Gibbs, House Passes VA Accountability Act
Statement
On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act, which provides the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs more flexibility in holding employees accountable for poor performance or misconduct and provide protections for whistleblowers.
Following passage, Congressman Bob Gibbs released the following statement:
"After the news last year that VA clinics had secret wait lists and veterans died waiting for care, the House began a vigorous oversight investigation to uncover the truth and identify ways to properly care for veterans. This bill will make sure that the VA can deal with poorly performing clinics and employees in a manner that ensures the health care of our veterans is our number one priority. I have seen the result of neglect and poor management with my own constituents. I applaud my colleagues for standing up today to give our men and women in uniform the best care possible."
Pamela Shank, a resident from Mount Vernon, Ohio and wife of the late Jerry Shank said:
"My husband, Jerry, passed away last year as a result of negligent care in the Veterans' Affairs system. Jerry loved this country and served it for 10 years. I want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. I'm thankful the House passed this bill to hold people accountable for their misconduct."
H.R. 1994 also reforms performance-based bonuses for senior executives and caps the annual amount given in bonuses and awards for VA employees.On Wednesday evening, the House of Representatives passed H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act, which provides the Secretary of Veterans' Affairs more flexibility in holding employees accountable for poor performance or misconduct and provide protections for whistleblowers.
Following passage, Congressman Bob Gibbs released the following statement:
"After the news last year that VA clinics had secret wait lists and veterans died waiting for care, the House began a vigorous oversight investigation to uncover the truth and identify ways to properly care for veterans. This bill will make sure that the VA can deal with poorly performing clinics and employees in a manner that ensures the health care of our veterans is our number one priority. I have seen the result of neglect and poor management with my own constituents. I applaud my colleagues for standing up today to give our men and women in uniform the best care possible."
Pamela Shank, a resident from Mount Vernon, Ohio and wife of the late Jerry Shank said:
"My husband, Jerry, passed away last year as a result of negligent care in the Veterans' Affairs system. Jerry loved this country and served it for 10 years. I want to make sure this doesn't happen to anyone else. I'm thankful the House passed this bill to hold people accountable for their misconduct."
H.R. 1994 also reforms performance-based bonuses for senior executives and caps the annual amount given in bonuses and awards for VA employees.
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