[Congressional Record Volume 162, Number 139 (Wednesday, September 14, 2016)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E1265]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




     VA ACCOUNTABILITY FIRST AND APPEALS MODERNIZATION ACT OF 2016

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                               speech of

                         HON. CHRIS VAN HOLLEN

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 13, 2016

       The House in Committee of the Whole House on the state of 
     the Union had under consideration the bill (H.R. 5620) to 
     amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the 
     removal or demotion of employees of the Department of 
     Veterans Affairs based on performance or misconduct, and for 
     other purposes:

  Mr. VAN HOLLEN. Mr. Chair, it is with great reluctance that I rise in 
opposition to H.R. 5620. I am disappointed that my Republican 
colleagues have missed the opportunity to pass legislation that 
immediately reforms the Department of Veterans Affairs' disability 
claim appeals backlog. Instead they are determined to push through a 
bill that they know deprives VA employees, many of whom are veterans, 
of due process and abridges their constitutional rights.
  Our veterans deserve better than the current disability appeals claim 
backlog system which currently has almost half a million claims. It is 
a system that has not been updated since the 1930s. My colleague, 
Representative Dina Titus, has introduced legislation that would 
decrease wait times and save the VA over $2.6 billion. Without this 
legislation our veterans may soon have to wait over a decade for their 
appeal to process. That is unacceptable. I fully support Representative 
Titus's comprehensive solution to provide our veterans with expeditious 
and accurate service and I am pleased that it is included in this bill.
  However, I cannot support Sections 2 through 8 and 10 of H.R. 5620 
which are partisan and unconstitutional attempts by Republicans to 
punish VA employees. Republicans claim that their goal is to help 
veterans but they seemingly ignore that one-third of VA employees are 
veterans themselves. They have tried to pass this so-called 
`administrative reform' before and faced the same constitutional 
challenges. It is incomprehensible that Republicans are wasting 
taxpayer time and resources pushing through this legislation.
  While accountability and reform at the VA are necessary, 
constitutional rights cannot be abrogated or dismissed simply because 
Republicans do not think that particular right is important. I am fully 
supportive of Ranking Member Takano's amendment which adds 
accountability at the VA but still protects the rights of VA employees. 
Republicans cannot claim that Democrats are against accountability 
because numerous amendments to H.R. 5620 adding accountability measures 
were introduced by Democrats, were unopposed by Republicans and passed 
with bipartisan support on the House floor.
  I sincerely hope my Republican colleagues will introduce bipartisan 
legislation that they know can pass to give our veterans the service 
they deserve.

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