| U.S. HOUSE PROBES
VA WHISTLEBLOWER'S BRAIN LAB
If nothing else, Dr. Robert Van
Boven's journey with the VA proves that persistence pays off.
NOTE from Larry Scott, VA
Watchdog dot Org ... Dr.
Robert van Boven is a VA whistleblower ... who lost his job ...
and more. Use our search engine for
complete background on this incredible incident.
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U.S. House Investigates Local Lab
BY LAUREL CHESKY
If nothing else, Dr. Robert Van Boven's journey with the U.S.
Department of Veterans Affairs proves that persistence pays off.
His yearlong fight with the VA reached a milestone last week when,
on May 21, a team from the U.S. House of Representatives landed in
Texas. The group of staffers from the House Veterans' Affairs
Committee spent all day in a meeting in Temple with VA officials.
Last fall, Van Boven began hammering the committee to look into
his allegations of fraud, waste, and mismanagement at the Central
Texas Veterans Health Care System's Brain Imaging and Recovery Lab
in Austin. In October, he flew to Washington and spent two days
visiting the offices of legislators who sit on the House and
Senate VA committees – 34 in all. Since then, he's sent countless
follow-up e-mails. "I got a lot of: 'Oh, thank you. This is very
important, and we'll get back to you,'" Van Boven says. "With rare
exception, I never heard back from anyone." Then, earlier this
month, he finally got the response he sought. In a May 1 e-mail,
retired Lt.
 Col.
Martin L. Herbert, majority staff director for the House Veterans'
Affairs Committee's Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations,
wrote: "Dr. Van Boven, I've decided to send a team to investigate
first hand your allegations. ... Looking into serious allegations
is very important to my Subcommittee. Rest assured we will fairly
and objectively assess the situation."
The meeting's agenda called for, among other things, a discussion
of the BIRL's history and accomplishments; a review of the
research approval process and complaint-handling procedures of the
VA Heart of Texas Health Care Network (or VISN 17), the
organization that oversees the Central Texas system; and
interviews with three BIRL staff members identified as having
worked with Van Boven, who was not allowed to attend the meeting.
Neither subcommittee staff nor VA officials would discuss any
outcome of the meeting.
Van Boven was hired in 2007 to head up the BIRL but was fired in
January. He believes he was canned because he made disclosures of
wrongdoing at the Central Texas system to VA officials in
Washington. He says about $2 million worth of taxpayer money was
wasted on worthless research. The VA refused to end the research,
he says, and then tried to shut him up about it.
The VA won't disclose its official reason for the termination,
citing privacy issues, but documents provided by Van Boven list as
reasons a number of questionable charges, including using
profanity at work, intimidating subordinates, and insubordination
for organizing a fun run – against his bosses' wishes – to raise
money for traumatic brain injury research. He rejects all the
allegations.
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TOPICS:
veterans, veterans' benefits, VA, Department of Veterans' Affairs,
Dr. Robert van Boven, traumatic brain injury, Brain Imaging and
Recovery Lab |
