Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Doug Collins won't tolerate his agency being run by unions and private contractors over concerns of waste and abuse, the Daily Caller reported. Collins said this during an interview with the Daily Caller News Foundation published on Thursday.
President Donald Trump's administration is committed to slashing waste, abuse, and fraud in the federal government overall. Collins is more than on board with that in his own agency.
In a sit-down with the DCNF, Collins cited one of the most egregious examples of waste at the VA with outside contractors who charge millions to do simple administrative work that can be done in-house. Collins promises those days are over as he demands accountability.
Many government entities spend money on frivolous things, but Collins believes his agency took this to a whole new level and must reverse course. The secretary boasted about eliminating the diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives out of the gate.
Collins also discovered that the agency was outsourcing tasks such as creating meeting notes and PowerPoint slides to the tune of millions of dollars. It didn't make sense to Collins, and he took action right away.
"We had a department set up in the VA with employees, and yet we contracted another company to actually sort of run that department. And it’s like, okay, either we need to contract this or we need the employees," Collins reasoned.
"We don’t need both," he added, demonstrating common sense where there was none. "And so that’s the kind of stuff we’re seeing," Collins told the DCNF. The secretary stated that a private firm was hired for its "management capabilities" and to provide "oversight," but there were already in-house employees who were supposed to perform those tasks.
"It was like, you know, why are employees here at this point?" Collins added. "For folks understanding where we’re at in government right now going into an administration, it’s like going back into your room that you had been gone from for, say, a year or two, and you come back and you say, ‘why is this here?'” Collins said.
In addition to getting rid of the wasteful spending and redundancy, Collins was also concerned about quality control at the VA. He shared that the VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection has experienced "a little bit higher" numbers of complaints.
The purpose of the office is to make recommendations or take necessary action for VA staff misconduct. Tips to the office had increased under then-President Joe Biden, even though the final reports were down.
With Collins at the helm, the tips have also increased, though he said many "have been dismissed because sometimes people use it as a venting tool." Collins is also concerned about the role unionization plays in disciplining these employees, even with well-founded concerns.
Nearly 80% are protected under the public sector union, but Collins pledged to "hold people accountable" nonetheless. Under Biden, many employees who were fired over allegations of misconduct were hired back, which Collins also plans to rectify.
The VA exists to protect and care for those who served our country. Collins seems to be the first official in a long time who is interested not only in cutting waste for taxpayers but also in ensuring that they receive the best possible services.
