Washington, D.C. – U.S. Sen. Jeff Flake (R-Ariz.) today introduced the Clean Up the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, requiring the VA to fire any employee who has a felony conviction or whose medical license has been suspended or revoked. In addition, this legislation would prohibit the VA from hiring or transferring any employees that meet those criteria. Felony convictions include, but are not limited to: rape, sexual assault, molestation, or any other sex crimes, theft, battery, kidnapping, sale of drugs, gun crimes, and bank robbery.

The introduction of this bill comes on the heels of the news that the Phoenix VA Health Care System is rated as one of the worst in the nation.

“If Congress wants to see improvements at the VA, it needs to put an end to the carousel of criminals passing through its doors,” said Flake. “It’s time to clean up the VA so we can focus on recruiting the best and brightest to care for our veterans.”

Examples of VA employees that have been charged with or convicted of felonies include:

• A human resources employee and a health aid and technician at the Caribbean Veterans Affairs hospital are both convicted sex offenders.

• Another VA employee participated in an armed robbery and was convicted and was given time off to serve her sentence. She then returned to work while on GPS-monitored probation. The VA later lied about her employment status to Congress.

• A VA employee with a previous conviction for illegal firearm possession and known associate of drug traffickers was shot and killed with illegal gun in August.
  
  

• The chief of staff at the Tomah VA Medical Center was assigned to administrative duties even though his VA clinical privileges had been suspended due to concerns that, according to the Wisconsin Department of Safety and Professional Services, his “medication prescribing practices did not meet accepted standards of practice and potentially constituted an imminent threat to patient welfare.” The employee was ultimately fired a year after his VA clinical privileges suspension.  

In addition, one employee at the Phoenix VA Health Care System has been indicted on charges that he embezzled more than $115,000 from a VFW post in Avondale. If convicted, that employee could be fired under this bill. 

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