Scathing IG Report Faults VA Secretary For European Trip That Included Wife’s Airfare, Extensive Sightseeing
The inspector general report also found that, among other "serious derelictions," Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin also improperly accepted tickets to Wimbledon. “This was time that should have been spent conducting official V.A. business and not providing personal travel concierge services to Secretary Shulkin and his wife,” Inspector General Michael J. Missal concluded in the report.
The New York Times:
Report Faults V.A. Secretary Shulkin Over Travel To Europe
A scathing report released Wednesday found “serious derelictions” in a 10-day, $122,000 business trip the secretary of veterans affairs took to Europe, which included airfare for his wife and extensive sightseeing. According to the report, Secretary David J. Shulkin traveled to Denmark and London for meetings about health care for veterans, accompanied by his wife, a small staff and a six-person security detail, but nearly half of his time was spent visiting castles and other tourist sites. (Philipps, 2/14)
USA Today:
VA Secretary David Shulkin Regrets Travel Errors, Pays Government For Wife's Airfare
The inspector general found Shulkin improperly accepted Wimbledon tickets and taxpayer-funded airfare for his wife for the 10-day trip in July, and he and his chief of staff misled VA ethics officials while seeking official approval for the tickets and flights. Investigators found the chief of staff, Viveca Wright Simpson, doctored an email to make it look like Shulkin was getting special recognition or an award during the trip in order to get approval for his wife’s flights. And they said Shulkin mischaracterized the woman who provided him with the Wimbledon tickets as a friend when they had only met three times at official events. (Slack, 2/14)
Reuters:
'Serious Derelictions' Found In U.S. Veteran Affairs Chief's Europe Trip: Report
The investigation of Shulkin's European trip found several other "serious derelictions," the Veterans Affairs inspector general said in a report on its website. The office opened the probe after receiving an anonymous complaint alleging the secretary had misused travel funds because the trip to Europe, which cost at least $122,344, was more personal than business. (Alexander, Heavey and Volcovici, 2/14)
The Wall Street Journal:
VA Chief Got Free Wimbledon Tickets, Wife’s Airfare On Trip, Watchdog Says
Dr. Shulkin’s response, submitted by his attorneys, said the trip was “immensely valuable” to the VA. They wrote that Dr. Shulkin violated no “ethical regulations” in accepting the Wimbledon tickets. They said Dr. Shulkin had no role in obtaining approval for his wife’s travel, and that the department employee, “on his own initiative,” had undertaken the “detailed planning of tourist activities.” Dr. Shulkin said that he has offered multiple times to reimburse the cost of the Wimbledon tickets, and that a British veterans official obtained them through a personal, not a professional, connection and gave them on a personal basis. (Kesling and Nicholas, 2/14)
Politico:
VA Audit: Aide Expensed Shulkin Wife’s European Travel Under False Pretense
Shulkin told POLITICO the IG report was inaccurate — wildly exaggerating the cost of the Wimbledon tickets, for example — and spurred by internal VA opponents of the sweeping changes he is trying to bring to the agency. Shulkin complained that he only had two business days to respond to accusations in the report before it was published.The most reliable politics newsletter. "There are people within my organization who are not happy with the progress we’re making and the direction of the organization, who are deliberately undermining me," he said. Shulkin has demanded more accountability from employees at the VA, which says it removed 1,300 staffers last year and suspended 500 others. "They are really killing me,” he said. (Allen, 2/14)
NH Times Union:
Substandard Care At Manchester VA Used By Top Fed For Cover In Flap Over $122k Wimbledon Trip
Confronted by investigators about a European junket that included free tickets to a Wimbledon final, Veterans Affairs Secretary David Shulkin said he worked a lot during the trip and cited the emerging media storm over substandard care at the Manchester VA Medical Center. That’s according to a VA Inspector General, who reports that Shulkin and his wife inappropriately accepted tickets to the ladies final at Wimbledon and ate lunch at the private members dining room at Wimbledon. Investigators also determined that the nine-day, mid-July trip, which cost taxpayers $122,300, involved only 3 1/2 days of meetings, and VA workers arranged numerous sight-seeing activities in Copenhagen and London for the Shulkins. (Hayward, 2/14)
The Washington Post:
VA Secretary Shulkin, Under Fire For Europe Trip, To Appear Before House Panel
The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is scheduled to hold a previously planned hearing at 8 a.m. Its chairman, Rep. Phil Roe (R-Tenn.), intends to “address” the issue in his opening statement, his staff said. The hearing follows a damning report issued Wednesday from VA’s inspector general, Michael J. Missal. Shulkin is challenging the findings as “unfair.” (Wax-Thibodeaux, 2/15)
