The disability claims inventory (total claims) also reduced from a peak of 884,000 in July 2012 to 369,352, a 58 percent reduction.

Average days pending for all claims is 103 days. Remember, disability backlog claims are those over 125 days.

How’d VBA [Veterans Benefits Administration] do it? First, it’s thanks to our strong partnerships with veterans service organizations [VSOs].

They helped VBA complete a record-breaking 1.17 million claims in 2013. In 2014, [they] helped them beat that with another record year – 1.32 million claims.

Now, I will tell you, VA has not operated that way in the past. It’s been managing to a budget instead of managing to requirements. And that’s put many people in positions of having to do more with less. Some responded by doing things that they shouldn’t have done, and we’re dealing with that. We’ve proposed disciplinary action against some employees for access-related misdeeds.

And, thanks again to them and to dedicated VA employees, we’re on track to complete nearly 1.4 million claims by the end of this fiscal year.

I want anyone to tell me of another major part of the federal government that has transformed more in the last three years than VBA.

This is real progress. But we still have veterans waiting too long, so we have more work to do.

 

The problems with VA’s mid- and senior-level were documented publicly before you arrived. After your first year on the job, do you feel that the administration and Congress have given you the legal authority and tools that you need to hire, fire, and move personnel throughout the department? And what else do you need to fully recruit, hire, and maintain oversight on the kind of management team that you want within the department?

A key principle of my management philosophy is what I call “sustainable accountability,” which means several things. [First], making sure your people understand the organization’s mission, values, and strategy. And as I talked about previously, the first thing we did is we had every employee recommit themselves to our mission and our values and we just redid that. And we’re going to do that every single year.

Second, setting realistic performance goals and providing our employees the resources to meet them.

Third, listening to employees’ concerns and helping them solve problems. That’s why in the over 200 visits I’ve done to different VA facilities, I hold a town hall meeting, talk to union leaders, listen to employees, [and] listen to veteran stakeholders, rewarding employees for good work and when all else fails, calling them to account for their misdeeds.

Now, I will tell you, VA has not operated that way in the past. It’s been managing to a budget instead of managing to requirements. And that’s put many people in positions of having to do more with less. Some responded by doing things that they shouldn’t have done, and we’re dealing with that. We’ve proposed disciplinary action against some employees for access-related misdeeds.

We’ve repeatedly said that where wrongdoing is confirmed by our partner agencies such as DEA [Drug Enforcement Administration], FBI [the Federal Bureau of Investigation], and DOJ [Department of Justice], as well as local law enforcement, disciplinary actions will be pursued. One former VA employee was indicted by the Department of Justice. VA immediately terminated the Georgia VA employee’s access to all of VA’s systems and placed the employee on administrative leave. This employee now faces punishment that could be five years in jail and $250,000 for every [one] of [the] 50 charges that he’s under.

We’ve also proposed the removal of several senior executives. Some have been removed, fired. And two chose to retire before we took action on their firing.

 

Like the rest of the federal government, VA is facing severe financial restrictions, and possibly another round of sequestration, as a result of the Budget Control Act. As it stands right now, does the department have sufficient funds authorized from Congress to accomplish its mission? Or do you need to ask for additional funding to be able to fulfill this country’s obligations to its veterans?

Of course, to meet the challenges of the 21st century, VA will need adequate funding. The president’s 2016 budget request will provide the funding we need: $168.8 billion – $73.5 billion in discretionary funds and $95.3 billion in mandatory funds for benefits programs.

Some people in Washington are questioning the need for VA. Others have attempted to squeeze the needs of veterans within a “sequester” budget that artificially constrains the budget regardless of what it means to the programs we are trying to operate with VA and across the government.

The key to improving the veterans’ experience of VA is a customer-service approach. I call it the Platinum Rule. You’ve heard the Golden Rule – treat others as you want to be treated. The Platinum Rule is treat others as THEY want to be treated. Their perspective is what counts.

From their perspective, we’ve already taken several MyVA steps to improve the veteran experience.