[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 161 (2015), Part 12]
[House]
[Page 17340]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




                 VETERANS HEALTH AND ACCOUNTABILITY ACT

  (Mr. GUINTA asked and was given permission to address the House for 1 
minute and to revise and extend his remarks.)
  Mr. GUINTA. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to announce the introduction of 
the Veterans Health and Accountability Act. Yesterday's Veterans 
Affairs Committee hearing showed why this bill is so critical.
  An investigation revealed that Veterans Affairs administrators likely 
gamed the system to enrich themselves at taxpayer expense, creating 
high-paying vacancies at desirable locations, where they would have 
less responsibility.
  At the hearing, they pled the Fifth to avoid the truth, and they 
remain on the job. Meanwhile, Granite State vets are waiting for care.
  My Veterans Health and Accountability Act strengthens the Veterans 
Choice program, allowing veterans to seek private care due to 
inadequate VA facilities. My home State of New Hampshire does not even 
have a full-service VA.
  The act also protects whistleblowers who expose negligence and 
mismanagement. If it were not because of these individuals, we may 
never have discovered secret waiting lists where thousands of vets 
probably died waiting for care.
  The bill I introduced clarifies hiring and firing rules, so bad 
actors who abuse their positions can be exited promptly.
  We must enforce and expand VA reforms to ensure our military vets 
receive the care we promised them. We must restore Americans' trust in 
government.

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