U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio’s, R-Fla., continues to round up support for his proposal to reform the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA).
Last week, Rubio, along with U.S. Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and U.S. Sen. Jon Tester, D-Mont., introduced the “Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act" which would “reform the VA by allowing the secretary to dismiss bad employees, and ensure appropriate due process protections for whistleblowers.” If the proposal becomes law, the VA secretary would have more power to remove or demote under-performing and incompetent employees and provide whistleblowers more protection, including creating the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection in the VA. The bill also would provide more accountability in the VA medical system, giving the VA secretary the ability to “directly appoint individuals to the positions of Medical Center Director and Director of Veterans Integrated Service Network (VISN) if they have demonstrated ability in the medical profession, health care administration, or health care fiscal management."
With the bill before the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee on Wednesday, Rubio showcased its supporters including VA Secretary David Shulkin. Last week, Shulkin praised the proposal at a Senate Veterans Affairs Appropriations Subcommittee hearing.
“I applaud Chairman Isakson, Senator Rubio and Ranking Member Tester for introducing S. 1094, the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, among other co-sponsors,” Shulkin said in a statement released by Rubio’s office on Tuesday. “Together with similar House-passed legislation sponsored by House Veterans’ Affairs Chairman Phil Roe, I have increasing confidence Congress will provide me and future secretaries the authority we need to hold our employees accountable and protect whistleblowers from retaliation. This bill is great news for veterans and for the hardworking employees at VA."
As Shulkin noted, the bill has the support of U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn., the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee.
“I commend Senators Marco Rubio, Johnny Isakson and Jon Tester for reaching a bipartisan agreement on accountability legislation,” Roe said. “I’m also pleased much of my bill, the VA Accountability First Act of 2017, is included in the Senate bill, and I hope the Senate will act swiftly to give Secretary Shulkin the tools he’s made it clear he needs to bring accountability to VA. I know that the vast majority of the men and women who work at VA take their duty to serve veterans seriously, but bad actors have tarnished the reputation of good employees for far too long. Our veterans deserve to know that bad actors within the department will be held accountable, and I look forward to supporting this bipartisan bill in the House.”
U.S. Rep. Tim Walz, D-Minn., the ranking Democrat on the House Veterans Affairs Committee, is also supporting the proposal.
“We applaud our colleagues in the Senate for their bipartisan effort to give the VA secretary the tools they need to hold bad employees accountable and for doing so in a way that maintains constitutionally mandated workplace protections that help shield good employees and whistleblowers from retaliation,” Walz said. “I look forward to working together with members in both chambers and on both sides of the aisle to find common ground and get this critically important legislation signed into law.”
Rubio also trumpeted the support of veterans groups including the American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America (PVA), Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW), Military Order of the Purple Heart (MOPH), Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), American Veterans (AMVETS), Military Officers Association of America (MOAA), Vietnam Veterans of America (VVA) and the Project on Government Oversight.
