A Veterans Affairs whistleblower from Atlanta has been invited to testify before Congress in a hearing next Tuesday that will examine the growing number of whistleblower complaints across the Veterans Health Administration and a pattern of retaliation against those who speak out.
Scott Davis, a program specialist at the VA’s national Health Eligibility Center (HEC) in DeKalb County, confirmed for The Atlanta Journal-Constitution that Congressman Jeff Miller, R-Florida, invited him to testify next Tuesday at the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, which Miller chairs.
Davis drew the attention of the committee following Sunday’s article in the AJC that detailed his effort as a whistleblower at the HEC, where he says mismanagement and a focus on bonuses for top leaders hurt veterans programs. Davis said he was retaliated against when he started speaking out about the problems in January, which included his allegation that a $5 million federal contract was mismanaged by HEC.
He said he plans to tell the committee about these problems and the retaliation faced by those who speak out.
“It seems surreal because you shout for so long with no one listening and now to be able to go be able go before Congress I think is an amazing victory for the fight for quality veteran healthcare,” said Davis. Davis, whose story is gaining national attention, also appeared on Fox News Wednesday with Neil Cavuto.
The VA Inspector General’s office is investigating some of the problems, including the possible purging of more than 10,000 veterans health applications. Davis said since Sunday’s article ran other VA whistleblowers in Atlanta have reached out to share their experience.
“I plan to (also) tell the story of other whistleblowers who have contacted me since the article ran,” Davis said.
Rep. Miller called the VA’s treatment of whistleblowers “shameful.”
“In instance after instance at VA facilities around the country, brave VA employees who have spoken out about mismanagement and negligence that harms veterans have been harassed, punished and in some cases fired,” Miller said. “Ideally, these courageous employees would be celebrated, but at today’s Department of Veterans Affairs they are persecuted. Meanwhile, VA administrators and executives who have presided over a rash of preventable deaths and patient safety incidents have been rewarded with glowing performance reviews and huge bonuses.
“We are holding this hearing to give VA whistleblowers like Scott Davis an opportunity to explain to the public how the rhetoric coming out of VA’s central office regarding whistleblower protections doesn’t match the reality of what is happening on the ground.”
In Washington Tuesday, Acting Secretary of Veterans Affairs Sloan Gibson pledged to protect employees from retaliation in a meeting with Carolyn Lerner, special counsel of the U.S. Office of Special Counsel, which investigates whistleblower complaints across all agencies of the U.S. government. Last week, Lerner issued a scathing letter to the White House, detailing problems with how the VA treats whistleblowers.
The Health Eligibility Center where Davis works manages enrollment and eligibility across the VA system and helps provide guidance and oversight on these matters to the VA’s 152 hospitals across the country.
About the Author
