VA Recognized for Leadership in Federal Accountability
Last update: 6:43 p.m. EDT May 7, 2009
WASHINGTON, May 7, 2009 /PRNewswire-USNewswire via COMTEX/ -- The Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) 2008 Performance and Accountability Report ranked second amongst the largest federal agencies according to a report issued by the Mercatus Center of George Mason University. This independent research organization evaluates and ranks federal agency reports on how transparently they report their successes and failures, how well they document the tangible public benefits they produce, and whether they demonstrate that their leadership uses performance information to devise strategies for making program improvements.
The Government Accountability Project at the Mercatus Center in Arlington, Va., examined the federal agencies for its 10th Annual Performance Report Scorecard, ranking VA second highest behind the Labor Department for quality of disclosure in its annual performance and accountability reports. VA's report was also recognized as the government's best in the leadership category.
"These reports play a vital role in ensuring that federal agencies carry out their responsibility to inform the American public about how their tax dollars are used, the results we achieve, and the areas that require improvement," said VA Chief of Staff John Gingrich in remarks at the Mercatus Center awards ceremony yesterday.
"VA has made noteworthy progress developing, implementing, and using performance measures that are directly linked to the department's strategic goals and objectives," he added. "As we transform, we will re-examine ways to measure our success and report our results to Veterans, our stakeholders, and the American public."
The awards marked the 10th consecutive year that VA has been recognized by the Mercatus Center as one of the federal government's leaders in performance reporting.
VA's Fiscal Year 2008 Performance and Accountability Report is available at http://www.va.gov/budget/report/2008/index.htm. The Mercatus Center's full report analyzing the 24 federal agencies' reporting can be viewed at http://www.mercatus.org.
SOURCE U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
http://www.va.gov
///////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////////
To most disabled veterans this is the most ludicrous thing they have ever heard, no one at the VA seems to be accountable for anything. They have the "it's not my fault syndrome, down to a science" they have never seen a "buck" they can't pass and balme on someone else.
They accept no responsibility for their errors, their mishandling of veterans compensation claims, shady medical studies they use to refute claims for exposure to Agent Orange, Nuclear weapons, chemical weapons and drugs in human experimentation.
If real veterans and their families were not being hurt, emotionally and financially this would be hilarious, but the effects are disastrous for America's veterans and their families, so to read that they are one of the most respected federal agencies for transparecny, it scares the hell out of me about how much obscuring they are doing with other federal agencies and reports. I have seen and read about to many veterans that have been left nehind, and the people at the top, Congressman and Senators and high level VA officials will NOT listen to reason when we show them the evidecne that backs our reasoning, they just ignore it and act as if it does not exist and then claim to the world that we are just disgtuntled veterans or "crusaders' rather than address the medical studies or scientific work that substantiates what we claim.
I hope the VA officials do not hurt themselves patting themselves on the back over this bogus award.
Thursday, May 7, 2009
VA Recognized for Leadership in Federal Accountability
