House passes bill to hold negligent VA employees accountable

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Brian Baluta, 202-225-6155

WASHINGTON, D.C.– Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014, by a bipartisan vote of 390 to 33. The legislation, cosponsored by Congressman Mark Amodei (NV-02), would make it easier for the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to remove senior employees who are found to be involved in cases of negligence, mismanagement and insufficient medical care.

“That this bill is even necessary would at first seem to be a bit of a head-scratcher, but the existing process makes it nearly impossible for the VA to fire negligent employees,” said Amodei. “A culture that would allow some of the practices that have come to light is one that screams out for accountability. Hopefully this legislation will foster needed change at the VA.”

Recent allegations implicate senior managers in a scheme to hide scheduling delays at VA facilities across the country. The subsequent delays in care have been linked to preventable deaths and other harm done to patients.

The legislation would give the secretary the power to "remove any individual from the Senior Executive Service if the Secretary determines the performance of the individual warrants such removal."

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