[Congressional Record Volume 163, Number 72 (Thursday, April 27, 2017)]
[Senate]
[Pages S2599-S2600]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]



                           VA Accountability

  Mr. BLUMENTHAL. Mr. President, one goal we share in this body, which 
is a very bipartisan goal, is keeping faith with our veterans, making 
sure no veteran is left behind.
  I had the great honor to work as ranking member with Senator Isakson, 
the chairman of the Veterans' Affairs Committee, on a bill called the 
Veterans First Act that unfortunately failed to cross the finish line 
during the last session. One of the major goals of that bill was to 
ensure accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs so 
employees of the VA who fail to do their job are held accountable. That 
goal of accountability is one of a number that must be pursued and will 
be sought during this session, including ending the backlog of appeals 
and providing better healthcare, ensuring skills training and job 
opportunities for our veterans.

  Today the President signed an Executive order at the Department of 
Veterans Affairs to designate an individual responsible for 
accountability and whistleblower protection, a worthwhile first step. 
It is a commendable step toward accountability. But that individual and 
the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection must have 
real responsibility and power and must be insulated from any kind of 
political interference through establishment through statute. That 
office should be established by statutory authority. That is why I will 
be advocating and likely introducing legislation that involves 
supporting and training employees and listening to veterans about what 
they want from the VA through that Office of Accountability and 
Whistleblower Protection, to provide real accountability to the 
Congress by requiring reporting to Congress about what it finds and 
real whistleblower protection, so that anybody who complains about the 
VA's misdirected or misguided action is assured protection against any 
kind of revenge or retaliation, which is the essence of whistleblower 
protection, and a Senate-confirmed director so that the accountability 
function is, again, accountable to us. That kind of statutory 
embodiment is necessary to make sure that the Office of Accountability 
and Whistleblower Protection has power and reporting requirements so 
that it is accountable to us as elected representatives and advocates 
for our veterans.
  My hope is that the Senate and House will adopt that provision, one 
that was contained in the Veterans First bill that Senator Isakson and 
I championed during the last Senate and which I hope we will pursue 
again in a very bipartisan way.
  I also hope that the Senate will take up and pass S. 12, the 
Increasing the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability to 
Veterans Act of 2017. My colleague, Senator Moran, a cosponsor with me, 
spoke about it earlier today. It would provide reduction of benefits 
for senior executives and certain healthcare employees of the 
Department of Veterans Affairs if they have been convicted of a felony 
in connection with their work. VA employees who commit serious crimes 
in connection with their employment should not be receiving pensions. 
That is one of the key provisions to activate a deterrent to misconduct 
and also to assure that misconduct is adequately punished.
  Accountability for leaders who manage the Department of Veterans 
Affairs Employee Affairs would be another goal of this legislation, S. 
12, so that the men and women who hire and fire are themselves 
evaluated when they do those jobs.
  These kinds of details are important--as important as any new office 
with an individual whose unspecified powers may include them or not. 
Right now they do not, under the Executive order, specifically include 
such enumerated powers. That is our job, to make sure that this office 
of accountability is real in its responsibility, is clearly assigned in 
its functions, is held accountable for its performance and has real 
teeth, not just rhetoric.
  I am hopeful that we will move ahead with this very, very important 
office to make sure that our veterans receive what they deserve--real 
accountability, a genuine assurance that the people who serve them will 
do their jobs, not just adequately but excellently. That is the goal 
that I believe we will share.
  I welcome this Executive order. I believe we can and must do more to 
make sure that the VA keeps faith with our veterans and leaves no 
veterans behind.
  Thank you, Mr. President.

[[Page S2600]]

  I yield the floor.
  I suggest the absence of a quorum.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk proceeded to call the roll.
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask unanimous consent that the order 
for the quorum call be rescinded.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER (Mr. Kennedy). Without objection, it is so 
ordered.
  All time has expired.
  The question is, will the Senate advise and consent to the Acosta 
nomination?
  Mr. BARRASSO. Mr. President, I ask for the yeas and nays.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Is there a sufficient second?
  There appears to be a sufficient second.
  The clerk will call the roll.
  The bill clerk called the roll.
  Mr. CORNYN. The following Senator is necessarily absent: the Senator 
from Pennsylvania (Mr. Toomey).
  Mr. DURBIN. I announce that the Senator from Michigan (Mr. Peters) is 
necessarily absent.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. Are there any other Senators in the Chamber 
desiring to vote?
  The result was announced--yeas 60, nays 38, as follows:

                      [Rollcall Vote No. 116 Ex.]

                                YEAS--60

     Alexander
     Barrasso
     Blunt
     Boozman
     Burr
     Capito
     Cassidy
     Cochran
     Collins
     Corker
     Cornyn
     Cortez Masto
     Cotton
     Crapo
     Cruz
     Daines
     Enzi
     Ernst
     Fischer
     Flake
     Gardner
     Graham
     Grassley
     Hatch
     Heitkamp
     Heller
     Hoeven
     Inhofe
     Isakson
     Johnson
     Kennedy
     King
     Lankford
     Lee
     Manchin
     McCain
     McCaskill
     McConnell
     Menendez
     Moran
     Murkowski
     Nelson
     Paul
     Perdue
     Portman
     Risch
     Roberts
     Rounds
     Rubio
     Sasse
     Scott
     Shelby
     Strange
     Sullivan
     Tester
     Thune
     Tillis
     Warner
     Wicker
     Young

                                NAYS--38

     Baldwin
     Bennet
     Blumenthal
     Booker
     Brown
     Cantwell
     Cardin
     Carper
     Casey
     Coons
     Donnelly
     Duckworth
     Durbin
     Feinstein
     Franken
     Gillibrand
     Harris
     Hassan
     Heinrich
     Hirono
     Kaine
     Klobuchar
     Leahy
     Markey
     Merkley
     Murphy
     Murray
     Reed
     Sanders
     Schatz
     Schumer
     Shaheen
     Stabenow
     Udall
     Van Hollen
     Warren
     Whitehouse
     Wyden

                             NOT VOTING--2

     Peters
     Toomey
       
  The nomination was confirmed.
  The PRESIDING OFFICER. The majority leader is recognized.