DEMOCRATS REPUBLICANS
MARK TAKANO, CALIFORNIA, CHAIRMAN DAVID P. FIOE, TENNESSEE, RANKING

01$. 19mm of Repreamtatthes

COMMITTEE ON AFFAIRS

ONE HUNDRED SIXTEENTH CONGRESS
3460 HOUSE OFFICE BUILDING
WASHINGTON, DC 20024



February 19, 2019

The Honorable Robert Wilkie
Secretary

Department of Veterans Affairs
810 Vermont Avenue, NW.
Washington, DC. 20420

Dear Mr. Secretary:

According to a report published in ProPublica, the Department of Veterans? Affairs has
spent approximately $13,000 since October 2018 on travel expenses for Mr. Darin Selnick, a
senior advisor in the Of?ce of the Secretary. According to this report, Mr. Selnick made 6 trips
to Washington, DC. from his home in California, traveling to Washington, DC. twice a month
to perform work at the VA Central Of?ce.1

Mr. Selnick?s position and role at the Department remain unclear. If Mr. Selnick is an
advisor in the Of?ce of the Secretary, Mr. Selnick?s duty station should be Washington, DC, in
the same location as the Of?ce of the Secretary, so that precious taxpayer funds are not wasted
paying commuting costs for employees.

Under 5 U.S.C. ?5702, the travel expenses of a federal employee are permitted if the
employee is traveling on ?of?cial business away from the employee?s designated post of duty.?2
If Mr. Selnick?s post of duty existed within the Veterans Health Administration or Veterans
Bene?ts Administration, and his duties were performed at a facility within California, it remains
unclear what those duties were and to which facility or of?ce he was assigned, as his travel
vouchers do not indicate a duty station. All reports and brie?ngs indicate that Mr. Selnick?s duty
station is Washington, DC. in the Of?ce of the Secretary, as leader of the executive steering
committee responsible for implementing the VA MISSION Act of 2018 (Pub. L. No. 115-182).

To better ascertain Mr. Selnick?s role and duties at the Department, and the Department?s
rationale for paying his travel expenses from California to perform work in Of?ce of the
Secretary located in Washington, DC, I request answers to the following questions and
production of the following items:

 

1 Isaac Amsdorf, The VA is Paying for a Top Of?cial ?s Cross-Country Commute, ProPublica (Feb. 15,
2019), 
Iasuzm?m.

2 5 U.S.C. ?5702.

The Honorable Robert Wilkie
February 19, 2019

Page 2

. What were Mr. Selnick?s duties from October to December 2018?

What was Mr. Selnick?s assigned duty station from October to December 2018?

. What are Mr. Selnick?s current duties and to which duty station is he currently

assigned?

. Please provide any communications or documents related to approval of Mr.

Selnick?s travel by VA ethics of?cials.

. What were the reasons for Mr. Selnick?s travel to Washington, DC. twice a month?

. Did the Department consider other candidates to lead the executive steering

committee if the work was to be performed in the Washington, DC. metro area?
a. How many other candidates were considered for the position?

b. What skill sets and expertise does Mr. Selnick possess, and are those skills not
available in the Washington, DC. metro area?

. If Mr. Selnick?s duties and assigned duty station is in the Of?ce of the Secretary, has

Mr. Selnick relocated to Washington, 

If Mr. Selnick?s assigned duty station is or was Washington, DC, and the Department

made improper payments of travel expenses to Mr. Selnick, please provide me a plan to ensure
the Department recoups these expenses from Mr. Selnick. Please provide a response by Friday,
March 8, 2019. If you have any questions, please contact Grace Rodden, General Counsel, at
(202) 225-9756.

Sincerely,

Wall/?1?

Mark Takano
Chairman