Congressman McNerney Votes To Hold VA Officials Accountable For Treatment Delays & Deaths

Press Release

Today, Congressman Jerry McNerney (CA-09) voted with his colleagues in the House of Representatives to ensure Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) officials can quickly fire or demote any employee caught intentionally delaying or denying medical care to veterans.

"As a member of Congress and as an American I was outraged by the allegations that a local VA hospital intentionally delayed care to sick veterans, and then covered it up by hiding or shredding evidence," said Rep. McNerney. "This vote should only be the beginning of our response to this issue. I believe the vast majority of VA employees are doing their jobs well, but if even one veteran dies because of wrongdoing, that's one too many. I will continue to push the VA to investigate these claims, punish those responsible, and prevent it from ever happening again."

The bill approved by the House today will allow the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to fire or demote senior executives involved in providing care to veterans who don't perform their jobs or receive poor performance reviews.

Congressman McNerney has continued to advocate on behalf of America's veterans during his more than seven years in office. Over the past few years he has written laws and rules to ensure the VA is taking steps to reduce the backlog in disability claims, to ensure veterans have access to quality mental health care, and to establish new guidelines for treatment of traumatic brain injury among returning service members.

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