WASHINGTON – Today, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-Conn.), Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (SVAC), issued the following statement on the resignation of Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Under Secretary for Benefits Allison Hickey:

“Following Under Secretary Hickey’s resignation, the immediate challenge at VA is not just replacing one person but repairing a broken culture. My colleagues and I recently asked Secretary McDonald to hold accountable senior executives who participated in a scheme at VBA to skirt salary and bonus limitations for senior VBA leaders by unnecessarily relocating executives and using those moves to justify increases in their pay. The next VBA Under Secretary must demonstrate a commitment to changing the culture at VA.”

Last week, Ranking Member Blumenthal led a letter with his SVAC colleagues calling on VA Secretary McDonald to hold accountable the VA executives who misused millions of dollars in VA funds.

###