Momentum is building to prevent the confirmation vote for VA nominee Tanya Bradsher until she answers questions about both the VA’s failure to discipline unethical staff and protect sensitive information.
Senator Charles Grassley has been stonewalled for more than two years in his quest to learn more about a wife-and-husband / bureaucrat-lobbyist tandem exposed by a VA Inspector General report. Ms. Bradsher was Chief of Staff during this period and includes in scores of condemning communications made public by FOIA requests. Despite the findings, no one has been rebuked and the advocacy organization underwriting the unethical deal continues to coordinate with the VA.
More recently, whistleblowers helped Senator Grassley uncovered VA’s abuse of VIEWS, a computer system which improperly collects “sensitive personal information on countless veterans, VA employees, inquiries from members of Congress, and even VA whistleblowers.” Ms. Bradsher is directly responsible for VIEWS but has deflected questions about its purpose and lack of security.
Two recent letters cheer efforts by whistleblowers and Senator Grassley while condemning the VA’s “chronic lack of transparency.” One of the letters was sent on behalf of groups representing 1+ million veterans. The other letter was sent by several groups from the Make It Safe Coalition, which advocates for protecting whistleblowers.
All members of the Senate Veterans Committee should demand answers.