VA wasting money while veterans suffer.

Well with the government we have why should we be surprised to hear about things like this. There is so much corruption in anything that is government related these days. The VA has no problem wasting millions of dollars in a weekend yet it is taking months and even years for the veterans they are supposed to be working for to get their benefits.

Marine Times

Quote :

House Veterans’ Affairs Committee leaders are expressing concern that the Veterans Affairs Department employees involved in more than $760,000 in wasteful conference spending might evade disciplinary action.

One VA official, the assistant secretary for human resources, resigned the day before the VA inspector general issued a damning report accusing him of lying to investigators and abdicating his responsibilities to oversee and control expenses for two weeklong training conferences at a Florida resort last year.

John Sepulveda, the official who resigned, will not face criminal prosecution after the Justice Department declined to pursue charges. But at least 11 other VA employees improperly accepted gifts from hotels and vendors trying to get the government’s business, including one who openly solicited the gift of upgraded rooms from the Marriott World Center Orlando Golf and Spa Resort, where the two conferences were held, according to the IG report.

Many VA executives also are faulted by the IG for not paying attention to the growing costs.

The report recommended punitive action against seven VA executives, including Sepulveda, plus action against employees who improperly accepted gifts. There is some overlap between the two categories, as three of the executives criticized for failing to provide proper oversight are also listed as having accepted improper gifts.

VA Chief of Staff John Gingrich, who approved spending of up to $8 million on human resources conferences, was admonished for his role. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki “has informed Chief of Staff Gingrich that the review of the Orlando conferences was inadequate and that more questions should have been asked prior to authorization,” according to a VA statement.