House Passes Tipton Amendment to Prohibit Bonuses for Veterans Affairs Bureaucrats

Press Release

Today, the House passed an amendment offered by Congressman Scott Tipton (R-CO) and several of his House colleagues to prohibit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) from using any funds to pay performance bonuses to senior executive staff at the VA. The amendment was attached to the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act which passed the House today with bipartisan support.

"Nearly 350,000 veterans who have filed disability claims with the VA are waiting longer than 125 days to receive their benefits. These delays often cause additional pain and suffering, lead to medical complications, and as we have seen in the tragic reports from the Phoenix VA, are literally a matter of life and death. I have heard this from constituents all across my district. In fact, just last week at a veterans' roundtable discussion in Grand Junction, this issue was raised numerous times. People's lives are at stake," said Tipton. "Many of the veterans on the backlog are in desperate need of care --care that has been delayed needlessly because of the bureaucratic backlog at the Department of Veterans Affairs. There is absolutely no way that those who are chiefly responsible at the VA for addressing this backlog and expeditiously processing claims should receive performance bonuses when they are underperforming. Every possible resource available in the VA budget should be used to process and expedite these claims, and ensure that veterans are receiving the care and benefits they have earned. Our veterans have lived up to their end of the deal in serving our nation--it's time the federal government does the same for them."

In addition to prohibiting bonuses for VA executive staff, the Military Construction and Veterans Affairs, and Related Agencies Appropriations Act increases resources to support veteran medical treatment, including funding for traumatic brain injury, suicide prevention, mental health, homeless support, and rural health initiatives. Additionally, the bill increases resources available for the modernization of VA electronic health records and for a paperless processing system to help the disability backlog.

"It's critically important that the brave men and women who have served our country have access to timely, high quality health care and receive all of the benefits they have earned," said Tipton. "The appropriations bill we passed in the House takes a positive step in that direction by dedicating additional resources and tools to help reduce the VA claims backlog and improve medical care."

Tipton is currently working in the House to pass the Healthy Vets Act (H.R. 635) which would enable local hospitals and physicians to contract with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to provide local health care for veterans, rather than requiring that they receive care exclusively at VA medical facilities, which can be limited geographically.

Tipton also joined with a group of his House colleagues in a letter to the President urging that he "take direct action and involvement in ending the current Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) disability claims backlog."

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