Chairman Statement

Opening Statement of the Honorable Chairman Jeff Miller

                                             House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs      

“Joint Hearing to receive the legislative presentations of the Paralyzed Veterans of America, AMVETS, Military Officers Association of America, Military Order of the Purple Heart, Vietnam Veterans of America, Blinded Veterans Association, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, and the Non Commissioned Officers Association”

 Wednesday, May 20, 2015

10:00 AM

Cannon Caucus Room

216 Hart Senate Office Building

Good morning.  This hearing will come to order.

I am pleased to welcome everyone today and to join with members of the House and Senate Committees on Veterans’ Affairs to hear from our distinguished guests as they present their legislative priorities.

In the interest of time, after hearing from Chairman Isakson, Ranking Member Brown, and Ranking Member Blumenthal, I would like to ask Committee members to waive their opening statements.  There will be an opportunity for remarks during the question and answer period following today’s testimony.  Hearing no objections, so ordered.

Our witnesses today will include: Mr. Al Kovach, national president for the Paralyzed Veterans of America; Commander Larry Via, National Commander of AMVETS; Colonel Robert Norton, Deputy Director of Government Relations for the Military Officers Association of America; Mr. J. Patrick little, National Commander of the Military Order of the Purple Heart; Mr. John Rowan, National President of Vietnam Veterans of America; Mr. Mark Cornell, National President of the Blinded Veterans Association; Mr. Paul Rieckhoff, Founder and CEO of the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America; and Sergeant Major H. Gene Overstreet, President of the Non Commissioned Officers Association.

The witnesses here today, and the organizations they represent, serve a necessary and admirable role to ensure the men and women of our armed forces have the care, benefits, and opportunities they deserve when they come home.  I am thankful for the dedication and noble service of each of the organizations represented here today and of their representatives, especially those who have worn the uniform themselves. 

Our returning warfighters deserve the very best, and I am honored in my position as chairman to work alongside these groups to make sure that is exactly what they get.  I would like to personally welcome everyone who has made the trip here from the Great State of Florida.  Please stand if you are able, or wave to be recognized. 

Similarly, I would like to welcome the members of each organization’s auxiliary, and thank you for your work behind the scenes that benefits our veterans, their families, and survivors.  Each organization here today has its own legislative priorities, but everyone in this room has a common goal: to ensure that the present and future veterans of this great Nation are afforded the best possible care for the selfless service they have provided. 

Over the past year, we have uncovered severe problems within VA that have required tremendous efforts from VSOs and the committees to improve access to care and to dismantle the diseased culture in the department that has allowed certain employees to escape much-needed accountability.  We have made great strides to meet these goals together, but there is still much work to be done. 

Recently, I introduced three important pieces of legislation that would improve accountability within VA.

First, H.R. 473 would make three important changes affecting Senior Executive Service employees.  It would give the secretary the authority to reduce an SES employee’s retirement pay if they are convicted of a felony related to their work performance, ensuring they are not being rewarded for their misdeeds.  Similarly, the performance evaluation program that SES employees are subject to would be reformed in order to prevent bad acts from being covered up by the undeserved receipt of high reviews.  Additionally, this bill would prohibit SES employees from being placed on administrative leave for more than a fourteen day period, which would prevent VA from continuing their practice of, in many cases, placing an employee on an open-ended paid vacation as a reward for bad behavior instead of removing the employee from federal service.

Next, H.R. 571, the Veterans Affairs Retaliation Prevention Act of 2015, would improve the process for whistleblowers within the department to report waste, fraud, and abuse to correct problems at the lowest level possible.  Perhaps more importantly, this bill would strengthen and expand accountability of supervisors who seek to retaliate against conscientious employees who report wrongdoing.  It would also require VA to undertake more comprehensive training procedures to ensure employees are well-aware of their rights and methods to report wrongdoing and supervisors know there are serious consequences from engaging in retaliation.  H.R. 571 has already amassed substantial support from good government groups focused on whistleblower protection. 

In addition to these bills, last month I introduced H.R. 1994, the VA Accountability Act of 2015, which would give the Secretary the ability to remove any VA employee based on performance or misconduct in a similar process to that found in the choice act which was signed into law last summer.  Also built into this bill are protections to ensure this process is not applied to whistleblowers, an extension of non-medical employee probationary periods, and a requirement that GAO conduct a study of VA time, space, and resources devoted to labor union activities.

I encourage those of you here today who have not already to join in support of these crucial pieces of legislation.  I look forward to hearing the legislative priorities of each of the groups represented here today so we can continue to work together to improve services to veterans.