[Congressional Record Volume 168, Number 114 (Tuesday, July 12, 2022)]
[Senate]
[Pages S3226-S3227]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                             Whistleblowers

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I am back to the floor for reasons that 
my Senator friends are tired of hearing me talk about all the time, but 
I have come back to give you a specific example of retaliation against 
whistleblowers, Agencies of the government not answering letters that 
we have sent, and also what I believe is some political interference in 
some of my oversight work. Today, it deals specifically with the 
Department of Veterans Affairs--as we know it around here, the VA.
  On April 2 of last year, 2021, I sent letters to the VA and the VA 
Office of Inspector General based on allegations from multiple 
whistleblowers. Those whistleblowers reported numerous ethical 
violations, retaliation, and possible leaking of market-sensitive 
information that may have affected retail investors. I have been 
waiting more than a year for a response to my inquiries.
  Emails obtained through the Freedom of Information Act by a 
government watchdog group called Empower Oversight show that career 
public servants at the VA prepared a response to my letter over a year 
ago, but when it came time for the Secretary of the VA, McDonough, to 
send that letter to my office, senior Biden political officials blocked 
it. It appears that Biden-appointed VA officials have issued an order 
not to respond to my request, and I have a pretty good reason why.
  We know that the VA received these allegations from whistleblowers 
early on, and the VA ignored them. Whistleblowers alleged, among other 
things, conflicts of interest between a senior-level VA official and a 
company represented by her husband. This official, Charmain Bogue, has 
since left public service. The company that employed her husband, 
Barrett Bogue, is entitled ``Veterans Education Success,'' or VES.
  On multiple occasions, starting in December of 2017, an employee at 
VA sought guidance from VA lawyers on whether Ms. Bogue should recuse 
herself on procurement-related matters. The lawyers affirmed that Ms. 
Bogue should recuse herself, and the employee even copied Ms. Bogue on 
that guidance of recusal. The employee also alerted VA leadership of 
Ms. Bogue's need to recuse herself. Ms. Bogue never recused herself, 
but the VA employee was reportedly removed from Federal service. Now, 
that is retaliation. That is unjustified. It should never happen.
  In response to my letter about these and other allegations, the VA 
Office of Inspector General immediately opened an investigation. The VA 
Office of Inspector General uncovered more wrongdoing than originally 
thought, and I have four points that they uncovered. I am only going to 
go into those four.
  Ms. Bogue participated in matters involving her husband's employer, 
contrary to ethics guidance. Ms. Bogue's interaction with that company 
violated the apparent conflict rules. Ms. Bogue did not provide 
sufficient detail to VA ethics about her spouse's business. No. 4, Ms. 
Bogue refused to cooperate fully in the OIG's investigation.
  These are only some of the allegations that I have received.
  The VA Office of Inspector General did not review the allegations of 
whistleblower reprisal; nor did it investigate whether VA employees 
mishandled nonpublic information.
  I raised questions about all of these issues, and to date, I have had 
no substantive communication from Secretary McDonough about any of 
these questions I have raised. So what is the VA hiding? What else did 
the VA know or choose to ignore?
  Congress needs answers not stonewalling. Independent government 
watchdogs and whistleblower advocates have called on the VA to review 
government grants and screen for companies and individuals who have 
engaged in wrongdoing. They have also urged the VA to consider whether 
those individuals or entities should be able to obtain government 
contracts in the future.

[[Page S3227]]

  I would be very interested to know whether those who refuse to 
cooperate with an OIG request can still obtain taxpayer money through 
government contracts. The Biden administration has claimed, time and 
again, that it is the most transparent administration in U.S. history. 
Well, I think I just gave you an example that that is not true, and it 
certainly hasn't been true, in this case, for emphasis.
  The VA deserves much better. Of course, the VA serves our veterans, 
and our veterans deserve much better from that Agency. The VA needs to 
start being as transparent as they claim to be transparent and 
cooperate with this investigation.
  I yield the floor.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The senior Senator from Wyoming.