[Congressional Record Volume 169, Number 69 (Tuesday, April 25, 2023)]
[Senate]
[Pages S1334-S1335]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                   Nomination of Joshua David Jacobs

  Mr. GRASSLEY. Mr. President, I will vote no on the nomination of 
Joshua Jacobs to be Under Secretary for Benefits at VA. I will do so 
for reasons I have already stated publicly in the Record when I paused 
consideration of his nomination last month. I placed that hold to bring 
attention to serious ethical lapses and the VA's complete stonewalling 
of my inquiry into those issues.
  Veterans Affairs, for 2 years, has chosen the path of inattention and 
disrespect, not just to this Senator from Iowa, but more importantly to 
the Senate, the people I represent, and all Americans who believe in 
honest government.
  I began my inquiry 2 years ago into serious conflicts of interest at 
the VA, concerns that it had failed to protect sensitive and 
confidential information about publicly traded companies, and the 
shocking and potentially illegal--and fully documented--termination of 
a person the VA suspected of being a whistleblower. The VA failed to 
cooperate on all counts.
  These are matters that are in the VA's own best interest to resolve. 
It doesn't do the VA or anyone else any good, and it certainly does no 
good for our veterans, for these serious matters to be swept under the 
rug.
  At my request, VA's inspector general investigated the serious 
allegations I raised of potentially criminal conflicts of interest and 
confirmed them to the extent possible. However, he wasn't able to 
finish his investigation and determine whether criminal activity 
occurred because the subjects refused to cooperate. The conflicts of 
interest were known to senior VA officials, who did nothing to stop 
them and instead assured the conflicted official they would make the 
issue go away, and they did, until I raised my inquiry. Documents show 
a VA official berated the whistleblower, removed their key duties, and 
then fired them.
  VA did not cooperate with my investigation, and that has left serious 
questions unanswered. It waited nearly 9 months and after four letters 
to respond at all, and even then, it was only to refuse to provide 
answers. After 2 years, we are still waiting for those answers.

[[Page S1335]]

  And if you think this is all old news, just last month, I raised new 
allegations obtained by my office about potential contract 
irregularities at VA. It appears from public records that the VA has 
awarded lucrative contracts to former VA officials who resigned under 
ethical clouds. We need answers to that and all the other questions I 
have raised, and I will not stop pushing for those answers. My staff 
counts over 30 questions that VA to date has not fully responded to, 
after six oversight inquiries from my office and multiple attempts to 
gain their cooperation.
  Mr. Jacobs, the nominee before us today, served as a senior adviser 
to various VA Secretaries and was there as the VA obstructed my 
inquiry. He had a front row seat at VA through a string of failures and 
crises, from the Phoenix wait list scandal, to VA's failures in 
processing claims for victims of sexual trauma, veterans' claims 
backlogs, delays in the GI Bill modernization initiative, and a host of 
challenges and scandals.
  Mr. Jacobs has never adequately explained his role in these matters 
or what potential role he may have played in VA's lack of 
responsiveness to congressional inquiries. In addition, for reasons I 
explained in my public hold statement on his nomination March 14, I 
found his responses to my questions for the record to be woefully 
inadequate and evasive. Where is the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee 
in making sure the VA and this nominee are held accountable? After 2 
years of that same pattern from the VA, the Senate should not confirm 
this nominee. VA can and must do better in responding to congressional 
inquiries and fulfilling its role of serving veterans and the American 
people. I will vote no.

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