Summary

Senior managers at nearly one-third of the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) medical centers reported receiving part-time employment incomes, averaging thousands of dollars, from medical schools that receive millions of dollars through VA contracts. Nevertheless, VA has allowed these managers to participate in awarding and administering these contracts. Such activities are prohibited under federal conflict-of-interest regulations and may violate federal criminal statutes. These activities, therefore, not only subject managers to possible prosecution, but also significantly impair the integrity of VA's procurement process. GAO summarized this report in testimony before Congress; see: VA Health Care: Inadequate Enforcement of Federal Ethics Requirements at VA Medical Centers, by Lawrence H. Thompson, Assistant Comptroller General for Human Resources Programs, before the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. GAO/T-HRD-93-22, May 19, 1993 (13 pages).

GAO found that: (1) nearly one-third of VA medical center senior managers are receiving part-time employment incomes; (2) only one-third of the senior VA managers receiving income from medical schools that provide medical services have received approval before engaging in dual employment; (3) the senior managers at 3 medical centers have participated in VA contract-related activities involving the medical schools that employed them; (4) part-time VA managers are not required to get medical center director approval for outside employment; (5) VA has not adequately addressed conflicts of interest arising from managers' dual employment, provided adequate written legal or ethical guidance to managers on dual employment, or effectively monitored managers' compliance with ethics requirements; and (6) VA operating practices jeopardize the integrity of its management process and subject managers to the risk of possible violation of conflict of interest laws and ethics regulations.