared for our nation’s veterans will force me to put an employee back in a position when he allowed the facility to pose potential safety risks to our veterans.”


When our men and women made a pledge to serve and protect this country, we made a commitment to care for them when they returned.

The VA has not always honored this pledge, but through the new authority given to him by the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, Secretary Shulkin can now ensure that we protect our veterans – not delinquent employees.

Dan Caldwell, who served as a Marine in Iraq, is the director of policy for Concerned Veterans for America.

Guest Voices is always open to new points of view. If you have an opinion to put forth in a column, email us at jen.steele@sduniontribune.com.

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