Maxine Dexter Grills VA Sec Collins On Trump Choosing 'Political Appointee' To Serve As Dept.'s IG

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During a House Veterans' Affairs Committee hearing last week, Rep. Maxine Dexter (D-OR) questioned VA Secretary Doug Collins about President Trump's choice to appoint Cheryl Mason to serve as Inspector General.

Transcript

00:00Dr. Dexer. Thank you, Mr. Chair. Secretary Collins, thank you for joining us, and thank you for your

00:06endurance. Like many physicians, I was trained in VA facilities and probably cared for veterans at

00:13the Denver VA for seven years. As a critical care physician for nearly 20 years, I have cared for

00:19far too many families grappling with post-suicide attempt repercussions. They're looking for answers,

00:26support, and hope. So I know you know and you've expressed your support for our veterans in dealing

00:32with the fact that they're amongst the most vulnerable people in our communities. Risk for

00:37suicide is very high amongst our veteran population, and it sounds from your multiple comments today that

00:44this is a top priority for you, and you've stated that multiple times. I just want to verify that

00:50we are in that together. We're definitely in that together, and thank you for your word there. One

00:54of the things, if I could just interject here, most people don't realize it's not just 75%, it's closer

00:57to 80 or 90% on some baby docs who all come through the VA. What I would love to have, and have your

01:03help and the other doctors help, how can we keep them? Some of that is actually, by the way, if you

01:08want a bill recommendation that you might want to carry, let's raise the caps. Get my caps raised so I

01:14can actually hire doctors at a rate that is better than what we got right now. Love to work with you

01:19on that. Former Inspector General Michael Missal was dedicated in his work to end veteran suicide as

01:25well, and under his leadership, the Inspector General's office issued, and I just brought a

01:29few, report after report after report, laying out steps to better protect veterans who are at risk

01:36for suicide. So if we're committed to expanding with every effort, every dollar to prevent veteran

01:42suicide, you'd think our administration would have wanted to keep him around. So instead, he was

01:49fired by President Trump along with at least 16 other inspectors general against across the federal

01:54government just days after his taking office. Secretary Collins, why did President Trump fire

02:01Inspector General Missal? I have no idea, you'd have to ask him. Okay. And since Missal's firing, we've been without a

02:08permanent inspector general to hold your department accountable. It's, as you know from oversight,

02:13it's a, it's an important role. And you, Secretary of Collins, have taken actions that have inadvertently

02:20put veterans at risk with the firing of 24 direct support line veteran crisis line support staff. I know

02:28it wasn't the direct answers of the calls. I know you've rehired those VA workers, but can you tell me,

02:35did you approve those initial firings? The probationary firings were approved to my

02:40office. I mean, that's what we went forward is following the directions that we were given.

02:43Okay. And so, and also, and also, frankly, the way it also, the trigger mechanisms for those

02:48that needed to be exempted, actually the, the crisis line showed that they actually worked because once

02:52notified and that that got caught up, it was actually put back in place. Yeah, no, and their hiring back

02:57is important, clearly. But I think that true to what Congresswoman Morrison was talking to, there's a,

03:05lack of trust right now in the VA and a fear that many of us are hearing about. So nearly four months

03:12now after that firing, the president has now nominated a replacement, Cheryl Mason. And Secretary

03:19Collins, Ms. Mason is a current political appointee at the VA who reports directly to you. Is that correct?

03:24Yes. Okay. And what concerns me, Mr. Secretary, is that we have reason to believe that Ms.

03:30Mason helped transition President Trump into office and has played a role in cutting VA's workforce,

03:37blocking staff from contacting agency attorneys. And as my colleague Ms. Brownlee pointed out earlier,

03:43is suggesting or forcing that VA staff sign on to non-disclosure agreements. When considering her

03:49track record, it is clear that there is a conflict of interest here. She has been part of executing the

03:55Trump agenda and now theoretically will hold that same administration accountable in an oversight role.

04:01Secretary Collins, veterans and their families deserve leaders who put them first, especially

04:07when stakes of life and death are at play. Do you agree that we must have someone who can be seen as

04:13impartial and without conflict in this role of inspector general? I think the president has nominated

04:18someone who will actually do that, who has actually worked through two administrations. She actually

04:22worked under the Biden administration in the VA. She's worked inside the system for many, many years.

04:26If you look at her total work experience and how she goes about it, I think she'd be a great candidate

04:31for that. Without question. She is a good candidate. I think the concern for me is her role with the

04:37administration and also as a political appointee, serving the people that she actually is going to be

04:42appointed to oversee. Regardless of whether or not she can do that without partisanship or favor,

04:49the potential conflicts exist or at least people, the premise or the suggestion of conflict exists.

04:56So for the record, our shared commitment to advancing an inspector general who can fulfill their

05:02statutory obligation to be independent and objective in executing their duties is something that we share.

05:07Is that true? Yes, and I believe the president's choice and Ms. Mason will fulfill that.

05:12Okay, great. I also appreciate that members of this committee know from direct outreach,

05:21including what we just heard again from Dr. Morrison, that VA employees have concerns about the culture

05:26of the VA and have shared that there is a fear of retaliation for people who speak out. Members of this

05:32community committee have also experienced a lack of responsiveness when asking to visit a local VA,

05:38which is really quite unprecedented. Mr. Secretary, how are you going to rebuild trust in the VA for

05:45the employees as well as the veterans that you serve? Continuing, Congresswoman, exactly what I'm

05:50trying to do right now. As I look, I have freely come up and talked about issues that are hard and also

05:56say just judge what is actually happening and not what is being talked about. This has been the issue that

06:01I've had to deal with from the day one that I got in was actually dealing with many times not accurate information.

06:08Now, we can disagree about how some of this is to go about and there may be some things that we could, you know,

06:13do differently, but also having to deal with just the blatant, you know, disregard for, you know,

06:19reporter and other, you know, backlog actually hurts the problem. So for me,

06:24it's just having to go forward and tell the truth as I have it, as we're actually working it,

06:27and work to just rebuild that visit by visit by visit that I go to. And what is interesting though,

06:32and I was not joking with Dr. Morrison as well, is in Minneapolis and in other places as well,

06:38once I'm there and able to talk to our hospital staff, talk to our senior leadership and see them,

06:43they're actually understanding what my heart is. And I just got to do this one at a time and with

06:47every member here. I appreciate that. I certainly appreciate that showing up is what builds trust and

06:52clearly you are doing that in good honor and spirit. So I appreciate that. We will be watching.

06:59We certainly are looking for our veterans to be served to the best of our ability as a nation.

07:05I hear your commitment. And we look forward to further conversations. Thank you, Mr. Secretary.

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