On May 11, 2017 a bipartisan group of Senators introduced the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) by allowing the Secretary to dismiss employees who are not performing and ensure appropriate due process protections for whistleblowers. The bill is a Congressional response to problems encountered by the VA in the last several years.
The bill increases the VA's authority to remove employees at all levels of the department, shortens the removal process and ensures an individual removed from the VA is not kept on the VA's payroll while appealing that decision. It will also make it easier for the VA to remove poor performing senior executives and replace them with qualified candidates. Additionally, any appeals by senior VA executives would no longer be brought before the bureaucratic Merit Systems Protection Board, but instead would be handled directly by the VA secretary under an expedited timeline.
The bill increases the VA's authority to remove employees at all levels of the department, shortens the removal process and ensures an individual removed from the VA is not kept on the VA's payroll while appealing that decision. It will also make it easier for the VA to remove poor performing senior executives and replace them with qualified candidates. Additionally, any appeals by senior VA executives would no longer be brought before the bureaucratic Merit Systems Protection Board, but instead would be handled directly by the VA secretary under an expedited timeline.