Bills
| 3.23.22

Should It Be Easier For the VA to Fire Corrupt Or Incompetent Employees? (H.R. 1994)

Do you support or oppose this bill?

What is H.R. 1994?

(Updated November 4, 2017)

This bill would give the Dept. of Veterans Affairs (VA) more power to remove or demote a VA employee based on performance or misconduct. This could manifest by removing them from the civil service, demoting them through a reduction in status or annual pay rate.

The bill also limits the awards and bonuses paid to VA employees and outlines a new process for handling whistleblower complaints. 

Introduced in response to a very public scandal in 2014, this bill focuses on the past failure of the VA to take stern disciplinary action against corrupt or incompetent employees. As of April 2015 the VA had only begun disciplining a handful of employees embroiled in the scandal, and had yet to fire any.

Don't worry VA workers — Under this bill, employees have the right to appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board within seven days of their removal or demotion. An administrative judge would also have to make a final decision within 45 days of the appeal — otherwise the original decision becomes final.

The VA can't remove or demote an employee the approval of the Office of Special Counsel if the employee on the chopping block seeks "corrective action".

People who are appointed to a permanent position (within the competitive service, or in parts of the Senior Executive Service) have to go through an 18-month probationary period. That probation can be extended by the VA Secretary, and ended by the employee’s supervisor.

Argument in favor

The VA needs to be able to fire, demote, or otherwise punish employees that perform poorly in their jobs. Why should incompetent federal employees keep their jobs when their private sector counterparts would be fired?

Argument opposed

All federal agencies should have flexibility should have more flexibility to fire incompetent employees — not just the VA. It's unfair to single out federal workers from one troubled agency rather than reforming the entire bureaucracy.

Impact

VA employees accused of misconduct facing termination or demotion, people elected for a permanent job in the competitive service; the Merit Systems Protection Board; and the administrators in the VA — including the Secretary of the VA.

Cost of H.R. 1994

The CBO estimates that implementing this bill would reduce costs by $145 million over the 2016-2020 period.

Additional Info

In-Depth: Sponsoring Rep. Jeff Miller (R-FL) criticized the VA for its “overwhelming lack of accountability in the wake of the VA scandal,” the severity of which is “precisely the type of situation that makes the average citizen lose faith in their government.”

Among the groups that have expressed support for this legislation are the American Legion, Concerned Veterans for America, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), and Veterans of Foreign Wars (VFW). The VFW said in a statement that “VA employees need to understand that if they harm veterans, then they will be fired. This bill delivers on that idea and is worthy of our support.” 

The White House has already threatened to veto this bill on the grounds that it creates a disparity in how VA employees are treated compared to other federal employees which could make it harder for the agency to attract quality workers. The president of the American Federation of Government Employees agreed with the Obama Administration, saying that the bill would eliminate due process for VA workers.


Of Note: Early in 2014, the VA Health Administration scandal became widely publicized after it was revealed that 35 veterans had died waiting to receive care from VA healthcare facilities.

A VA audit conducted after the scandal came to light found that over 120,000 veterans were on the waiting lists or never received medical care. The audit cited demand in excess of capacity as a contributing factor in the crisis, which led to VA officials using unofficial waiting lists to make wait times appear shorter — a practice that was rewarded with bonuses.


Media:

Summary by Eric Revell
(Photo Credit: Flickr user Parker Knight)