Providing for Consideration of H.R. VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act of 2016

Floor Speech

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Mr. LARSON of Connecticut. I thank the gentleman from Colorado, and I want to thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), my colleague and the ranking member, for his work on this important issue as well.

Mr. Speaker, I was disappointed to see that my amendment was not made in order. I would like to take this opportunity, really, to expand on something the gentleman from Oregon (Mr. Walden) had to say.

Congressman Takano and I had simply offered an amendment that would ensure we could improve the process for removing employees for misconduct or performance that warrants removal. It is reprehensible, and it ought to take action.

This amendment that we introduced mirrored legislation introduced by our colleagues Senator Johnny Isakson and Senator Richard Blumenthal. They have developed, by contrast, a bipartisan bill, the Veterans First Act, which will be a critical step to achieving true accountability that the VA so desperately needs to be an efficient agency for the men and women who serve this Nation. It has more than 44 cosponsors, including Senator Boozman, Senator Blunt, Senator Rounds, Senator Daines. All have supported language that we merely requested be in the bill to improve accountability at the VA that is sorely needed, while also protecting--and we have heard this a lot from our colleagues on the other side--due process: the due process of the whistleblower, the due process of people who are employed in the Federal Government.

We have a bipartisan-supported bill in the Senate that will take much-needed steps for comprehensive due process and accountability within the VA. This is what the American people despise. Here we are in total agreement on what we need to do with veterans, but because of talking points, in the House we are at a difference for political messaging. We shouldn't make veterans the point of political messaging.

We ought to make sure that the veterans get the kind of service that they need, and when we have a bill in the Senate that is bipartisanly approved and accepted and does just that, that is the kind of bill that we ought to embrace.

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