Aggressive VA oversight vowed

WASHINGTON -- The House Veterans Affairs Committee warned the VA Wednesday to expect much more aggressive oversight in the coming months as lawmakers review the department's conference and travel spending.

"The truce is over," said Rep. Jeff Miller of Florida, the committee's Republican chairman, at the conclusion of an often contentious hearing on spending at employee training conferences.

Miller called the hearing in response to an inspector general's report from Oct. 1 that described some $762,000 in expenses from two Orlando, Fla., conferences that were deemed as wasteful or unnecessary, such as a $50,000 video featuring a parody of the late Gen. George S. Patton.

W. Scott Gould, a deputy secretary at the VA, told lawmakers that the department had taken steps in response to the inspector general's report, including ethics training for all VA personnel involved in planning and overseeing the conferences. He also noted that one employee, an assistant secretary, resigned.

Miller's committee has sought more detailed information from the VA about the department's overall training and travel budgets.

Is this a boondoggle or not a boondoggle?" Miller asked.

Gould said the VA is working to improve its health care. and that could include leaving the country on occasion to hear from leaders in various health fields.

"I think that we need to think carefully when we talk about culture, that there are 320,000 hardworking employees at VA that don't like having their reputation damaged and sullied by this kind of activity," Gould said.

The remarks prompted an explosion from Miller.

"I have not one time slapped at any of the 300,000 VA employees. I have slapped at the leadership," Miller said. "And your responses in the last 15 minutes have just raised what we call `the hackles' on the back of my neck again."