U.S. Senators Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.), Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), and John Boozman (R-Ark.), all members of the Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee, have introduced the Stop Government Rewards Enriching Executives in the District (Stop GREED) Act. This legislation aims to prevent Senior Executive Service (SES) employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) in Washington, D.C., from receiving PACT Act recruitment and retention incentive payments.
“The VA must be held accountable for its gross mishandling of critical skill incentives included in the PACT Act,” said Senator Blackburn. “The Stop GREED Act will help ensure such a failure never happens again, restoring integrity and trust within the VA.”
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Senator Moran added, “The critical skills incentive payments in the PACT Act were designed to aid in the recruitment and retention of difficult-to-fill positions across the VA, not to pad the salaries of senior executives in Washington, D.C. We must prevent the misuse of funds like this in the future.”
“The PACT Act was meant to expand benefits for veterans suffering from toxic exposure-related illnesses,” said Senator Boozman. “This legislation will ensure that the funds are used to support veterans, not VA executives.”
The Stop GREED Act follows a VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) report revealing that VA Under Secretaries of Health and Benefits improperly approved $10.8 million in PACT Act recruitment and retention incentive payments to senior executives at VACO instead of to rank-and-file employees nationwide.
This legislation also responds to a recent VA announcement of a $3 billion budget shortfall for FY2024 and a nearly $12 billion shortfall for FY2025, which could delay veterans’ benefits without congressional action by September 20. Despite this financial mismanagement, VACO senior executives were still approved for recruitment and retention incentive bonuses worth tens of thousands of dollars.
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The PACT Act’s recruitment and retention incentive authority was originally intended to enhance the delivery of healthcare and benefits to veterans by providing incentives to retain highly skilled, rank-and-file employees such as human resources staff, police officers, and housekeepers across the VA.
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