NFFE is pleased to once again serve on a labor committee with the most prominent VA unions in for federal employees. The VA-Labor Committee, first created in the late 1990’s, was brought to life again to address the never-ending attacks on the VA workforce.
The committee is working now to stop HR 4243, the “Veterans Affairs Assets and Infrastructure Review Act of 2017” which, if passed into law, would create a BRAC-like commission under the VA for the purposes of privatizing services and assets involved in veteran care. The commission would have a heavy industry influence which would compromise the integrity of the commission’s findings. In addition, the bill provides four times the current funding for the Choice program which would significantly harm veterans and core services within the VA.
NFFE sits on the committee along with the American Federation of Government Employees, the National Association of Government Employees, the National Nurses Union, and the Union Veterans Council, AFL-CIO. The committee is also working together to address the negative impacts of the VA workforce bill passed earlier this year.