Veterans

Stars and Stripes: VA is ‘free speech Death Valley’ for whistleblowers, advocate tells House lawmakers

Stars and Stripes: Stars and Stripes: VA is ‘free speech Death Valley’ for whistleblowers, advocate tells House lawmakers This article features Government Accountability Project's Legal Director, Tom, Devine, and was originally published here. The Department of Veterans Affairs is a “free speech Death Valley” for whistleblowers who raise concerns or file complaints about the [...]

2023-11-06T09:36:30-05:00November 6th, 2023|1st Amendment, In The News, Veterans|

Coalition Letter to the House Veterans Affairs Committee for Better Whistleblower Protects for VA Employees

We, the undersigned, appreciate the opportunity to share our views on the Draft HR G:\CMTE\VA\18\R\OANDI\VA_DISCIPLINE_01.XML that would amend title 38, United States Code, to modify personnel action procedures with respect to employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA), and for other purposes.

Fed Manager: VA Accountability Office, Whistleblower Protection May See Restructuring

VA Accountability Office, Whistleblower Protection May See RestructuringThis article features Government Accountability Project’s Legal Director, Tom Devine, and was originally published here.During a hearing last week, the House Veterans Affairs Committee (HVAC) discussed a proposal to restructure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection (OAWP). Lawmakers heard from both OAWP [...]

2022-06-22T11:38:16-04:00June 22nd, 2022|In The News, US Government, VA Accountability, Veterans|

Government Executive: Lawmakers Look to Strip a Maligned Whistleblower Protection Office of Key Powers

Lawmakers Look to Strip a Maligned Whistleblower Protection Office of Key Powers This article features Government Accountability Project’s Legal Director, Tom Devine, and was originally published here. Key lawmakers are pushing to strip a much criticized whistleblower office of its primary powers just a few years after it was heralded as a transformational reform [...]

KPBS: Dangerous San Diego Research Prompts Congress to Hold Hearing on VA

This article, featuring our legal director Tom Devine, was originally published here. Dangerous San Diego Research Prompts Congress To Hold Hearing On VA Congress will conduct a hearing to investigate a powerful healthcare office in the Department of Veterans Affairs following inewsource stories that exposed the office’s shoddy review of a dangerous San Diego liver study. A new inewsource analysis [...]

2019-10-01T10:52:57-04:00October 1st, 2019|In The News, VA Accountability, Veterans|

Federal News Network: New Accountability Office Hasn’t Made a Dent in VA’s ‘Culture of Retaliation,’ Whistleblowers Say

This article, featuring our Legal Director, Tom Devine, was originally published here.  New Accountability Office Hasn't Made a Dent in VA's 'Culture of Retaliation,' Whistleblowers Say The Department of Veterans Affairs is preparing new policies, training and guidelines that it says should help the agency — and its still-relatively-new Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection — better [...]

2019-08-07T13:28:03-04:00July 24th, 2019|In The News, VA Accountability, Veterans|

Connecting Vets: ‘There is Room for Improvement’ VA Tells Congress on Protecting Whistleblowers, Preventing Retaliation

The Department of Veterans Affairs had an opportunity Tuesday to defend itself against allegations from whistleblowers that retaliation against them has gotten worse -- not better. President Donald Trump in 2017 created the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protections, and Congress codified it in the Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, intending to improve accountability of VA [...]

2019-07-24T09:40:41-04:00July 24th, 2019|In The News, VA Accountability, Veterans|

WaPo: Whistleblower Says VA Ordered Fake Appointments to Cut Waiting List

Note: this article, featuring our legal director and clients, was originally published here. Whistleblower Says VA Ordered Fake Appointments to Cut Waiting List  One day before Minu Aghevli testified at a House committee hearing about official Department of Veterans Affairs misconduct, she received a thick packet of documents that shook her life. It amounted to [...]

USA Today: VA Health Care Workers Say Managers Are Trying to Silence Them on Veteran Care

Note: this article, featuring our legal director Tom Devine and clients, was originally published here. VA Health Care Workers Say Managers Are Trying to Silence Them on Veteran Care WASHINGTON – Health care professionals from the Department of Veterans Affairs testified at a congressional hearing Tuesday that they are being punished for reporting problems with [...]