Michigan Congressman Benishek seeks answers in VA bonus abuse
Michigan Congressman Dan Benishek (R-District 1) recently joined a committee in voting to subpoena top Veterans Affairs officials.
At a hearing of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs today, Wednesday Oct. 21, in Washington, D.C., Rep. Benishek joined a unanimous committee in voting to subpoena top veterans affairs officials to testify on abuses that occurred with relocation incentives at the VA hospital in Philadelphia.
A U.S. Inspector General report suggested that veterans affairs employees were improperly awarded hundreds of thousands of dollars in moving expenses but nobody has been prosecuted or fired for the alleged impropriety.
“We will not have a functioning VA until we have an accountable VA,” said Benishek. “It has become clear that the VA cannot properly police its own behavior, and that is why it is necessary for Congress to exercise its oversight authority and expose the truth about what is occurring at VA facilities around the country.”
On Nov. 2 of this year, veterans affairs officials will appear before the committee to deliver testimony on this matter, or else they could be held in contempt of Congress.