VA Accountability Act Is Important Legislation to Increase Accountability At Troubled VA
Arlington, Va. – Concerned Veterans for America (CVA) today urged members of the House VA Committee to support the VA Accountability Act during the committee markup on Wednesday July 15. CVA CEO Pete Hegseth issued the following statement on behalf of CVA:
“Over a year after the VA wait list scandal began in Phoenix, the VA is still lacking much-needed accountability. Almost no one has been fired for their involvement in the wait list scandal and many key individuals involved in the scandal have been on paid administrative leave for over a year. This is absolutely unacceptable and shows the critical need for legislation like the VA Accountability Act to give the VA secretary the tools to rapidly remove bad VA employees from the department’s ranks so that he can finally begin to repair the VA’s toxic culture. This is why CVA stands with almost every major veteran service organization, including the American Legion, Veterans of Foreign Wars, and AMVETs in supporting the VA Accountability Act.
“Nearly every member of Congress, both Republicans and Democrats, have decried the lack of accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs and the absurd and lengthy process to fire a bad VA employee. It should therefore be a no-brainer for every member of Congress, especially those on the House VA Committee, to support the VA Accountability Act. It should also be noted that CVA will not hesitate to publicly highlight the hypocrisy of members of Congress who publicly demand more accountability at the VA but who then vote against a piece of legislation like the VA Accountability Act, which would clearly bring more accountability to the troubled Department.
“Finally, CVA calls on the Department of Veterans Affairs to pick a side in this fight and to stop engaging in duplicitous attacks against the VA Accountability Act. Secretary McDonald and Deputy Secretary Sloan Gibson have stated many times that it is still too hard to fire people at the VA. However, they have sent their deputies to Capitol Hill to lobby against the VA Accountability Act, a bill that would make it easier to fire bad VA employees. The VA secretary and deputy secretary cannot play both sides of this debate – either they are for the VA Accountability Act and more accountability within the VA or they think the status quo is acceptable.”
For media inquiries, contact press@cv4a.org.
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Concerned Veterans for America is a non-partisan, non-profit, 501(c)(4) organization that advocates for policies that will preserve the freedom and prosperity we and our families so proudly fought and sacrificed to defend.