Nearly three years have passed since we learned that officials at the Department of Veterans Affairs were systematically covering up severe waiting times at their medical facilities. Today, it seems that little has changed.
In Phoenix, where the scandal first broke, more than 1,000 veterans are waiting longer than 30 days to see a doctor. And despite veterans’ stories of neglect and abuse being headline news for years, fewer than 10 VA employees were ever fired.
The first step to fixing the culture of negligence at the VA is to ensure that bad employees are held accountable. That’s why it is critical that Congress pass the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act, which was introduced by Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., in January.
This bill would empower the VA to quickly remove employees for poor performance or misconduct, while adding new protections for whistleblowers. It would also grant the VA secretary the authority to recoup bonuses from unethical employees or reduce their pensions.
These reforms are long overdue. Too often, corrupt or incompetent employees get away with a slap on the wrist. The few who get fired frequently remain on the payroll for months, even years, before they are finally let go. This is bad for veterans and unfair to the many VA workers who perform their jobs admirably.
The incompetence of bad VA employees can cost veterans their lives.
One veteran in Phoenix died from cardiovascular disease after he failed to receive a cardiology exam ordered by his VA doctor. The VA determined that “had he received the exam in a timely fashion, further testing and interventions could have prevented his death.”
The VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act would make it easier to fire the staff responsible for these outrages. It would also speed their dismissal so that bad employees don’t remain on the payroll long after their wrongdoing is exposed.
That’s what happened in Alabama, where a VA employee drove a patient to a crack house and helped him obtain illegal drugs. The employee was soon removed from direct patient care duties, but he continued to receive a salary for more than a year afterward, when he was finally subjected to undisclosed “disciplinary action.”
Due process for employees is important, but it should never take that long. Rubio’s legislation would allow employees to appeal firing decisions, but it limits this process to no more than 77 days, during which time the employee is taken off the payroll. It would also remove the Merit Systems Protection Board, a quasi-judicial federal agency, from the termination process for senior executives.
Meanwhile, the bill protects employees who speak out about wrongdoing in the agency by making it easier to fire managers who retaliate against whistleblowers. This would protect individuals like Brandon Coleman, who lost his job after revealing that suicidal veterans were regularly left free to walk out of the emergency room of the Phoenix VA facility.
It is long past time that we treat veterans with the care and dignity they deserve. This year, a changing political landscape offers hope that meaningful reform may finally be possible. The new administration has frequently pledged to overhaul the VA. President Trump’s nominee for VA secretary, David Shulkin, says the status quo is “unacceptable.”
Congress and the administration must seize this moment to pass the VA Accountability First and Appeals Modernization Act and sign it into law. America’s veterans have waited long enough.
Dan Caldwell (@dandcaldwell) is the director of policy for Concerned Veterans for America.
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