Sexual relationships and misconduct among staffers did occur on Department of Veterans Affairs property in Mountain Home, Tennessee, according to investigative documents shared by VA with the House Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday.
“The sexual misconduct, harassment, and inappropriate interpersonal relationships that were allowed to persist at the Mountain Home VA facility are disturbing and disgusting. If these allegations are verified, without question, these men and women have no business serving veterans in East Tennessee, and this should have never happened,” said HVAC Chairman Mike Bost (R-IL).
The concerns about the “disturbing allegations of sexual misconduct, including allegations of sexual harassment, sexual assault, and inappropriate interpersonal relationships,” were initially brought to Bost by Under Secretary for Health Dr. Shereef Elnahal, in July and later confirmed by whistleblowers.
Bost said the committee continues to wait for documents to reveal whether senior leaders in Mountain Home, and those who participated in sexual activity at work, will be appropriately disciplined. To the committee’s knowledge, senior leaders at Mountain Home who were aware of the sexually explicit activity are still employed by VA.
“As we continue to get more information from the Department on why this behavior was allowed, who committed these actions, whether those involved are still collecting a taxpayer-funded paycheck from VA, and who is ultimately responsible, I will continue to fight tooth and nail to urge the Biden administration to hold everyone involved accountable,” said Bost.“I have been clear from the start of this Congress and throughout the multiple investigations we have unveiled, situations of sexual harassment and misconduct like the one in Mountain Home should never happen at VA.”
In a statement to Connecting Vets, a VA spokesperson said, “VA has zero tolerance for sexual misconduct, and we take any allegations extremely seriously. The employees involved in any wrongdoing are no longer with the VA.
"As soon as allegations of misconduct at this facility were uncovered, VA reported the matter to the proper authorities, began our own investigation, and informed Congress. We continue to fully cooperate with all proper authorities in this matter, and we hold our employees accountable to the highest standards of care and respect. Whenever employees fail to live up to those standards, we take immediate action – as we have done in this case.“
Bost has sent three letters to VA Secretary Denis McDonough concerning the situation at the Mountain Home VA, requested numerous documents and performance reviews, and sent an oversight team to Tennessee to assess the situation.
Reach Julia LeDoux at Julia@connectingvets.com.