Jerry Moran - Ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
Jerry Moran - Ranking member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee | Official U.S. Senate headshot
On August 1, 2024, U.S. Senators Jerry Moran (R-Kan.), John Boozman (R-Ark.), and Marsha Blackburn (R-Tenn.) introduced legislation aimed at prohibiting PACT Act Critical Skill Incentive (CSI) payments from being allocated to Senior Executive Service (SES) employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs Central Office (VACO) in Washington, D.C.
The proposed bill, titled the Stop Government Rewards Enriching Executives in the District – or Stop GREED Act – follows a report by the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG). The OIG found that VA’s Under Secretaries of Health and Benefits improperly approved $10.8 million in PACT Act CSI payments to VACO’s senior executives instead of rank-and-file employees nationwide. This legislative initiative also comes on the heels of VA's announcement regarding a budgetary shortfall amounting to $3 billion for FY2024 and nearly $12 billion for FY2025, which could potentially delay veterans' benefits unless Congress intervenes by September 20. Despite ongoing efforts to recover these improper payments, legislative action is deemed necessary to prevent future misuse.
“The critical skills incentive payments that were included in the PACT Act were meant to improve recruitment and retention for difficult-to-fill positions across VA, not to increase the salaries of senior executives in Washington, D.C.,” said Sen. Moran. “The bonuses to executives were a gross misuse of funds, especially in light of the VA’s budget shortfall failure, and we must make certain it does not happen again.”
Senator Boozman echoed this sentiment: “The PACT Act was intended to expand benefits to the men and women who wore our nation’s uniform now living with toxic exposure-related illnesses as a result of their service. This legislation will ensure funds will be used to support the needs of veterans, not VA executives.”
Senator Blackburn added: “The VA must be held accountable for its egregious mishandling of the critical skill incentives that were included in the PACT Act. We must restore integrity and trust within the VA, and the Stop GREED Act would help ensure such a failure does not happen again.”
The CSI authority from the PACT Act was designed to enhance health care delivery and benefits for veterans by providing incentives aimed at retaining highly-skilled rank-and-file employees across various roles within VA facilities nationwide.
For more details on this bill, please refer to its full text available here.
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