Local whistleblower to testify in Congress about VA

DEKALB COUNTY, Ga. — Channel 2 Action News has confirmed a local federal whistleblower will testify before Congress next week about his claim that thousands of veterans' health care applications were inappropriately purged.
 
That whistleblower, Scott Davis, worked at the VA office in DeKalb County that processes veterans' applications for health care. 
 
He told Channel 2 investigative reporter Aaron Diamant that he faced retaliation when he complained about certain problems.
 
Now Congress wants to hear all about it.
 
"It was surreal," Davis said about getting a letter from House Veterans Committee Chairman Jeff Miller Tuesday inviting him to testify before Congress.
 
"I feel honored that I get a chance to speak before the Congress and honored that I get a chance to represent the concerns of the nation's veterans," Davis said.
 
Davis came forward last week to shine a spotlight on the mismanagement he says he saw while serving as program specialist at the VA's National Health Eligibility Center in DeKalb County.
 
"There's no accountability from the top down. People do what they want, whenever they want because they know no one's going to do anything," Davis said.
 
At next week's hearing in Washington, D.C., Davis will testify about the possible deletion of as many as 17,000 veterans' health applications which could cause significant delays for veterans seeking care. 
 
"There's actually going to be transparency as well, because it's going to be on camera, before the Congress and the entire country, so there will be no way for people to hide their dirty little secrets at the VA anymore," Davis said.
 
The VA's inspector general is now investigating as it continues its investigation into the now infamous system-wide scheduling scandal that exploded onto the national scene in May.
 
"I hope what I say matters through action," Davis said.
 
Davis said he first started speaking out in January when he felt a $5 million federal contract was being mismanaged.

He's scheduled to testify with other whistleblowers and top VA leaders Tuesday evening in Washington, D.C.

In a statement from Rep. Jeff Miller, Chairman, House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, he said:

"In a word, VA's treatment of whistleblowers is shameful. In instance after instance at VA facilities around the country, brave VA employees who have spoken out about mismanagement and negligence that harms veterans have been harassed, punished and in some cases fired.

"Ideally, these courageous employees would be celebrated, but at today's Department of Veterans Affairs they are persecuted. Meanwhile, VA administrators and executives who have presided over a rash of preventable deaths and patient safety incidents have been rewarded with glowing performance reviews and huge bonuses.

"We are holding this hearing to give VA whistleblowers like Scott Davis an opportunity to explain to the public how the rhetoric coming out of VA's central office regarding whistleblower protections doesn't match the reality of what is happening on the ground."

WSBTV