Wnited States Senate
WASHINGTON, DC 20510
April 21, 2017
‘The Honorable David Shulki
Secretary of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20420
Dear Secretary Shulkin:
We write today following the issuance of Memorandum-17-22 by Office of Management and
Budget (OMB) Director Mick Mulvaney on April 12, 2017, which lifted President Donald
Trump's government-wide hiring freeze. While we applaud the lifting of this hiring freeze,
thousands of veterans and their families continue to suffer as a result of this incredibly short.
sighted policy. Following the issuance of M-17-22, we are requesting that you provide us with an
update on how the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) plans to prioritize hiring to ensure VA
facilities have the personnel needed to provide expeditious and quality care for our veterans,
As you know, Virginia is home to over 750,000 veterans and has one of the fastest growing veteran
populations in the country. It is essential that our VA facilities are appropriately staffed to
accommodate this growing veteran population. While many positions were exempted from the
hiring freeze — including most clinical positions — critical human resources jobs did not receive the
same exemption. This has made it challenging for VA facilities to fill open clinical positions, even
though these jobs were exempted from the President’s hiring freeze, For example, the Hampton
VA Medical Center's (VAMC) human resources department is down 40 percent, making it
extremely difficult to fill the more than 200 open clinical positions at the facility. The inability to
fill these positions due to the hiring freeze has undoubtedly caused delays for veterans seeking
access to health care in Hampton Roads and across the Commonwealth. Furthermore, it remains
unclear whether facilities like Hampton VAMC have the authority to restart hiring for these
positions following M-17-22 or whether they still requite a specific exemption, which may delay
the process.
In addition to the challenges VA has faced in providing health care as a result of the hiring freeze,
we also have concerns that veterans seeking benefits have been impacted. VA data shows a
measurable increase in backlogged claims since the freeze's implementation. Benefits
Administration staff have also indicated that the freeze has hindered their ability to process claims
in a timely manner.
As you move forward to fill the thousands of open positions within the VA and comply with the
requirements of M-17-22, we ask that you provide us with a briefing on your plan to prioritize
hiring to ensure that VA facilities are appropriately staffed to provide timely care and services for
our veterans.
Specifically, we would like to know the followi
1. How many positions are currently unfilled at the VA?
2. What, if any, additional resources or authorities are required to fill the necessary vacancies?3. How many of the VA's open positions will remain restricted from hiring pending personnel
reviews?
‘What, if any, work roles will remain subject to hiring restrictions?
At what level are exemptions for hiring restrictions authorized to be made?
How are you tracking the impact of continued hiring restrictions on services and care for
veterans?
oe
‘Thank you for your consideration and we look forward to your prompt response.
Sincerely,
MARK R. WARNER TIM KAINE.
United States Senator United States Senator
ce: Mick Mulvaney, Director, Office of Management and Budget
Kathleen M. McGettigan, Acting Director, Office of Personnel Management