House of Representatives Passes Heller-Backed Bill to Bring Accountability to the VA

Statement

Today, the U.S. House of Representatives passed the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, legislation designed to bring accountability to the Department of Veterans Affairs by expediting the removal process for poorly performing employees and ensuring appropriate protections for whistleblowers. The legislation was sponsored by Rep. Ken Buck (CO-04) and was initially introduced in the U.S. Senate by U.S. Senator Marco Rubio (R-FL) along with U.S. Senators Dean Heller (R-NV), Johnny Isakson (R-GA), chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and Jon Tester (D-MT), ranking member of the Committee. The U.S. Senate previously passed the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act and now it is headed to the president's desk.

"I applaud the House for passing this important legislation that will bring much-needed accountability to the VA. This is the result of our strong bipartisan, bicameral work to increase transparency at the VA and improve the care and service our veterans have earned." said Heller. "I look forward to the President signing the Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act into law and as a senior member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, I will continue to work with my colleagues on commonsense ideas to reform the VA to better serve the 300,000 veterans living in Nevada."

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