Mark Takano: “I thank the gentleman, Sergeant Major Walz from the State of Minnesota, for yielding me time. I also would like to say…”

“I thank the gentleman, Sergeant Major Walz from the State of Minnesota, for yielding me time. I also would like to say to the chairman, we had a wonderful time traveling to Afghanistan to pay respect to our troops during Thanksgiving. I don't have to travel across the country with him, but I did travel halfway around the world with him. Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to H.R. 1259. Every Member of Congress supports accountability for employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs--everybody. Building a culture of excellence at the VA is critical to providing veterans the care and support they deserve. However, H.R. 1259 does not further this goal, or improve outcomes at the VA. We are not going to be able to fire our way to better outcomes at the VA. The question posed by the VA Accountability First Act is whether accountability or workers' rights are mutually exclusive. I, along with many of my colleagues, believe we can respect VA employees--a third of whom are veterans themselves--while also ensuring that poor-performing employees are held accountable. This legislation violates workers' rights in two very specific ways: First, it would erode due process protections by giving employees too little time--just 10 days--to prepare for a disciplinary hearing, and then just 7 days to file an appeal with the Merit Systems Protection Board.…”