More turnover at top of Reno VA benefits office
WASHINGTON — The Department of Veterans Affairs is turning over leadership again at the top of its embattled regional benefits office in Reno.
VA officials confirmed that Kathy Malin, appointed acting director in Reno in June, will be returning to her post as director of the Boise office at the end of the week. Malin had been holding down positions in both offices but will be returning full time to Idaho “to reunite with her family and her team at the Boise regional office,” the agency said in a statement.
Malin will be replaced by Terri Beer, who serves as head of the VA regional office in Des Moines, Iowa. The VA said Beer runs “one of the Veterans Benefits Administration’s highest-performing regional offices,” but also will be in Reno only on a temporary basis.
“We wanted to keep the lady from Idaho, but she wanted to go back to Idaho,” said Rep. Dina Titus, D-Nev. “So now they are bringing in a new acting director.”
The turnover comes as the VA seeks stability in Reno, which has been criticized as one of the poorer-performing benefit-handling outposts, although the agency says there has been improvement. The office handles disability applications from veterans in Nevada and parts of California.
The VA still is seeking a full-time director to replace Ed Russell, who has been on administrative leave since the summer. Citing personnel privacy, the VA has not disclosed information about Russell. His removal has been sought by Titus and by Sen. Dean Heller, R-Nev., who sit on congressional committees that handle veterans affairs.
Heller said he met with VA Secretary Robert McDonald on Monday for an update on Reno and other issues. He said McDonald did not provide a timeline to hire a new permanent director in Reno.
“I told him I want anybody in there but Ed Russell,” said Heller, who has called the Reno outpost “the worst regional office in the country” due to delays in processing benefit claims and doing so accurately.
Titus has been lobbying the VA to relocate the Reno benefits office to Las Vegas, where most of the state’s veterans live and where she believes the agency might have an easier time recruiting workers.
Heller said Tuesday he does not have a preference between Reno and Las Vegas for the office.
“It doesn’t matter as long as we have a regional office that works,” he said.
Contact Stephens Washington Bureau Chief Steve Tetreault at stetreault@stephensmedia.com or 202-783-1760. Find him on Twitter: @STetreaultDC.
