Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014
Floor Speech
Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in opposition to H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act.
First and foremost, let me address the serious allegations that employees at a number of VA hospitals around the country placed veterans on secret waiting lists and manipulated backlog data. This is absolutely shameful and if the VA Inspector General determines those claims to be true, we must hold those individuals accountable and swiftly remove and punish all employees who were part of this alleged wrongdoing.
Unfortunately, the bill before us today is a fake solution and provides no real fix to the fundamental problems at the VA. Its stated purpose is to hold senior level employees accountable by giving the VA Secretary the authority to terminate them at-will. However, current law already allows for Senior Executives to be terminated for poor performance. Moreover, the VA has broad tools to remove individuals from the SES who are rated unsatisfactory, while providing them no right of appeal. In the last two years, fourteen Senior Executives have been removed.
This legislation is an impulsive political reaction to an awful situation, and has many unintended consequences that could ultimately jeopardize the quality and care that our veterans receive. It would dismantle civil service protections that have been in place for decades and would open the door for political abuse and witch-hunts, effectively creating a mechanism where career federal employees could be removed because of their views or political affiliation. If passed, it would turn 400 Senior Executives at the VA--including many who served in the armed services and are veterans themselves--into at-will employees.
Mr. Speaker, there is nothing more important than providing for the men and women who have made so many sacrifices for our country. However, this bill merely provides a knee-jerk public relations response to a serious problem, and glosses over the real systemic issues we need to address at the Veterans' Administration.
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