>> some of the payments they reported, sharon helman got a bonus of $9300. sharon helman's secretary, the administrator there, her secretary got a bonus of $5500. >> the secretary got a bonus? >> the secretary got a bonus of $5,500. >> this was based on giving the appearance of cutting down the wait times. if you removed certain people from the list, you can influence the waiting times by doing that? >> that was based on some of it. everybody has different goals of what they have to meet in order to get a bonus. what we were seeing is that folks all the way down to house cleaners and dietitians were getting bonuses. now, about half of the amount we found went specifically to are doctors and for them to meet their goals. and so always down to the last three years, about $10 million in bonuses were handed out at the phoenix va. >> wow. robert, were the bonuses based on things that would matter that i don't get what people's views are in bonuses, go back and work on that. but were they based on things that mattered, like improving the quality of the care you we

sharon helman. she was given an $85,000 bonus for her performance in fiscal year 2013. only as allegations against ms. helman came to light as a result of this committee's work did a conscientious va employee examine whether she received a bonus in fiscal year 2013. when we questioned the award, they said she was given this bonus due to administrative error. however, past documentation from va has stated that all performance reviews and awards are ultimately reviewed and signed by the secretary. furthermore, ms. helman's direct supervisor, susan bower, stated in may that sharon helman received her bonus for a highly successful rating and for improving access concerns and wait lists. perhaps we should also question ms. bower's qualifications. these stories do not match up, and i believe it further brings into question va's transparency as well as diligence when issuing thousands of dollars in bonus bonuses. although acting secretary gibson has rightly put a freeze on bonuses for the time being, it is still this committee's responsibility to understand the rationale for a