The Department of Veterans Affairs headquarters building as seen in Washington, D.C., on July 6, 2022. (Carlos Bongioanni/Stars and Stripes)
WASHINGTON — House Veterans’ Affairs Committee members voted Thursday to subpoena Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary Denis McDonough to hand over documents and other communications related to sexual harassment allegations made by female personnel against supervisors at the agency’s office tasked with promoting a harassment-free workplace.
The subpoena seeks all documents, texts, emails and communications related to alleged sexual harassment and misconduct that took place at the VA’s Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion.
“Subpoenas from this committee are extremely rare,” said Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., the committee chairman. The last time the committee issued a subpoena was in 2016.
He said the committee’s subpoena is seeking communications about “desired or actual romantic or sexual relationships” between supervisors and subordinates in the office. His staff was contacted initially in September 2023 “by the first of many whistleblowers,” and the congressman described some of the allegations as “graphic and appalling.”
Employees in the Office of Resolution Management, Diversity and Inclusion have made varied claims that included improper sexual advances by some supervisors, subordinates pressured to engage in sexual or romantic relationships, and threats of retaliation against those who did not comply. The office, which is tasked with making VA workplaces “harassment-free,” oversees a harassment prevention program that calls for “immediate and appropriate corrective actions be taken to eliminate harassing conduct.”
“I do not take this step lightly,” Bost said of the subpoena. “However, the horrific nature of the alleged misconduct and the department’s failure to deal with it properly and quickly has led to this point. Women who have endured sexual harassment are stonewalled by the VA. They turned to Congress for something to be done.”
Rep. Mark Takano, D-Calif., former chairman of the committee, cautioned against “recklessly ruining the lives of those accused. … It is too early to make conclusions of wrongdoing.”
Takano said the VA has all the tools to hold employees accountable, and he cast the only “no” vote against the subpoena resolution, which was adopted 22-1.
Rep. Nancy Mace, R-S.C., said the committee had a responsibility and “every right” to investigate allegations of sexual harassment.
“This is about protecting women in the workplace,” she said.
Bost said there has been a shakeup within the office involving resignations, reassignments and the launch of an internal VA investigation since the House committee started looking into whistleblower complaints last fall.
Rep. Mike Bost, R-Ill., led an effort Thursday, Jan. 11, 2024, by the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee to issue a subpoena against the Department of Veterans Affairs demanding text, emails and documents related to sexual harassment complaints at a VA office tasked with promoting a harassment-free workplace. Bost is shown here at a 2019 Capitol Hill news conference. (Joe Gromelski/Stars and Stripes)
The VA investigation is now underway by its Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.
“I have seen damning evidence that was ignored by senior officials at VA for months,” Bost said. “If not for the brave whistleblowers and this committee investigation there is no telling if VA would have taken the allegations seriously.”
Bost referred to text messages from one supervisor to a subordinate as “too disgusting to share in public.”
Terrence Hayes, a VA spokesman, said the agency does not tolerate sexual harassment.
“We are treating these allegations with the utmost seriousness, have moved aggressively to investigate and will take swift and appropriate action,” he said. “Since November 2023, VA has provided the committee with substantial documents and information relating to the allegations. VA also has shared the steps it is taking to investigate the allegations. In addition, VA has pledged to provide Congress with the results of the internal VA investigation, including its final report, by the end of January.”
Bost said he initially sent two letters to McDonough and then personally phoned the secretary in mid-November asking why the accused had not been disciplined or reassigned pending an investigation.
“It was only after the investigation became public [in November] that the VA acted,” he said. “But many of the questions from this committee have not been answered.”
Several VA officials involved in the allegations and investigations have retired, resigned or been reassigned.
Bost said the retirements, resignations, reassignments and internal investigations are a direct result of the House committee’s investigation.
Bost said the VA only acted to review the sexual harassment complaints after the House committee started taking action in November.
“I have been waiting for months for VA to answer the mail. Some of these complaints were reported in July 2022. VA did not act on anything until November 2023,” he said. “The safety and care of veterans and the department’s dedicated workforce depend on it.”
