Political Quotes

“Madam Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume. Madam Speaker, H.R. 8510, as amended, the Strengthening Whistleblower Protections at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, is an important bill that will protect and support VA employees who report wrongdoing within the Department. I commend Representatives Chris Pappas and Tracey Mann, the chairman and ranking member of our Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations, for their work over the past few years on this issue. The subcommittee has been tireless in its examination of VA policies and procedures for protecting whistleblowers and disciplining those who retaliate against them. When retaliation occurs, VA must make whole a whistleblower who was unfairly punished for speaking truth to power. This is not only the right thing to do; it is the law. During the subcommittee's hearings on this issue, we heard firsthand accounts from several individuals who experienced long waits for justice despite confirmed findings of retaliation. VA can and must do more to protect whistleblowers. I support Chairman Pappas and Ranking Member Mann's bipartisan legislation. It would promote independence and strengthen the mission of VA's Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. It would also streamline duplicative investigations and send a clear message that retaliation against those who report wrongdoing will not be tolerated.…”