Amata and Veterans Committee Hold Hearing on:

An Examination of VA’s Misuse of Employee Settlement Agreements

Washington, D.C. – Wednesday, Congresswoman Aumua Amata, and the House Veterans Affairs Committee conducted an oversight hearing on Capitol Hill Wednesday morning, to examine the VA’s misuse of Employee Settlement Agreements.

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“VA accountability has been at the top of the Committee’s agenda during the 114^th Congress and with very good reason,” stated Amata. “Today’s oversight hearing is an important step in an ongoing effort to make the VA more efficient not only for the sake of veterans but also for VA employees and taxpayers.”

The purpose of this hearing was to examine the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) use of settlement agreements between the Department and its employees, as well as the potential that VA uses these agreements as a way to avoid lengthy administrative, and potentially embarrassing legal proceedings with employees and if the benefits of these agreements outweigh the costs for taxpayers and veterans. The key witnesses invited to testify at the hearing were The Honorable Leigh Bradley, General Counsel for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and Mr. Eric Bachman, Deputy Special Counsel for Litigation and Legal Affairs from the U.S. Office of Special Counsel. Also present at the hearing from VA were Mr. James Manker, Jr., Acting Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits and Mr. Steve Young, Acting Deputy Under-Secretary for Health for Operations and Management.

“I want to thank the Chairman and Ranking Member for holding this important hearing today,” concluded Amata. “It is imperative that we continue to hold hearings on issues such as this and ensure that government agencies are acting with transparency and consistency.”

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