[Congressional Record Volume 160, Number 79 (Friday, May 23, 2014)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages E834-E835]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




  DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS MANAGEMENT ACCOUNTABILITY ACT OF 2014

                                 ______
                                 

                               speech of

                             HON. RUSH HOLT

                             of new jersey

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, May 21, 2014

  Mr. HOLT. Mr. Speaker, our veterans have served our Nation with pride 
and honor since our country was founded over 200 years ago, and we owe 
them and their families a debt that we can never fully repay.
  One of the things we can do, however, is ensure that veterans receive 
the benefits they have earned, and providing high-quality health care 
must be our foremost priority. If a person is ill, his or her entire 
quality of life is affected.
  The revelations we have learned about the gross negligence at the 
Phoenix hospital are shocking and deplorable and should be condemned--
and should never happen again. But H.R. 4031 does not get to the root 
of the matter and it does not fix the issue.
  Clearly there are serious problems at the VA that must be addressed, 
and those that allowed this travesty must be held accountable.

[[Page E835]]

However, this bill does not address this problem.
  This bill would allow Senior Executive Service employees to be fired 
without cause--for absolutely no reason, including political reasons. 
Under current law, Senior Executive Service employees can already be 
fired for poor performance. An SES employee must, not can, but must be 
removed should they receive even one unsatisfactory rating.
  I strongly support holding all federal employees accountable for the 
job they are hired to do, no matter what position they hold in 
government. The American people must have faith in their government. 
While an investigation of the problems at the Phoenix VA is ongoing, 
the negligence and indifference is inexcusable We must get to the 
bottom of what happened, and make sure it, or anything like it, never 
happens again.
  We should be looking for answers, not using time and energy on this 
bill, and instead focus on the real problem of why these horrendous 
actions were allowed to occur.

                          ____________________