Arizona congressmen Paul Gosar, and David Schweikert voted this week on H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014. The House approved the bill, which will streamline the process for terminating senior management officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs, who are failing to perform their duties.
H.R. 4031 would amend title 38 U.S.C., and give the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs authority to remove employees of the Senior Executive Service, whose performance the Secretary believes warrants removal, from the government service completely or transfer them to a General Schedule position within the current civil service system. The ability to remove such an employee is modeled after the same authority that Members of Congress have to remove their professional staff members who work for them.
The bill has over 115 Republican and Democratic cosponsors. The bill has received letters of support from leading voices in the veterans community including; IAVA; AMVETS; The American Legion; Concerned Veterans for America; and the Reserve Officers Association.
“When the employees of the VA are more concerned about concealing lengthy wait times than about caring for our veterans, it’s obvious that the agency has a serious lack of accountability. In order to prevent deaths such as those that likely occurred due to negligence at the Phoenix VA from occurring again, Congress and President Obama must hold Senior Executive Service employees accountable when they are found to have committed acts of malfeasance and fail in their responsibility to provide timely and quality care for our veterans.” Gosar said that the “senior executives who are inept have so many protections that it is nearly impossible for them to be fired.”
“Veterans fought honorably to protect this nation and our freedoms. Now it’s our turn to fight for them,” concluded Gosar. I will continue to seek answers about what exactly happened at the Phoenix VA and to take measures to ensure that veterans receive the care they were promised.
“The Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) responsibility is to provide care and support for our nation’s heroes. Sadly, the recent reports and investigations indicate the VA has failed our veterans.” said David Schweikert. VA leadership must be held accountable and I believe this bill is a step in the right direction to restoring faith and trust with our nation’s veterans.”