Lest you feel too sympathetic for Eric Shinseki, ask yourself this: if Target’s CEO Gregg Steinhafel was fired because of a data breach, about which he presumably could have had zero knowledge or warning, and is held responsible for the actions of every one of his 365,000 employees, why should Shinseki not be held accountable for the misdeeds of the VA’s 300,000 employees?
A CEO in the private sector has to sign his company’s audit, attesting to the accuracy of its contents. Each CEO does this, praying that some underling hasn’t cooked the books to hide a sales shortfall or inventory blip.
Related: VA Scandal Sends Shinseki Packing
Shinseki is out, and good riddance. Let’s be honest here – the man’s job for the past five years was overseeing the management of the Department of Veterans Affairs. It’s hard to argue that he did a good job. Yes, he is a distinguished retired four-star General, and the country is grateful for his service. But let’s not pretend that he should not have been on top of what was going on at the VA—complaints about the treatment of our vets are nothing new and have been well documented.
Neither of these leaders could possibly put in place enough safeguards to avoid being undone by bad behavior in their organizations, or by events beyond their control. But, they are and should be held responsible; high rank comes with accountability, and Mr. Shinseki did the honorable thing by stepping down.
Of course, in government circles, accountability is a sometime thing. For example: have Americans paused to consider why it takes an Act of Congress to fire VA officials that may have contributed to the deaths of neglected vets?
For those not following the fine print, that’s the essence of the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014, which was passed by the House but has subsequently hit a speed bump in the Senate by the name of Bernie Sanders. Why is this bill necessary? Because, it is almost impossible to fire senior-level executives who work for the federal government.
Related: Shinseki Falls on Sword in VA Scandal
That’s not too surprising; most government workers are protected either by civil service rules that more or less guarantee employment after three years or in many cases by union contracts that render dismissal a remote option. A study by USA Today in 2011 concluded that federal workers were more likely to keel over and die at their desks than be fired. Specifically, only 0.55 percent of government employees were laid off in fiscal 2011, compared to roughly 3 percent in the private workplace.
Notably, members of Congress don’t put up with the red tape protecting employees. Senators and Representatives in the House have carved out exception to workplace rules which allows them to bounce aides with impunity – just like in the real (private sector) world. Members of Congress don’t want slugs on their payrolls; they expect performance, and they want the tools to make sure they get it.
The specific people addressed by the House bill are VA senior administrators, many of whom belong to an organization called Senior Executives Association, which adamantly opposed the legislation. In a statement responding to the VA bill, the SEA suggested that employees might become subject to “trial by media” and that the group could become a “politicized corps that bends with the political winds.” Americans might think - better buffeted by press coverage and political opinion than unresponsive and dilatory.
There was a reason long ago that federal employees bargained for and won job protection. They feared an incoming administration would clean house along party lines, chiseling out layers of bureaucratic sediment and possibly undermining the country’s management capability. By replacing scads of civil service types for purely political reasons, there was a chance that some institutional knowledge or talents might be lost.
Related: Shinseki on the Hot Seat as VA Scandal Spirals
These days, with the federal government workforce having grown to more than 2.5 million, incoming administrations rarely even get top appointees in place in a timely manner, much less lower level types. Also, there is ample evidence (note, the VA situation) that existing practices could use some shaking up.
Federal employees also want to be shielded from “whistle-blower” retribution. But the Whistleblower Protection Act of 1989 took care of that, not to mention a media ever-hungry for scandal.
This pendulum has swung too far. Accountability appears nonexistent among government agencies; according to the USA Today report, there were zero firings at the FCC and FDA in 2011, for instance. In Washington, job security for the government’s 168,000 workers was 99.74 percent.
In case you’re wondering, Bernie Sanders’ objections to the House VA Accountability Bill stemmed from the haste in which it was presented. He said, “Some of us are old-fashioned enough to know that maybe folks in the Senate might want to know what is in the bill before we voted on it.” Interesting…and what was Mr. Sanders’ vote on the Affordable Care Act?
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