[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 25, 2023)] [Senate] [Pages S1334-S1335] From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
Date: 2023-04-25
Chamber: SENATE
Mr. GRASSLEY: I will vote no on the nomination of Joshua Jacobs to be Under Secretary for Benefits at VA. I will do so for reasons I have already stated publicly in the Record when I paused consideration of his nomination last month. I placed that hold to bring attention to serious ethical lapses and the VA's complete stonewalling of my inquiry into those issues. Veterans Affairs, for 2 years, has chosen the path of inattention and disrespect, not just to this Senator from Iowa, but more importantly to the Senate, the people I represent, and all Americans who believe in honest government. I began my inquiry 2 years ago into serious conflicts of interest at the VA, concerns that it had failed to protect sensitive and confidential information about publicly traded companies, and the shocking and potentially illegal--and fully documented--termination of a person the VA suspected of being a whistleblower. The VA failed to cooperate on all counts. These are matters that are in the VA's own best interest to resolve. It doesn't do the VA or anyone else any good, and it certainly does no good for our veterans, for these serious matters to be swept under the rug. At my request, VA's inspector general investigated the serious allegations I raised of potentially criminal conflicts of interest and confirmed them to the extent possible. However, he wasn't able to finish his investigation and determine whether criminal activity occurred because the subjects refused to cooperate. The conflicts of interest were known to senior VA officials, who did nothing to stop them and instead assured the conflicted official they would make the issue go away, and they did, until I raised my inquiry. Documents show a VA official berated the whistleblower, removed their key duties, and then fired them. VA did not cooperate with my investigation, and that has left serious questions unanswered. It waited nearly 9 months and after four letters to respond at all, and even then, it was only to refuse to provide answers. After 2 years, we are still waiting for those answers.  And if you think this is all old news, just last month, I raised new allegations obtained by my office about potential contract irregularities at VA. It appears from public records that the VA has awarded lucrative contracts to former VA officials who resigned under ethical clouds. We need answers to that and all the other questions I have raised, and I will not stop pushing for those answers. My staff counts over 30 questions that VA to date has not fully responded to, after six oversight inquiries from my office and multiple attempts to gain their cooperation. Mr. Jacobs, the nominee before us today, served as a senior adviser to various VA Secretaries and was there as the VA obstructed my inquiry. He had a front row seat at VA through a string of failures and crises, from the Phoenix wait list scandal, to VA's failures in processing claims for victims of sexual trauma, veterans' claims backlogs, delays in the GI Bill modernization initiative, and a host of challenges and scandals. Mr. Jacobs has never adequately explained his role in these matters or what potential role he may have played in VA's lack of responsiveness to congressional inquiries. In addition, for reasons I explained in my public hold statement on his nomination March 14, I found his responses to my questions for the record to be woefully inadequate and evasive. Where is the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee in making sure the VA and this nominee are held accountable? After 2 years of that same pattern from the VA, the Senate should not confirm this nominee. VA can and must do better in responding to congressional inquiries and fulfilling its role of serving veterans and the American people. I will vote no.