Political Quotes

“Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017. This important legislation will streamline the arduous process to remove, demote, or suspend any VA employee for poor performance, negligence, or misconduct. We all know the list of scandals: veterans dying on wait lists, intoxicated surgical staff, armed robbery, grossly mismanaged construction projects. Yet the civil service rules allow bad VA employees to stay on the public payroll. Our veterans deserve better. Today we take a bold step toward reversing that failure. This legislation will allow Secretary Shulkin to immediately remove bad employees as he works to restructure and improve veterans' care. It also ensures that whistleblowers are protected from retaliation. The bottom line is that it implements real accountability at the VA, accountability to the men and women who have bravely served this country. The Veterans Affairs Accountability Act is an important first step in addressing poor performance and misconduct at the VA, and I urge all of my colleagues to support this much-needed legislation. I thank the chair and the ranking member very much for their work on this.”