NFFE Fights to Protect VA Members from Congressional Attacks

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While federal employees are forced to endure attack after attack from the current anti-worker Congress, one agency has experienced a particularly toxic stream of attacks in recent years. Following a national scandal in 2014, nurses and doctors at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) have been under constant attack from Congress. While many of the attacks have been shrouded in the thin veil of “accountability measures,” NFFE has fought these measures for what they really are: attempts to erode the constitutional due process protections of federal employees undergoing disciplinary proceedings. Now, Congress appears poised to take the attacks one step further with the impending vote on S. 2921, a bill overhauling how rank-and-file employees are treated by management—but not without a fight from NFFE and our allies on Capitol Hill. 

 

Two important factors must be considered in the discussion of VA reform: First, the “accountability measures” in this legislation would not have prevented the falsifying of patient waiting lists that ignited calls for reform. Second, the rank-and-file VA medical professionals—those providing direct care for our nation’s cherished veterans—were not responsible for the recent scandals at the VA. The VA employees NFFE represents, many of them veterans themselves, are among the most dedicated employees in the federal workforce. They are fully committed to the mission of providing veterans with the highest quality care, and treating each patient with dignity and respect. The measures put forth by S. 2921 are punitive in nature, and will ultimately fail to achieve the desired reforms while simultaneously inviting a culture of fear among our veterans’ caregivers.

 

For more information on the subject, read NFFE’s letter to Congress, urging their opposition to S. 2921.