Background checks require days of intrusive interviews and form-filling that plumb every nook and cranny of candidates' lives. Financial disclosure sometimes leads candidates to complete financial divesture. Forms multiply, reputations are torn asunder and, all the while, the people's business goes unattended. Unfortunately, at the end of this grueling background ordeal, candidates are finding that the rewards for surviving the process are diminishing. Pay scales, especially for senior appointees, fall further and further behind senior executive salaries in the private sector.
Hours are long.
As a result, too many qualified candidates are saying no thanks, and our nation is much the poorer for it. The American people may wonder why they should care about all of this. Sorry, most senior political positions at VA are vacant. You're out of luck - that candidate is probably conducting his or her eighth FBI interview. Check back in a few months when someone may finally be in place at the Small Business Administration.