The full Senate will vote Tuesday on bipartisan legislation to reform civil service protections at the Department of Veterans Affairs, making it easier and faster to fire employees, including executives, and remove them from the payroll should they contest their dismissal.
“I am thrilled to see the Senate moving quickly on this important piece of legislation, and I encourage my colleagues to support this measure as we take steps to change the culture at the VA and improve care for our veterans,” said Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., co-author of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. “I thank Majority Leader [Mitch] McConnell, R-Ky., for his commitment to ensuring our veterans receive the quality care that they deserve.”
The VA has been plagued with numerous scandals in recent years, most notably the manipulation of waiting lists for veterans, with some dying while waiting for treatment. A report by the VA’s Office of the Inspector General released last month confirmed that a Hines, Ill., hospital had food service areas so filthy that they had become infested with cockroaches. The vermin were even found on patients’ food trays.
Congressional critics have argued that a major problem at the department is the existing civil service system, which makes it too hard to discipline or fire employees found guilty of wrongdoing. Isakson’s bill, co-authored by Sens. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., would ease those restrictions as well as prohibit disciplined workers from getting bonuses or being compensated for being relocated. The legislation also would require the VA to evaluate supervisors on their ability to protect whistleblowers.
“We know many challenges remain in ensuring that veterans have access to the care they need and deserve at the VA, but this legislation will further improve our ability to meet our commitment to them,” McConnell said.
Public employee unions oppose the legislation. “We are sick and tired of the political witch hunt unfolding before our eyes in Congress. Federal public servants are under constant attack because of the narrow agendas of insiders on Capitol Hill, and the latest salvo makes a terrible idea even worse,” said American Federation of Government Employees National President J. David Cox Sr.
