WASHINGTON — “Whistleblowers” who exposed fraud and abuses inside the Veterans Affairs System around the nation testified before the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Tuesday, several of them detailing shocking stories of harassment and retribution that occurred after they came forward.
Although no one involved in the Central Alabama VA scandal testified before the committee, Rep. Martha Roby (R-AL2) said after the hearing that the testimonies were remarkably similar to allegations she’s heard from whistleblowers in her district.
“I applaud the brave VA employees who could have risked their careers to expose misconduct within the system,” Rep. Roby said in a statement. “It is chilling to hear their testimonials about the treatment they received after coming forward. Their description of the culture of intimidation and retaliation toward employees who speak out about problems is consistent with allegations we have received from Central Alabama.
“Acting VA Secretary Sloan Gibson recently said the VA leadership wouldn’t tolerate such behavior, and I certainly hope that is true,” she continued. “However, given how ineffective the VA’s own inspectors have been at investigating complaints, it is unclear who exactly can keep administrators or supervisors accountable.”
One whistleblower on Tuesday said his attempts to contact the White House about problems at the VA were leaked to his manager, who in turn retaliated with punishment.
Here’s a lightly edited transcript of testimony from Scott Davis, a program specialist at the Veterans Affairs National Health Eligibility Center:
The harassment I’ve experienced from top levels of management includes: My whistleblower complaint to White House Deputy Chief of Staff Rob Nabors was leaked to my manager… My employment records were illegally altered… I was illegally placed on a permanent work detail… I was placed on involuntary administrative leave…
Unfortunately, my experience is not unique at VA… (Individuals) who work at the Atlanta VA Medical Center have experienced the same retaliation for reporting medical errors and patient neglect as well as misconduct by senior VA officials… Our local 518 union president … is routinely harassed as a direct consequence of assisting me and other disabled federal employees with retaliatory action by members of management.
Central Alabama VA director James Talton initially told Rep. Roby that he had fired VA employees who falsified records to cover up long wait times at the VA.
Days later, John Morykwas, one of the whistleblowers at the Central Alabama VA, came forward to Yellowhammer revealing that Talton was being untruthful. Several employees involved in the scandal were demoted, but not fired. Morykwas further claimed to Yellowhammer that the VA employees who brought the scandal to light were actually the ones who got fired.
“The only individuals who were fired were the whistleblowers, and I was one,” Morykwas said. “I was fired for ‘Disrespectful conduct, and Violating the Chain of Command’ for refusing to falsify medical records, and sending an email as to why I refused.”
According to Department of Veterans Affairs data obtained by USA Today through a Freedom of Information Act request, the central Alabama system had the eighth longest average wait time of the entire VA system. Veterans had to wait an average of 51.5 days for an appointment at VA hospitals in Montgomery. The national average was 27.4.
Morykwas said that he believes that recent scandals at the VA are just a peek into an entire system that is overrun by corruption.
“The system of treatment of veterans at VA hospitals is too large and too corrupt and should be eliminated,” he said. “Veterans deserve better medical care than what they are receiving.”
Yellowhammer will continue to provide updates as this story unfolds.
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