Senator John McCain recently sent a letter to the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary about whistle blower retaliation. This isn’t the first time the Phoenix VA has had to address this issue.
The VA settled three Phoenix whistleblower retaliation cases in September. McCain’s lettercalled for Robert McDonald to address the current retaliation situation immediately. He cited a 2014 report that said the Office of Special Counsel investigated 37 claims of whistle blower retaliation at the VA.
“We continue to hear stories of retaliation against whistle blowers and if we don’t get satisfactory answer we are going to have to take legislative action which is very difficult,” McCain said. “But you can’t have whistle blowers being retaliated against. It’s just an unacceptable situation. It’s a fundamental we have to have respected.”
As of Friday, McCain said he hadn’t gotten a response from McDonald. The letter specifically addresses Phoenix VA employee and whistle blower Brandon Coleman. He reported concerns about the way the health care system handled patients at risk of suicide.
