U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has brought back his proposal to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs.
Last week, Rubio reintroduced his “VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act.” Back in July, Rubio teamed up with then U.S. Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., who was serving as the chairman of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, to bring out the bill last summer.
The bill adds more “protections for whistleblowers,” would “increase flexibility to remove VA employees for poor performance or misconduct” and “reform the department’s disability benefits appeals process.” The proposal also closes loopholes from the “VA Accountability Act” from Miller and Rubio which passed the House in 2015 but stalled in the Senate.
Rubio explained why the bill was needed when he brought it out back in July.
“For far too long, veterans have been victims of a broken and incompetent VA system,” said Rubio. “To make real progress in fixing the VA, we need to tackle the first problem plaguing the VA, which is the lack of accountability among employees. It is simply unacceptable that it can take years to fire one employee for poor management or misconduct.
“The VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act...goes further to address the excessive backlog of appeals found at the department that have spiraled out of control,” Rubio added. “To give our veterans the care they deserve, it is crucial this legislation is passed and signed into law.”
Rubio brought back this proposal as well as more than a dozen other bills that never crossed the finish line, focusing on everything from former President Barack Obama’s health-care law to Second Amendment issues.
“In this new Congress, I will continue pursuing solutions that will make a positive difference in the lives of Floridians and all Americans,” said Rubio when he reintroduced his bills. “By reintroducing this legislation today, we’re moving forward with our work to stop a taxpayer-funded bailout of health insurance companies under Obamacare, keep guns out of terrorists’ hands while protecting the constitutional rights of law-abiding gun owners, improve hurricane forecasting, modernize the VA, and reform the disastrous HUD inspections process that has jeopardized countless lives in Florida and across the country.”
Rubio sounded an optimistic note since President Donald Trump was now in the White House and Republicans controlled both chambers on Capitol Hill.
“Now that Republicans control the Senate, House and White House, it is my hope that we can pass these – and many other – meaningful, commonsense solutions to the problems facing our country,” Rubio said.
The VA reform bill has the support of a number of groups including the American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) and Student Veterans of America.
Diego Echeverri, CVA’s Florida spokesman, praised the bill on Wednesday.
“If passed, Rubio's VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act would help put an end to the horror stories we hear daily about VA negligence, incompetence, and corruption,” Echeverri insisted. “CVA urges Congress to pass this bill immediately. Veterans' lives are on the line."
