(Washington, DC) – Congressman Charles W. Boustany, Jr., MD, (R-South Louisiana) supported passage of H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act. Boustany is a cosponsor of the bill.

Boustany spoke in support of an amendment similar to the one he offered in April to deny VA staff bonuses. [Youtube]

According to the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, the VA has not fired a single employee in the aftermath of the wait time manipulation scandal that began in Phoenix last year. H.R. 1994 would grant authority to the Secretary to fire any VA employee based on poor performance, and would protect whistleblowers within the agency from retaliation. It also extends probationary periods for VA staff from the current standard of one year.

Boustany also went to the House floor to speak in support of H.R. 2464, the Demanding Accountability for Veterans Act of 2015, offered as an amendment by VA Health Subcommittee Chairman Dan Benishek (R-MI). Boustany is one of ten co-sponsors of the bill. The legislation was adopted as an amendment and included in the overall legislation that passed the House.

The VA Inspector General (IG) has regularly found issues and ongoing problems within the VA, but a lack of accountability and follow-through at the agency has allowed many of these issues to linger. H.R. 2464:

• Requires the IG to release to release all reports to the public and explain what changes the VA has recommended in response to these reports.
• Requires the IG to name specific names (to Congress and the VA) when reporting about a health or public safety problem at the VA.
• Reduces the burden on a supervisor when firing bad employees, providing managers with formal directives to resolve issues and a mitigation plan to help employees fix the issue.
• Targets bonuses of employees that fail to fix problems, similar to a Boustany amendment that would deny bonuses to VA employees until the VA make progress on the emergency medical care claims processing backlog offered earlier this year.

Boustany said: “The American people are tired of the VA’s promises to change without ever seeing any action. Today, because of the VA’s inability to address the numerous issues costing veterans the high-quality care they deserve, Congress is stepping in to force accountability on this agency.

“I’m proud the House has finally taken action on a cause I’ve long thought would be the most effective course of action – denying bonuses for underperforming staff. No Louisiana small business would ever reward employees with the poor success rates that are tolerated at the VA. It’s time to hold these employees’ feet to the fire and force them to change.”

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