WASHINGTON — The Republican-led House approved legislation Thursday to make it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire, suspend or demote employees for poor performance or bad conduct, part of a renewed GOP effort targeting VA accountability in the new Trump administration.
The bill, which passed 237-178, would reduce the time that workers have available under a union grievance process to appeal a disciplinary action. Any employee facing discipline would receive advance notice of 10 days. The secretary would have another five days to complete the decision.
The measure would also allow the VA to recoup bonuses awarded to employees later disciplined for misconduct.
The chairman of the House Veterans Affairs Committee, Phil Roe of Tennessee, said currently the grievance process could take up to 350 days to complete.
“It is beyond comprehension that with as much outright malfeasance that Congress, the American public, the media and our courageous whistleblowers have uncovered at VA … that we still see far too many instances of VA employees not living up to the standards America expects,” Roe said.
“This legislation doesn’t just build back the trust of America’s veterans; it gives VA employees the trust to know that bad actors within the department will no longer have the power to taint their good name.”
The bill has the support of the White House and VA Secretary David Shulkin. But Democrats and unions cast the measure as an attack on workers’ rights, saying the House version is too aggressive and unfairly punishes rank-and-file employees. Last year, a bipartisan Senate bill by Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., and backed by the American Federation of Government Employees as more in balance with workers’ due process rights, stalled during the presidential campaign.
