Mark Takano

this committee is again attacking the NLRA and the promise it offers workers to speak up for better working conditions and to better themselves.

America is the land of dreams. And it is my hope that we can continue to be the land of dreams for small businesses and employees alike.

I look forward to your testimony about how we can improve our current policy of charging veterans 1 month of post-9/11 GI Bill entitlement per licensing or credentialing test.

I am concerned about the lack of legitimate third-party accreditation of most licenses and credentials.

The chairman and I are both committed to eliminating unnecessary barriers to veterans' employment.

I appreciate the witnesses appearing here today from the various sectors most involved in this process.

I find it curious that this Committee is focusing on this and spending hours and hours and hours of time trying to figure out in the wrong venue.

I just want to address again the fact that most of us did, in fact, vote for the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act SES provision. I want to reiterate that the courts--not Congress, not the President--determine whether a law we…

Reclaiming my time, let me just say that I believe the Constitution applies to the Senior Executive Service as well as all of the 300,000 employees of the Veterans Administration. I yield 2 minutes to the gentlewoman from Nevada (Ms…

I am glad that my colleagues on the other side believe that we need to protect whistleblowers. It is precisely the at-will nature, making all of the 200,000 employees of the VA at- will employees, which makes them more vulnerable to the…

Just in quick response to my good friend, Chairman Miller, bringing up the issue of the SES provision, yes, most of us did vote for the Choice Act, the provision that dealt with the SES reform to make it easier to fire those employees…

May I inquire as to the time remaining? The Acting CHAIR. The gentleman from California has 12 minutes remaining.

I just want to state for the record that, as of last year, under the current due process regime in effect at the VA, 872 permanent employees were removed, 487 more resigned in lieu of being fired, and 958 probationary employees were…

I just want to remind my colleagues that the front-end provisions that were accorded to the SES employees, we stripped them completely of the front-end due process. Only with a regulatory move by the VA itself, instituted a 5-day procedure…

I encourage all of my colleagues to vote for my amendment in the nature of a substitute. Mr. Chairman, I respectfully yield back the balance of my time.

I just want to point out we keep getting back to this point about everybody voted for the SES provision that is only now being extended to all employees now, but I want to remind my colleagues that that provision was part of a large, large…

May I inquire as to how much time is remaining? The CHAIR. The gentleman has 23 minutes remaining.

I demand a recorded vote. A recorded vote was ordered. The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to clause 8 and clause 9 of rule XX, this 5-minute vote on the motion to recommit will be followed by 5- minute votes on passage of the bill, if…

My good friend and colleague, Chairman Miller of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, has implied that my clear and present danger standard in the substitute that I have offered is too narrow and does not give the Secretary enough tools to…

I wish to address this issue of the appeals process that takes place post facto. The Supreme Court decisions and case law make very clear that Federal employees are entitled to due process on the front end and that this bill clearly does…

I have an amendment in the nature of a substitute at the desk. The Acting CHAIR. The Clerk will designate the amendment. The text of the amendment is as follows: Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the following: SECTION 1…

I thank the gentleman from Michigan, my good friend, for offering his amendment. Reluctantly, I rise in opposition to the amendment offered by the gentleman and Representative Sinema. Mr. Chairman, this amendment would require the IG to…

I am opposed. The SPEAKER pro tempore. The Clerk will report the motion to recommit. The Clerk read as follows: Mr. Takano moves to recommit the bill H.R. 1994 to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs with instructions to report the same back…

In Congress, we can all agree that greater accountability is sorely needed within the Department of Veterans Affairs. We are all outraged that VA employees whose misconduct has harmed veterans have remained in their jobs. Last summer, we…

the cost containment seems to be working, and I congratulate, you know, all of us for standing by the law.