WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Jerry Moran (R-KS), 11 U.S. Senate colleagues, and 26 members of the U.S. House of Representatives introduced legislation to strengthen the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) authority to hold poor-performing employees accountable. The Restore VA Accountability Act strengthens accountability by unlocking expedited disciplinary processes for VA employees, ensuring that decisions backed by substantial evidence are upheld on appeal, removing the need for a performance improvement plan before disciplinary action, and aligning accountability processes for poor-performing managers with that of senior executives.
“Our veterans answered the call to service,” said Dr. Cassidy. “I expect employees at the VA to at least answer the phone. We hear too many stories of veterans being failed by the VA. It’s time we hold the VA accountable.”
“While VA employs some of the finest men and women, it only takes a few bad employees to disrupt the culture and service at the VA,” said Senator Moran. “Veterans are best served when VA leaders have the ability to act swiftly to remove bad employees from the VA workforce. This bill would restore the intent of Congress and help make certain that veterans receive the high-quality care and benefits they’ve earned and VA staff have the healthy workplace they deserve.”
In 2017, Congress passed the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act with overwhelming bipartisan support in response to the nationwide VA access crisis that exposed a toxic workforce culture at the VA that negatively impacted veterans’ care. Passage of this legislation gave VA leaders the ability to break through bureaucratic obstacles to discipline or fire poor-performing employees, providing VA employees a healthier workplace and increasing veterans’ trust in VA. The Restore VA Accountability Actaddresses questionable decisions from the Federal Circuit, the Federal Labor Relations Authority and the Merit Systems Protection Board that rendered the authority in the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act unusable for most of the VA workforce.
The legislation is cosponsored by U.S. Senators Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jim Banks (R-IN), John Boozman (R-AR), Tim Sheehy (R-MT), Kevin Cramer (R-ND), Thom Tillis (R-NC), Pete Ricketts (R-NE), Rick Scott (R-FL), James Risch (R-ID), and Lindsey Graham (R-SC).
U.S. House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Chairman, Representative Mike Bost (R-IL-12), introduced companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives. He was joined by 25 cosponsors.
Click here to read a one-pager of the bill.
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