Nobody Wastes Money Better Than Government
This time, it's at the price of veterans' recovery. Grace Vuoto writes at Reflections Magazine:

Something is rotten at the Veterans Administration. Neurologist Robert Van Boven has been waging a one-man campaign for more than two years against waste, fraud and abuse of power at the VA.

In January, 2009 he was ousted as physician-Director of Veterans Affairs' Brain Imaging and Recovery Laboratory (BIRL) for traumatic brain injury (TBI) research in Austin, Texas. The neurologist has since continued to provide care for wounded warriors, but remains dismayed and outraged by what he saw and experienced: Millions in public funds designated for brain imaging research which could help troops suffering from blast-related head injuries were shamelessly and brazenly squandered. Not a single veteran was seen at the BIRL in more than three years, despite the expenditure of almost $3 million. Moreover, when he sounded the alarm bells up the chain of command, he was retaliated against repeatedly. Ultimately, he was dismissed--despite the fact that he had never received a negative job evaluation. These events are now under investigation by the Office of Special Counsel, a federal investigative unit tasked with protecting federal employees from reprisals for whistleblowing. The VA refuses to comment on Dr. Van Boven's case, stating it does not discuss personnel matters.

Such is the sad result of what began as a project full of hope and promise. In 2006, the Department of Veterans Affairs opened a new lab in Austin, allocating $6.3 million to conduct research into blast-related head injuries afflicting more than 300,000 soldiers returning from Iraq and Afghanistan. When Dr. Van Boven assumed his position as program director in July 2007 he was proud and enthusiastic. Yet, he soon concluded that a vast fraud was being perpetrated on American taxpayers: More than half of the money had been spent in what he regarded as a suspicious manner. A July 2008 report by the VA Office of Inspector General (OIG) confirmed that the facility had spent $2.1 million without treating a single soldier. "The allegation of waste and mismanagement in BIRL expenditures is substantiated," said the report.

In the summer of 2009, shortly after the scandal came to public attention, the VA announced it would close the lab in Austin and promised to reopen it at a hospital in Waco, Texas; the plan was to combine the research center established in Austin with a Post-traumatic Stress Disorder Unit. VA representatives claimed this was justified in order to avoid duplication, make use of better MRI machines and place the lab in an ideal location. Nearly one year later, no TBI brain imaging research has occurred. Dr. Van Boven insists that the move is simply another smokescreen to obscure the misallocation of funds and to protect the wrongdoers. In his view, the VA has been working steadfastly to protect their bureaucrats, cover up the gross mismanagement he discovered and to discredit and silence a whistleblower.