{"database": "press", "table": "releases", "rows": [["https://web.archive.org/web/20141003024551/http://coffman.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/gop-lawmaker-says-va-full-of-pep-talks-and-empty-platitudes", "GOP lawmaker says VA full of pep talks and empty platitudes", "2014-10-01", "2014", "2014-10", "Republican", "House", "CO", "Mike Coffman", "C001077", "web.archive.org", null, null, "legacy", "Rep. Mike Coffman (R-Colo.) on Tuesday criticized the Department of Veterans Affairs for continuing to talk tough about employee discipline, but refusing to fire anyone involved in the VA health care scandal.\nCoffman wrote just a day after the VA announced it had settled three cases involving retaliation against VA workers who blew the whistle on corruption and shoddy practices at the VA heath center in Phoenix. While the VA said it doesn\u2019t tolerate retaliation against whistleblowers, it gave no indication that it will actually fire or do anything else to discipline the retaliators.\nConspicuously absent from the release is any announcement of actions to hold the managers who engaged in the retaliation accountable,\u201d Coffman wrote to VA Secretary Robert McDonald.\n\u201cWhile the release is another opportunity for you to tout your ICARE program, pep talks and empty platitudes will not change the culture of corruption that resulted in the national scheduling and patient death scandal,\u201d Coffman added. \u201cAction is needed to terminate from federal employment those officials who were involved in the data manipulation schemes and who tried to cover it up through retaliation against whistleblowers.\u201d\nWhile Congress gave the VA secretary the authority to quickly remove employees who aren\u2019t serving the VA\u2019s mission, McDonald so far doesn\u2019t appear to be willing to use that authority. Coffman asked that he do so without delay.\n\u201cYou were provided the necessary tools to expedite termination of senior officials for poor performance or misconduct,\u201d he wrote. \u201cIt is time for you to use it.\u201d\nHowever, that new authority applies only to senior officials at the VA, and therefore could only be used if senior officials were involved in retaliation against VA workers.\nWhile few if any VA employees have been fired, the VA continues to act as if it\u2019s being tough. Last week, the VA said it was considering firing an employee who had already left for retirement the day before.", 1, "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z", "2026-03-30T12:14:52Z"]], "columns": ["url", "title", "date", "year", "month", "party", "chamber", "state", "member_name", "bioguide_id", "domain", "scraper", "source", "date_source", "text", "has_text", "collected_at", "updated_at"], "primary_keys": ["url"], "primary_key_values": ["https://web.archive.org/web/20141003024551/http://coffman.house.gov/media-center/in-the-news/gop-lawmaker-says-va-full-of-pep-talks-and-empty-platitudes"], "units": {}, "query_ms": 1.3905330561101437, "source": "dwillis/congress-press", "source_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press", "license": "MIT", "license_url": "https://github.com/dwillis/congress-press/blob/main/LICENSE"}