Cramer: House of Representatives Votes for Accountability at Veterans Affairs

Press Release

Today Congressman Kevin Cramer announced the House of Representatives passed legislation he cosponsored to enforce greater accountability in light of the emerging scandal at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Cramer said the legislation is clearly needed given widespread revelations of unacceptable misconduct affecting thousands of veterans nationwide.

The VA Office of Inspector General announced today the probe into malpractice has widened to 26 different medical facilities nationwide. The investigations include a case in Arizona where the director of the Phoenix Veterans Affairs Health Care system deceived the public while hundreds of veterans were waiting months to receive medical treatment. The chairman of the House Committee on Veterans Affairs said there is evidence of two sets of records being used by the Arizona facility to conceal the unacceptable delays in care. Employees associated with the malpractice were part of the Senior Executive Service (SES), a government-wide corps of federal agency managers who cannot be removed or demoted without a cumbersome, multi-step process. In 2012, only one of 435 SES employees at the VA received a negative performance review despite widespread mismanagement and preventable deaths in the national VA system.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014 gives the Secretary of Veterans Affairs direct authority to remove or demote senior executives by submitting a notice of removal along with a reason to the House and Senate Committees on Veterans Affairs.

"The misconduct we are learning of is absolutely abhorrent and demands a full investigation. It is even more obvious we need this reform after President Obama's attempt today to lay blame on previous administrations and suggest he is doing everything he can while not even holding his cabinet secretary accountable," said Cramer. "This is just the latest in a pattern of disregard for accountability in the executive branch which has affected the NSA, the IRS, and now our own veterans. I don't believe the American people tolerate it, North Dakotans certainly don't tolerate it, and I don't tolerate it. I certainly hope Harry Reid will allow this bipartisan bill to have a vote in the Senate."

Cramer is also a cosponsor of the Veterans Access to Timely Medical Appointments Act, which requires the VA to schedule primary care appointments within 7 days and specialty care appointments within 14 days. The bill was subject to discussion at a March 27, 2014 Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing.

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