Hearing on King Audit Highlights Need for Legislative Oversight |
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News - Articles for State & Local |
Written by Wisconsin Assembly Democrats |
Wednesday, 11 October 2017 17:04 |
MADISON – The Joint Legislative Audit Committee (“Audit Committee”) held a public hearing Tuesday on the results of the nonpartisan Legislative Audit Bureau (LAB)’s audits (reports 17-8 and 17-14) of the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King (“King”), which is operated by the Department of Veterans Affairs (DVA). State Representatives Melissa Sargent (D-Madison) and Terese Berceau (D-Madison), members of the Audit Committee, expressed their continued concerns about inaction at the DVA and demanded the Legislature act on the LAB’s audit recommendations.
“Executive agencies needs to respect the legislative process,” Sargent continued. “Complying with the Legislature isn’t optional—that’s how government works. Despite the Secretary’s unprofessional responses today, we’re not asking anything extraordinary, we’re asking for compliance with the LAB and the Audit Committee’s requests. As far as I’m concerned, the audit results and Secretary Zimmerman’s responses today are simply not good enough.”
“The DVA has given no indication it has meaningfully complied with the LAB’s recommendations, and seemingly didn’t understand the directives given in either audit, and the Secretary either could not or would not directly answer questions about it again today,” said Berceau. “There’s no shortage of concerns about what’s happening at King. We have staffing concerns, morale concerns, and we’re generating tens of millions in excess revenue, and the Legislature must take action to address this.” The DVA is expected to provide another status report to the Audit Committee in January of 2018. |
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