Friday, march 3, 2017
Washington, D.C. – Today, the National Federation of Federal Employees (NFFE) expressed its disappointment with the introduction of a bill that will deter talent and qualified medical expertise from working at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). The bill, H.R. 2159, introduced by Rep. David “Phil” Roe (R-TX) will eliminate many of the systematic protections currently in place that help to ensure a high quality of medical care for veterans.
“As the VA strives to improve services and care for veterans, Rep. Roe’s bill will do nothing but inflict subjective removals and demotions without cause on the medical staff, which will place the health and treatment of veterans at great risk,” stated Randy Erwin, NFFE National President. “This bill is bad policy, and it places our medical staff and vets in the middle to suffer like political pawns.”
Rep. Roe’s bill comes after a series of intense hearings over the last several weeks in the House where witnesses were questioned along party lines; Republicans focusing on blame and Democrats focusing on funding and staffing.
“Congress needs to accept some of the blame for its dissatisfaction with the VA,” stated Erwin. “Lawmakers should properly fund the VA, provide training and tools for staff to succeed, defend workforce and systematic protections that enable effective and efficient treatment, and stop trying to privatize the VA under the guise of accountability,” Erwin continued. “The private sector does not need the Committee on Veterans Affairs rooting for it. America’s veterans do.”