Denham Votes to Bring Real Accountability to the VA

Statement

U.S. Representative Jeff Denham (R-Turlock) issued the following statement regarding his vote today in support of H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act of 2015:

"For too long our veterans have suffered because of mismanagement and lack of accountability within the Veteran's Administration. We all saw the results just over a year ago when we learned that individual locations of the VA had placed veterans in need of healthcare on a number of secret waitlists. This was a shocking and disturbing revelation, but for veterans and their families, unfortunately not a surprise. Our vets have experienced years of disappointment with the VA.

"As a veteran myself, I have tremendous respect and admiration for those who have sacrificed for our country. The widespread lack of accountability shown throughout the VA translates to lack of care for our vets, and that is simply unacceptable.

"This legislation puts a process in place to remove VA employees because of poor performance and misconduct. This is long overdue. The VA Accountability Act ensures our vets receive the best possible treatment and that any employee harming that goal can be disciplined and if necessary, fired."

The VA Accountability Act builds upon veterans' legislation that Rep. Denham has supported throughout his time in Congress and specifically on the bipartisan Veterans' Access to Care through Choice, Accountability, and Transparency Act of 2014, which was signed into law on August 7, 2014. Rep. Denham attended the signing of that bill.

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