Kimberly Graves and Diana Rubens manipulated the VBA’s hiring system for their own benefit. The inspector general’s September report claimed they coerced lower-ranking regional managers into accepting job transfers. The two then filled the vacant positions themselves while reducing their responsibilities and maintaining their senior executive salaries. Besides their respective salaries of around $173,000 and $181,500 per annum, Graves and Rubens also got a combined total of over $400,000 in moving expenses.

Pummill is being suspended for “his alleged lack of oversight regarding Ms. Rubens’ and Ms. Graves’ actions in connection with their relocations,” according to a VA statement. He is allowed to appeal his suspension. The two employees will be reprimanded and receive a 10 percent pay cut. However, both Rubens and Graves have returned to their respective former positions as head of the VBA Philadelphia regional office and director of the benefits office in St. Paul, Minnesota.

Regarding Rubens and Graves, Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said he was “encouraged by their immediate effort to get back to work.” However Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., House Veterans Affairs Committee chairman, was vocal in his criticism of the VA’s actions in response to the relocation scam.

Miller described the punishments as “a weak slap on the wrist.” He called for more accountability, saying the two employees should have been fired instead. “One thing is clear: this dysfunctional status quo will never change until we eliminate arcane civil service rules that put the job security of VA bureaucrats ahead of the veterans they are charged with serving.”

The combined maintenance cost for such sites totals above $24 million each year.

Secretary McDonald also pointed out that 1,300 of VA facilities are at least 70 years old and are in dire need of upgrades and new infrastructure.

Business logic would point to the need to close some of these underutilized buildings. In his testimony, Secretary McDonald stated, “”No business would carry such a portfolio. Veterans deserve much better. It’s time to close the VA’s old substandard and underutilized infrastructure.”

However, the political reality is far more complicated. As one Florida representative quipped “We support closing some of the VA facilities…just as long as you don’t close any in Florida.”

Indeed, closures would mean the loss of jobs, angry constituents at home for congressional representatives, and most importantly, reduced services. For similar reasons, lawmakers fought hard in 2012 against the Pentagon’s pleas for base closures.

Two legislative directors of national veterans organizations offered up contrasting viewpoints on the issue.

Ray Kelley, legislative director for the Veterans of Foreign Wars, told Congress that VA shouldn’t be paying for space it isn’t using, but added that any such moves need to be done in a way that doesn’t frighten veterans already concerned about access to VA programs.

Paralyzed Veterans of America National Legislation Director Carl Blake said rather than close buildings, VA should find other ways to use the space. He thinks it’s time for the department to think outside the box, such as opening some of these facilities to homeless veterans.

VA officials have not developed a formal list of facilities to be closed or a plan for how to actually shed the extra space. McDonald said he hopes to work with Congress in the months to come as part of larger conversations about eliminating waste within his department’s budget.

You can read more on this issue at Military Times: http://www.militarytimes.com/story/veterans/2015/02/17/va-brac-proposal/23545103/

Unfortunately, treatment does not ensure that veterans are feeling any better. A new study, commissioned by the American Legion, suggests that nearly two-thirds of veterans report no improvement or worse symptoms after treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) or traumatic brain injury (TBI).

The organization is calling for a larger, multi-step research program to confirm these findings and develop effective long-term solutions.  

But the study also found that 30 percent of veterans stopped treatment before the end of their treatment plan. 

The consequences of dropping out of treatment can be dire. A recent House Veterans Affairs Committee heard the testimony of parents whose sons, struggling with PTSD and TBI treatment, had committed suicide.

The American Legion has argued that more professionals must be trained specifically to treat PTSD and TBI. A new federal bill will provide loans for those pursuing a career in mental health with the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).

Many veterans affected by PTSD and TBI do not even seek treatment. But getting more veterans into treatment may not matter if the quality of care cannot be improved. As veteran Army sergeant Josh Rensler testified before the House Committee, “[The VA] must dramatically improve its mental health care delivery. Access is an issue, but we have to ask ourselves, “Access to what?””

Legal Help for Veterans, PLLC fights for veterans rights. We fight to make sure you get the benefits you deserve from the Department of Veterans Affairs. To learn more or contact an attorney about your Post Traumatic Stress, Traumatic Brain Injury, Mental Health, Sexual Assault, Hearing Loss and Tinnitus, Total Disability Based on Individual Unemployability, Medical Malpractice, or Aid and Attendance claim, visit http://www.legalhelpforveterans.com/ or call 800.693.4800