Employees at the embattled Phoenix office of the Department of Veterans Affairs have been making millions in higher-than-average salaries and bonuses, according to federal records reviewed by Fox News.
The records were obtained via a Freedom of Information Act request by OpentheBooks.com.
They show that from 2011 to 2013, over $843,000 in bonuses was awarded to about half the system's 3,170 workers.
The records also show hundreds of thousands in taxpayer dollars were spent on work that had little to do with health care. The hospital's 2013 gardening budget was more than $180,000. The hospital's interior design bills over the past three years surpassed $211,000.
The figures have raised concern, as the Phoenix VA faces accusations that up to 40 veterans may have died while waiting for critical care. VA Secretary Eric Shinseki is testifying Thursday on Capitol Hill on the scandal.
"Our nation's veterans need access to health care and doctors, not interior decorators and designers," Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., said in a statement. "I'm proud of the work ordinary citizens and groups like Open the Books are doing to hold the VA accountable."Read the rest of the story HERE.
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