VA: Unit's supervisor suspended

2 overstepped on his watch, it says

In this Nov. 2, 2015, file photo, Department of Veterans Affairs, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits Danny Pummill, testifies at a Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.
In this Nov. 2, 2015, file photo, Department of Veterans Affairs, Principal Deputy Under Secretary for Benefits Danny Pummill, testifies at a Veterans Affairs Committee hearing on Capitol Hill in Washington.

WASHINGTON -- The Department of Veterans Affairs is suspending the head of the Veterans Benefits Administration for allowing two lower-ranking officials to manipulate the agency's hiring system for their own gain.

Deputy VA Secretary Sloan Gibson said acting Veterans Benefits Administration chief Danny Pummill will be suspended without pay for 15 days for his role in the scam.

Pummill failed to exercise proper oversight as Kimberly Graves and Diana Rubens forced lower-ranking managers to accept job transfers and then stepped into the vacant positions themselves, keeping their senior-level pay while reducing their responsibilities, Gibson said Tuesday.

Pummill is one of the VA's highest-ranking officials. The Veterans Benefits Administration provides compensation and pension benefits, life insurance, home loans and other services to millions of veterans.

Under VA rules, Pummill can appeal his suspension to an independent arbiter.

Pummill was the benefits administration's deputy chief when Rubens and Graves implemented the job relocations, which put both of them closer to their families. Pummill replaced former benefits administration chief Allison Hickey, who retired as allegations against Rubens and Graves were made public.

Rubens earns $181,497 as director of the administration's Philadelphia regional office, while Graves receives $173,949 as head of the St. Paul, Minn., office.

Graves and Rubens were reprimanded Tuesday and had their pay cut by 10 percent. The two women were reinstated to their positions last month after administrative judges overturned their demotions.

The judges based their rulings, in part, on the fact that more senior officials, such as Pummill, had not been disciplined in the case.

The VA also said it has reprimanded Beth McCoy, director of field operations for the benefits administration. Gibson said McCoy did not exercise proper judgment in taking over for Rubens as head of field operations.

Gibson said the disciplinary actions were in the best interest of veterans and taxpayers. "Ultimately, that is what these decisions are about: getting back to the work of serving America's veterans," he said.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, called the actions "a weak slap on the wrist."

Accountability at the VA "is almost nonexistent," Miller said. "One thing is clear: This dysfunctional status quo will never change until we eliminate arcane civil service rules that put the job security of VA bureaucrats ahead of the veterans they are charged with serving."

A Section on 03/23/2016

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