Senators Introduce Bill To Strengthen VA OIG Subpoena Authorities
A bipartisan pair of Senators have introduced legislation to strengthen the Office of Inspector General (OIG) within the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Under the legislation, the VA OIG would be able to subpoena testimony from relevant individuals during the course of investigations, inspections, and reviews.
Currently, the VA OIG does not have testimonial subpoena authority to compel the testimony of those who have left employment at the VA, former VA contractors, or other relevant individuals. According to a joint press release from bill sponsors James Lankford (R-OK) and Jon Tester (D-MT), these restrictions limit the VA OIG and Congress in their ability to conduct thorough and complete reviews of VA programs, management, and contracts.
To rectify this barrier to oversight, Senators Lankford and Tester proposed the Strengthening Oversight for Veterans Act of 2020 to authorize the VA OIG to subpoena relevant individuals regardless of current employment status.
According to the joint release, the Strengthening Oversight for Veterans Act of 2020 includes provisions to:
Provide the VA Inspector General the authority to subpoena testimony from relevant individuals in the course of its investigations.
Require the VA Inspector General to notify the Attorney General (AG) of the United States if he/she intends to issue a subpoena allowing the AG the opportunity to object to the issuance of the subpoena if it would interfere with an ongoing investigation.
Ensure the VA Inspector General makes clear that a witness can voluntarily cooperate with the Inspector General rather than be subpoenaed and to the greatest extent practicable, have the Inspector General travel to the location of a participating witness rather than making them travel far distances.
Require the VA OIG to report to Congress regularly on the number of times they have used this new authority and other related topics.
“Our first goal is to ensure our veterans are receiving the best care possible, but in the event that an investigation is required and individuals are unwilling to be forthcoming with their testimony, then the Inspector General should have every tool available to them in order to provide transparency and recommendations to address any issues in the future,” Senator Lankford explained.
The Council of the Inspectors General on Integrity and Efficiency, an independent government-wide group of Inspectors General, endorsed this legislative change in the group’s 116th Congress legislative priorities list.