Two Florida Republicans are once again teaming up to try to reform the Veterans Affairs Department.
Marco Rubio and Jeff Miller, the chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, brought out the “VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016” on Wednesday.
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 last year but is stalled in the Senate.
Rubio explained why the new bill was needed on Wednesday.
“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 of 2016 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.”
While he is not running for another term this year, Miller has increasingly taken a prominent role in pushing for reforming the VA. Last week, Miller penned a piece at the Denver Post on problems with VA hospital construction.
Miller has also been a vocal supporter of Donald Trump’s presidential bid, introducing the presumptive Republican presidential nominee at a recent event.
The bill has the support of a number of groups including the American Legion, Paralyzed Veterans of America, Concerned Veterans for America and Student Veterans of America.
