In response to the ever-growing list of problems at the Department of Veterans Affairs, Congressman Darrell Issa (R-Calif.) today sponsored new legislation to help ensure our nation’s heroes get the care they deserve.
The VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 (H.R. 5620) will increase accountability at the agency by making it easier to dismiss misbehaving or negligent employees, by bolstering protections for whistle-blowers, and by reforming the agency’s disability benefits appeals process.
The new bill comes in the wake of a heartbreaking study on data from the Department of Veterans Affairs which showed 20 veterans commit suicide every day and after widely-reported scandals in which it was revealed that Department of Veterans Affairs medical facilities were regularly cancelling appointments and falsifying wait times, preventing the nation’s heroes from obtaining the care they need.
“Our nation’s veterans deserve better than what they’re getting from the VA,” said Congressman Darrell Issa. “For far too long, many VA administrators have operated with no accountability, cooking the books to hide their poor performance while employees who are either unwilling or unable to do their jobs have been gone on without discipline. The bill I’ve sponsored today will help eliminate these problems, bring real accountability and help ensure our nation’s heroes finally attain the care they deserve.”
Among other provisions, the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016 will:
- Shorten the firing/demotion/appeals process for rank-and-file VA employees from more than a year on average to no more than 77 days
- Remove entirely the Merit Systems Protection Board from the firing/demotion/appeals process for VA senior executives
- Provide VA whistle-blowers with a means to solve problems at the lowest level possible, while offering them protection from reprisals and mandating strict accountability for those who reprise against them
- Give the VA secretary the authority to recoup bonuses and relocation expenses from misbehaving employees
- Give the VA secretary the authority to reduce the pensions of senior executives convicted of felonies that influenced their job performance