Miller Newsletter April 26, 2015
Statement
Veterans Corner
H.R.1994, VA Accountability Act
Last week, in response to VA's long and well documented history of not holding problem employees accountable, I introduced H.R.1994, the VA Accountability Act to give the Department of Veterans Affairs Secretary sweeping new authority to fire corrupt or incompetent employees for cause.
More than a year after enduring the biggest scandal in VA history, in which 110 VA facilities maintained secret lists to hide wait times, the department hasn't fired a single employee for wait time manipulation. Even worse, rather than disciplining bad employees, VA often just transfers them to other VA facilities or puts them on paid leave for months on end, ensuring taxpayer money is wasted and that bad employees spread their problems to other locations. From Philadelphia to Reno, Nev., to Nashville, Tenn., to Phoenix, VA's tradition of transferring problem workers, putting them on paid leave or simply allowing them to go virtually unpunished continues because current civil service rules make it extremely difficult to properly hold employees accountable. I know this because high-ranking VA officials -- people who work directly for the secretary -- have told me so behind closed doors.
The department's overwhelming lack of accountability in the wake of the VA scandal is precisely the type of situation that makes the average citizen lose faith in their government and causes quality health care professionals to think twice when considering to work at VA. After all, why would anyone want to work for an organization where corrupt behavior that harms veterans is not only tolerated but often goes virtually unpunished? Everyone knows accountability is a major problem at the department, and right now VA leaders must work with Congress to solve it. That's why our focus remains on giving the VA secretary more tools to ensure corrupt and incompetent executives face serious consequences for mismanagement and malfeasance that harms veterans.
House Full Committee on Veterans' Affairs Legislative Hearing--Philadelphia and Oakland: Systemic Failures and Mismanagement
The House Committee on Veterans' Affairs held an oversight hearing last week to examine failures within the Veterans Benefits Administration's Philadelphia and Oakland, Calif., Regional Offices (ROs). According to VA Deputy Inspector General Richard Griffin, Philadelphia's regional office is "very bad" in comparison to other ROs, which are responsible for processing disability benefits compensation claims, among other VA benefits. "If you had a check list of possible problem areas ... you could have checked just about every one of them that came to our attention in Philly," Griffin said, referring to an April 15, 2015, IG report regarding the facility. In Oakland, a February 2015 IG report confirmed that some veterans' benefits claims requests -- dating as far back as 2002 -- went unprocessed. As a result, "veterans did not receive consideration for benefits to which they may have been entitled," the report said. Despite the IG report and a recent CBS news story that featured five Oakland RO whistleblowers who said more than 13,000 claims dating to 1996 were ignored until 2012, VA Under Secretary for Benefits Alison Hickey testified before Congress that all the claims were properly handled.
The hearing also examined VA's massive $309,000 "relocation" payment to move Philadelphia RO Director Diana Rubens from Washington to Philadelphia, which the Department of Veterans Affairs staunchly defended, calling the payment "appropriate."
To view the April 22 hearing addressing the many allegations of mismanagement and exorbitant payments to executives at the Philadelphia and Oakland ROs.
House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health Legislative Hearing on Draft Legislation to Improve Reproductive Treatment Provided to Certain Disabled Veterans
Last Thursday, I spoke at a House Committee on Veterans' Affairs Subcommittee on Health hearing to discuss draft legislation I have authored to improve the reproductive treatments available to veterans who have suffered spinal cord or reproductive organ injuries. Unlike the Department of Defense, which has been providing in vitro fertilization (IVF) treatments to eligible service members since 2010, the VA is currently prohibited from providing IVF treatments to veterans or their spouses. My draft legislation, which was developed in part following a recent veterans' health roundtable, would eliminate this disparity and allow VA to provide assisted reproductive technology, including IVF, to eligible veterans. In line with DoD policy, the bill would allow VA to provide eligible veterans with three IVF cycles, authorize VA to provide for storage of genetic material for three years in accordance with relevant state law and prohibit VA from providing any benefit relating to surrogacy or third-party genetic material donation. This bill would create parity between DoD and VA policy, while opening the door to parenthood for disabled veterans, and I look forward to working with my colleagues and stakeholders to strengthen the bill as it moves forward in the legislative process.
Washington Update
House Advances Cybersecurity Legislation
Every day, state-sponsored foreign adversaries and criminal enterprises target American businesses, citizens, and government agencies. The hacks on the State Department, White House, health insurer Anthem, Sony Pictures and Target are only the most recent examples of this growing threat. To defend America's vital digital networks, the public and private sector must work together, as one of the most significant tools to combat cyber threats is information sharing. The Department of Homeland Security has established the National Cybersecurity and Communications Integration Center (NCCIC), to improve coordination amongst private, federal, state and local entities to share cyber threat information. Companies, however, do not feel they have adequate legal protections to share cyber threat indicators with the NCCIC, and so the House passed two pieces of legislation last week aimed at enhancing cooperation between the public and private sector, while protecting privacy rights.
H.R. 1731, the National Cybersecurity Protection Advancement Act, which passed the House by a vote of 355-63 and which I voted for, is a pro-privacy, pro-security bill that ensures the sharing of cyber threats is transparent and timely. This bill strengthens the NCCIC's role as the lead civilian interface for cyber threat information sharing by providing liability protections for the voluntary sharing of cyber threat indicators and defensive measures with the NCCIC or between two private entities. It also grants liability protections for private companies to conduct network awareness of their own information systems and allows companies to operate their defensive measures. In addition, it bolsters privacy and civil liberties of all Americans by ensuring personal information is removed before sharing cyber threat indicators.
The House also passed H.R. 1560, the Protecting Cyber Networks Act, which I also voted for and which would enable private companies to share cyber threat indicators with each other and, on a purely voluntary basis, with the federal government. The private-to-government information sharing included in the bill would not go through the National Security Agency or the Department of Defense, and would provide strong protections for privacy and civil liberties. Additionally, this bill would protect privacy by prohibiting the government from forcing private sector entities to provide information to the government; require companies to remove personal information before they share cyber threat indicators with the government; and permit individuals to sue the federal government for intentional privacy violations in federal court.
Protecting our Nation from the threat of cyber attacks requires a balance of security while adhering to the protections provided to all U.S. citizens by the Constitution. These legislative efforts strike that balance.
Meeting with Colonel Matthew "Wolfe" Davidson
Last week, I had the opportunity to meet with Colonel Matthew "Wolfe" Davidson, Commander of the 24th Special Operations Wing (SOW), Hurlburt Field. We discussed ongoing priorities in the Special Tactics Community, especially the success of their resiliency program which provides holistic care--physical, psychological, emotional, and family health--to our Nation's most elite units. I also had the distinct privilege of recognizing Senior Airman Goodie Goodman, who will be awarded the Silver Star in early May for his heroic actions in Afghanistan last fall. The Airmen of the 24th SOW fill a critical role in carrying out special operations and bring a force multiplying capability through close air support. I want to thank Col Davidson, CMSgt Bruce Dixon, and SrA Goodman for visiting with me, and for their selfless service in the cause of Freedom.
Meeting with Colonel David Hamilton, Chief, Army House Liaison Division
Last week, I met with Colonel David Hamilton, the Chief of the House Army Liaison Division. His office, who as the interface between Congress and the U.S. Army, is charged with serving as a resource to Members of the U.S. House of Representatives in response to Congressional inquiries, as well as understanding policies, actions, operations, and requirements of the Army. We took the opportunity to discuss his priorities for the year and the Army presence in Northwest Florida. I appreciate Colonel Hamilton for taking the time to stop by to meet and the critical role he and his office plays in strengthening Congressional relations and in support of our active duty and veterans community.
Constituent Visits
Last week, I had the chance to meet two constituents from Northwest Florida while they visited our Nation's capital.
Mary Richard, from Crestview, visited Washington with her family and made a visit to Capitol Hill part of her trip. Mary is involved in many areas of service in Northwest Florida, and I was glad to have the chance to speak with her about one of the most important charitable organizations operating in Northwest Florida and around the country: the Fisher House Foundation. During its 25-plus years of existence, the Fisher House Foundation has served more than 250,000 military families, providing comfort to families while their loved ones receive treatment. I thank Mary for her involvement with such a wonderful institution and for taking the time to visit with me during her trip.
I also had the chance to meet with Vanessa Arriola, a constituent from Pensacola who is currently pursuing a Masters of Public Health Degree from Tulane University. Prior to her master's studies, Vanessa served honorably in our Navy. Like so many of our Nation's veterans, she has taken the leadership skills honed during military service and applied them to civilian life. At Tulane, she helped found the school's first Student Veteran Organization, served as President of the Golden Key International Honor Society, and led outreach efforts into the Hispanic community as the Treasurer for SALUD for Latin American Communities. She will soon be completing her degree, with a concentration on Epidemiology of Infectious Diseases and Outbreak Epidemiology, and I wish her all the best as she embarks on what will certainly be a successful career in the field of epidemiology.
In the District
Congressional Delegation Oversight Visit to Pensacola Courthouse
For years, the federal courthouse in Pensacola has been in an unacceptable state of disrepair, and last week I visited the facility with my colleagues Congressman Bill Shuster (R-PA), Chairman of the House Transportation and Infrastructure Committee, and Congressman Vern Buchanan (R-FL), where Chief Judge Casey Rodgers showed us first-hand the many issues at the courthouse. From dangerous black mold, to cracks in the floor and ceilings of the holding cells, to an inefficient drainage system that pools water onto the roof of the building, there are myriad issues that must be immediately addressed. Unfortunately there has been a patchwork of solutions over time, and there is no way that a band-aid will fix the problems. This is a serious health situation for those that work inside and those that come inside the courthouse and it needs to be resolved as soon as possible. Congressman Shuster, whose committee has congressional oversight of the General Services Administration (GSA), which administers the courthouse, has committed to working with me on this issue as Congress crafts a GSA reform bill.
Naval Air Station Pensacola & U.S. Navy and Marine Corps flight Demonstration Squadron
As Northwest Floridians, we are proud to call Pensacola the "Cradle of Naval Aviation." NAS Pensacola is the launching point for the flight training of all Naval Aviators, Naval Flight Officers and Enlisted Aircrewmen, and I took the opportunity to bring my colleagues, Congressman Shuster and Congressman Buchanan, on a tour of the flight academy while they were in Pensacola. During our tour, we had the chance to watch the Blue Angels practice. It is always a thrill to see some of the world's greatest aviators in action. I thank NAS Pensacola for opening their gates to give my colleagues the chance to see the base and Blue Angels up close.
As always, I welcome your comments. To share your thoughts on legislation, votes or issues, please visit http://jeffmiller.house.gov/ to send an e-mail or call any of my offices.
Thanks,
Jeff
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