VA Secretary Pledges to Remove Employees Who Harm Veterans

Commitment to Accountability

• 🎯 Secretary Doug Collins pledges that any VA employee found to have harmed a veteran will be removed from the department.
• 💡 This commitment addresses concerns raised by lawmakers about whistleblowers reporting sexual harassment and misconduct.

Addressing "Fail Up" Culture

• 🧠 Collins identifies a "fail up" culture within agencies, where underperforming employees are moved to advisory roles rather than being held accountable.
• ⚠️ He shares a personal example of intervening to prevent a senior leader who had documented failures from being placed in a new advisory position.
• ⚖️ The Secretary emphasizes that the cost of retaining bad actors is higher than the cost of removing them.

Legislative and Budgetary Context

• 📜 Collins appeared before a House subcommittee to discuss the VA's 2026 budget request, which includes a 4% increase for programs.
• 💻 A portion of the budget increase is allocated to overhauling the VA's electronic health record system.
• 📉 The VA, a large federal employer, has also faced proposed staffing cuts, though a recent court ruling temporarily halted some downsizing efforts.