A conservative veterans group is going to bat for U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., proposed reforms to the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) and putting pressure on two Central Florida Democrats to back it.
On Tuesday, Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) released Web ads urging freshman U.S. Reps. Charlie Crist, D-Fla., and Stephanie Murphy, D-Fla., to back Rubio’s “VA Accountability First Act of 2017." Rubio teamed up with U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Ten., the chairman of the U.S. House Veterans Affairs Committee, to unveil the proposal last week.
According to his office, Rubio’s new proposal “would provide improved protections for whistleblowers; empower the VA secretary to reduce an employee’s federal pension if they are convicted of a felony that influenced their job at VA; allow the VA secretary to recoup a bonus provided to an employee who engaged in misconduct or poor performance prior to receiving the bonus, or recoup any relocation expenses that were authorized for a VA employee only through the employee’s ill-gotten means, such as fraud, waste or malfeasance.”
"Fraud,” the narrator of the ad says while viewers are urged to call Crist and Murphy. “Abuse. Veterans dying on wait lists. American heroes deserve better, but our veterans are suffering at the hands of bad VA employees. Congress can change it by passing the VA Accountability First Act of 2017. New reforms that will hold bad employees accountable and cut undeserved bonuses. Reforms that get bad VA employees out for good."
CVA Florida Coalitions Director Diego Echeverri weighed in on the new ads on Tuesday.
“It has been nearly three years since the VA wait list scandal began, and to this day, reports are still emerging about VA employees purposefully manipulating scheduling data at facilities across the country,” Echeverri said. “It is unacceptable that there is still such a lack of accountability within the VA, and Congress needs to take immediate action to prevent bad employees from further putting the lives of veterans at risk. The VA Accountability First Act of 2017 would make it easier to fire employees who engage in misconduct and give the new VA Secretary the tools he needs to improve the troubled department. Veterans deserve the highest standard of care possible, and right now, our government is failing them. We urge Rep. Murphy and Rep. Crist to support this critical bill and to see it through the House without delay.”
Crist and Murphy are considered two of the most vulnerable Democrat incumbents in Congress. Earlier this week, the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee (DCCC) announced its first 19 members of the “Frontline” program. These congressional Democrats will get special attention from the DCCC as they look to retain their seats in 2018. Crist and Murphy were both named to the program on Monday.
