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Washington, DC– Congressman Brett Guthrie today voted in support of legislation aimed at caring for our nation’s veterans and ensuring accountability from the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“An interim report released by the Inspector General made it clear that the VA is not living up to its promise to our nation’s veterans,” said Congressman Guthrie. “This finding of systemic failure is deplorable. With additional oversight and targeted legislation, we will get to the bottom of how this unacceptable lapse of judgment and abuse of power occurred, and ensure it does not happen again.”

H.R. 2072 would require the Inspector General (IG) of the VA to notify Congress if the secretary of the VA fails to fix a health or safety issue that the IG had previously reported to the Secretary. This process would lead to performance reviews and subsequently to prohibiting financial bonuses for employees with unresolved issues. 

This bill echoes the intent of similar legislation, H.R. 4031, the Department of Veterans Affairs Management Accountability Act of 2014. H.R. 4031 clarifies that the VA has the ability to fire underperforming managers.

The vote came the same day that an internal audit revealed that more than 57,000 veterans across the country waited longer than 90 days for initial appointments at Veterans Affairs hospitals and clinics.

“We owe it to our veterans to ensure they receive the best care possible, and I will continue to support legislation that addresses the problems at the VA,” added Congressman Guthrie.

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