Senator Johnny Isakson (above) is the Chair of the Senate Veterans Affairs Committee.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Friday, June 17, 2016
Amanda Maddox, 202-224-7777
Lauren Gaydos, 202-224-9126
Isakson Blasts VA Decision to Ignore Accountability Reforms Passed in Wake of Wait-time Scandal
‘Choosing to ignore these key
reforms is a slap in the face to our veterans… the only way to combat
this blatant executive overreach is for the Congress to swiftly pass the
Veterans First Act.’
WASHINGTON
– U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee
on Veterans’ Affairs, today released the
following statement after being notified by the Department of Veterans
Affairs’ (VA) that it will no longer use its expedited removal authority
to hold VA senior executives accountable.
The VA’s decision comes in light of the recent Justice Department decision not to defend key accountability provisions of the
Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 against a constitutional challenge from a VA executive who was fired in the scandal.
“It is outrageous and unconscionable
that the VA is choosing to blatantly ignore all of the accountability
reforms set in place by the
Veterans Choice Act. Two years ago, veterans were forced to wait
far too long for care because of incompetent executives. Since then,
we’ve seen scandal after scandal emerge at the department. While some
progress has been made to hold those responsible
accountable, there is still a long way to go and choosing to ignore
these key reforms is a slap in the face to our veterans.
“I am not going to stand by and watch
the VA continue to look the other way while another one of its own gets
away with egregious misconduct at the expense of veterans’ access to
quality care and
services. The only way to combat this blatant executive overreach is
for the Congress to swiftly pass the
Veterans First Act, which I introduced to bring even more
accountability reform to the VA. It is the only pending bill in
Congress that can stand up to a constitutional challenge and will offer
sweeping accountability reform. I urge my colleagues to
pass this much-needed bill to change the culture of corruption at the
VA immediately.”
Background:
Sharon Helman, the former director of
the Phoenix VA Health Care System, was fired in 2014 in the wake of the
VA wait-time scandal. Helman sued for her job back, saying the
Veterans Choice Act is unconstitutional, partly because it does
not allow executives to appeal to the full Merit Systems Protection
Board, only to an administrative judge at the board.
The Justice Department announced that it
is refusing to mount a defense against this claim by Helman, saying
current law violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because
the administrative
judges are not presidentially appointed whereas members of the board
are.
The VA informed Chairman Isakson today that because of this, the department would not use
any of the accountability reforms established in the Veterans Choice Act
to remove executives.
Isakson’s Veterans First Act
removes the Merit Systems Protection Board from the appeal process for
senior executives altogether, avoiding this constitutionality challenge.
Isakson’s legislation
passed the Senate VA Committee unanimously and awaits action by the
full Senate.
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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress.
Isakson is a veteran himself – having
served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a
member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005.
Isakson’s home
state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations
representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000
veterans.
