[Congressional Record Volume 143, Number 158 (Monday, November 10, 1997)]
[Senate]
[Page S12495]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




                               CONCLUSION

  Mr. President, in closing, I acknowledge the work of my colleagues in 
the House--Chairman Bob Stump and ranking Minority Member Lane Evans--
and our Committee's Chairman, Senator Specter, in developing this 
comprehensive legislation.
  Mr. President, I thank the staff who have worked extremely long and 
hard on this compromise--Mike Durishin, Jill Cochran, Mary Ellen 
McCarthy, Adam Sachs, Susan Edgerton, Carl Commenator, Pat Ryan, Mike 
Brinck, Ralph Ibson, Kingston Smith, Sloan Rappoport, and others on the 
House Committee, and Jim Gottlieb, Kim Lipsky, Mary Schoelen, Charlie 
Battaglia, Bill Tuerk, and John Bradley, with the Senate Committee. I 
also thank Bob Cover and Charlie Armstrong of the House and Senate 
Offices of Legislative Counsel for their excellent assistance and 
support in drafting this compromise agreement.
  Mr. HUTCHINSON. Mr. President, I rise today in support of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs Employment Discrimination Resolution and 
Adjudication Act. As we approach Veterans Day, it is indeed fitting 
that this important legislation will soon become an integral part of 
title 38, of the United States Code.
  This legislation addresses the critical issue of sexual harassment 
within the Department of Veterans Affairs and ensures that the rights 
of all employees will be protected. I would like to recognize the 
leadership of Chairman Specter and the support of Senators Rockefeller 
and Graham in the development of this necessary legislative remedy.
  Specifically, this bill creates within the Department an Office of 
Employment Discrimination Complaints Resolution which will be headed by 
a director who shall be solely responsible for resolving complaints of 
unlawful employment discrimination within the Department. It requires 
that those employed in handling the complaints be properly trained and 
that complaints are handled in a fair and objective manner. The 
legislation further ensures that those individuals in top management 
positions are held to the same standards concerning equal opportunity 
employment law as those individuals that they manage and supervise.
  The legislation requires that the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 
submit to Congress three reports on the implementation and operation of 
the equal opportunity employment system. These reports are due April 1, 
1998, January 1, 1999, and January 1, 2000. In addition to the reports 
required of the Department, the legislation further stipulates that an 
assessment of the Employment Discrimination Complaint Resolution system 
be conducted by an independent contractor who has been approved by both 
the House and Senate Veterans' Affairs Committees. The first 
independent assessment is due June 1, 1998 with the second report due 
June 1, 1999.
  Mr. President, our Nation's veterans and the over 200,000 Federal 
workers who support the nationwide network of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs programs and services must be assured that they can 
put veterans first in an environment that has zero tolerance for any 
type of sexual, emotional, or physical harassment.
  Mr. FAIRCLOTH. Mr. President, I rise in support of the Department of 
Veterans Affairs Employment Discrimination Act. This legislation offers 
an effective and expeditious method for filing and processing sexual 
harassment and employment discrimination claims within the Department.
  Over a year ago, the problem of sexual harassment with Veterans 
Affairs Department was brought to my attention by a case of widespread 
abuse at the VA Medical Center in Fayetteville, NC. Regrettably, this 
situation involved the director of the facility who was also the man 
responsible for handling complaints filed against him. Not 
surprisingly, claims of sexual harassment made against the director 
went nowhere, and he continued his reprehensible behavior without fear 
of being caught.
  The legislation I introduced with my colleague from Florida, Senator 
Graham, and my colleague from Arkansas, Senator Hutchinson, is a 
constructive measure that would prevent such a blatant abuse of 
authority from occurring again. This bill will create the Office of 
Employment Discrimination Complaint Adjudication [OEDCA] with a 
director who would report only to the Secretary or Deputy Secretary of 
VA. Centralizing authority within the OEDCA will restore a large amount 
of accountability to currently flawed system.
  Mr. President, it is imperative that Congress provide the thousands 
of employees of the Veterans Affairs Department with a system they can 
rely upon to judiciously resolve employment discrimination claims. I 
urge my colleagues to support this legislation to prevent an incident 
such as the one that occurred in my State from happening again.
  Mr. LOTT. Mr. President, I move that the Senate concur in the 
amendments of the House.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The question is on agreeing to the motion.
  The motion was agreed to.

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