A top-level Department of Veterans Affairs official allegedly involved in falsifying records of how long ailing veterans had to wait for care was officially fired Friday – the first to get the axe under a new law aimed at speeding the removal of VA executives for misconduct or poor performance.
The former director of the Central Alabama Veterans Health Care System, James Talton, was officially removed for neglect of duty.
"This removal action underscores VA's commitment to hold leaders accountable and get Veterans the care they need," a news release
announcing the firing said.
The Central Alabama VA has been under scrutiny for poor veteran care, long wait times and falsified records, according to the
Montgomery Advertiser.
The Montgomery Advertiser also reported the facility had “lost” more than 2,000 patient X-rays and other images since 2009.
Talton's dismissal comes after the VA
announced earlier this month that it intended to boot him and three others in the wake of a law passed by Congress making it easier for veterans who experience delays to get care outside VA's nationwide network of hospitals and clinics. The law also made it easier for the agency to fire senior officials suspected of wrongdoing, shortening their appeals process to 28 days.
Florida Republican Rep. Jeff Miller, chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs, called it unfortunate Talton was on paid leave for more than than two months, and that the VA needs to move much more quickly to "purge other disgraced personnel from its payroll."
"Regardless of this decision, it’s clear the department needs to move much more quickly to purge other disgraced personnel from its payroll," he said,
the Washington Examiner reports.
© 2025 Newsmax. All rights reserved.