House GOP pushes bill to fast-track firing at VA. Agency leaders doubt it’ll help

By Jory Heckman

Top Republicans on the House Veterans Affairs Committee are leading a bill to let the Department of Veterans Affairs once again fire employees more quickly.

Lawmakers introduced the Restore VA Accountability Act, after the VA announced in April that it is no longer using authorities in the 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act to fast-track the firing of employees.

VA leaders say the 2017 law didn’t help them fire poor performers, and that federal judges and the Merit Systems Protection Board blocked many of the legislation’s provisions from covering a majority of its workforce.

The latest bill, they warned lawmakers, would probably meet a similar fate.

Heckman, J. (2023). House GOP pushes bill to fast-track firing at VA. Agency leaders doubt it’ll help. Federal News Network. https://federalnewsnetwork.com/veterans-affairs/2023/07/house-gop-pushes-bill-to-fast-track-firing-at-va-its-leaders-doubt-itll-help/