Press Releases
WASHINGTON––U.S. Senator John Boozman (R-AR) joined the chairmen of the Senate and House Veterans’ Affairs Committees, Senator Jerry Moran (R-KS) and Congressman Mike Bost (R-IL-12) to introduce legislation to strengthen the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) authority to hold poor-performing employees accountable.
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 VA negatively impacting veterans’ care. Passage of this legislation gave VA leaders the ability to break through bureaucratic obstacles to discipline or fire poor-performing employees, providing a healthier workplace and increasing veterans’ trust in VA.
The Restore VA Accountability Act addresses 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 Actunusable for most of the VA workforce.
“When bad actors within the VA avoid accountability, veterans and their loved ones suffer,” said Boozman. “That is unacceptable and clearly contrary to Congress’ intent to ensure a culture that delivers the highest standards of care. This legislation reasserts our commitment to zero tolerance for poor performance or misconduct among those serving our former servicemembers.”
“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 Moran. “Veterans are best served when VA leaders have the ability to act swiftly to remove bad employees from the VAworkforce. 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.”
“Over the past two years, we uncovered scandal after scandal of bad middle managers or employees at VA committing wrongdoing. But time and time again, we saw these bad VA employees who don’t have veterans’ best interests at heart, just reshuffled to another part of the agency. That has a direct impact on not only veterans, but the mission of VA and the employees who are trying to do their jobs well,” said Bost. “The intent of Chairman Moran and I’s bill, the Restore VA Accountability Act, is to hold that 1 percent of bad VA employees accountable. President Trump made this message clear during his first administration, but the Biden-Harris administration and liberal courts refused to act and swept accountability under the rug. We’re going to restore the intent of Congress – and President Trump – by bringing accountability back for good, because America’s veterans deserve to know that the employees who are providing them with the care and services they have earned, are the best and the brightest.”
The legislation is also cosponsored by Sens. Tommy Tuberville (R-AL), Bill Cassidy, M.D. (R-LA), Marsha Blackburn (R-TN), Jim Banks (R-IN), 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).
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.
Companion legislation in the U.S. House of Representatives was cosponsored by 25 members.
Multiple veterans service organizations also shared their support for the legislation:
“The VFW supports the Restore VA Accountability Act to improve VA's ability to hold employees to the high standards our veterans deserve,” said Legislative Director of The Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States (VFW) Pat Murray. “We appreciate the efforts by our supporters in Congress to provide the Secretary the authorities needed to ensure accountability remains paramount at VA.”
“The mission of the VA to serve veterans requires an essential bond of trust. And for veterans to trust in the VA, employees and officials need to be held accountable for their actions,” said President and CEO of America’s Warrior Partnership (AWP) Jim Lorraine. “The vast majority of VA employees are tarnished by the small number of problematic employees that hurt morale and reputation. Congress has been very forward about this issue in a bipartisan manner for many years, and we are thankful for Chairman Moran and Chairman Bost for reintroducing this essential piece of legislation to restore trust in the VA.”
“Amidst a veterans’ mental health and suicide epidemic, the outgoing Biden administration’s leadership at the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs failed our nation’s heroes,” said Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) Strategic Director John Byrnes. “They refused to follow the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act which mandates firing corrupt and incompetent VAemployees. Additionally, this VA has intentionally acted as a barrier to veterans trying to access timely and quality health care. Passing the Restore VA Accountability Act is a crucial step to ensure VA and its employees are held accountable to the law. On behalf of every veteran who deserves the care they’ve earned, CVA urges Congress to act swiftly and support this accountabilitylegislation; it is a matter of saving veterans’ lives.”
“The American Legion stands behind the efforts of Chairman Bost and Chairman Moran in their multi-session effort to pass theRestore VA Accountability Act,” said The American Legion Executive Director of Government Affairs Mario Marquez. “This legislation reflects a commitment to ensure the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) upholds the highest standards of accountabilityand care for our nation’s heroes by providing the Secretary the necessary tools to address poor performance. Our veterans and their families have earned nothing less than exceptional service from the VA. Strengthening disciplinary authority at the VA is paramount to ensuring a VA that serves all veterans with the highest standards. The American Legion remains committed to working with Congress to ensure veterans receive the first-class care that they deserve.”
“SVA strongly supports the Restore VA Accountability Act, which is a critical step forward in ensuring veterans and their families are served with integrity by the Department of Veterans Affairs,” said Student Veterans of America (SVA) National President and CEO Jared Lyon. “By providing clear procedures for addressing poor performance or misconduct while also protecting whistleblowers and due process rights, the bill strikes a necessary balance to uphold the highest standards of service for our nation's veterans. SVA stands firmly in support of these efforts that promote transparency and accountability, and improve the overall effectiveness of the VA.”
“The Tragedy Assistance Program for Survivors (TAPS) is grateful to Chairman Moran and Chairman Bost for introducing the Restore VA Accountability Act to ensure that VA has the needed authority to create and sustain a workforce environment that best serves our veteran community,” said TAPS President and Founder Bonnie Carroll. “On behalf of a grateful nation, we owe our veterans, their families, caregivers and survivors nothing less.”
“We owe an incredible debt to those who have sacrificed so much for our freedom. We must absolutely ensure the VA system is accountable and effective,” said National Guard Association of the United States (NGAUS) President, Major General (ret.) Frank McGinn. “We must right wrongs and dismiss bad actors when they are identified. This bill is a positive step in restoring VAaccountability and improving services. We are grateful to Chairman Moran and Chairman Bost for continually stepping up to support our nation’s veterans and thank them for these efforts.”
Click here for full text of the legislation. Find a one-pager explanation of the bill here.