[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 163 (2017), Part 7]
[Senate]
[Page 9630]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER 
                             PROTECTION ACT

  Ms. HIRONO. Mr. President, earlier this month, the Senate passed by 
voice vote the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and 
Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017. I recognize this bill is the 
result of a bipartisan compromise, and I commend Senator Tester, 
ranking member of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, for his 
efforts to find agreement on this particularly challenging issue.
  Everyone in a position of public trust, particularly those serving at 
the VA, must be held accountable for their actions. Whistleblowers must 
also be protected so that misconduct can be brought to light. This 
balance between accountability and transparency is essential to ensure 
that the services provided to the public--particularly to veterans--are 
of the highest quality and that we can attract the best and brightest 
to Federal service.
  Unfortunately, while the bill passed by Congress seeks to strike the 
appropriate balance, I remain seriously concerned about some of the 
bill's provisions which would expedite the process of terminating 
employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, VA, by reducing 
current due process protections.
  To ensure the integrity of the Federal civil service, it is essential 
that Federal employees have access to constitutionally protected due 
process rights. Specifically, the bill lowered the evidentiary standard 
for firing rank-and-file employees for misconduct from 
``preponderance'' of the evidence, 50 percent or more, to substantial, 
30 percent or more. Reducing due process protections for rank-and-file 
VA employees in this manner will make it harder for the Federal 
Government to attract the best and brightest to public service.
  During the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee's consideration of the 
bill, I cosponsored an amendment offered by Senator Brown to strike the 
section of the bill lowering the evidentiary standard. Unfortunately, 
the amendment was not adopted. Going forward, I intend to closely 
monitor the VA's implementation of the act to see that these new 
authorities are not abused in order to retaliate against VA workers. 
Not only would this be unfair, but it would also exacerbate the 
Department's challenging retention issues.
  I am also disappointed that this bill does not address the 
longstanding recruitment and retention issues facing the VA. According 
to the VA, there are over 30,000 vacancies across the VA, including 
over 150 in Hawaii, for frontline medical personnel that this 
administration has not filled as of the end of January 2017.
  The over 40,000 veterans in Hawaii who are enrolled in the VA 
healthcare system deserve the best healthcare and highest ethical and 
professional standards from those they depend on to provide that care. 
While we must ensure whistleblowers can come forward without fear of 
retaliation and those who violate the pub trust are held accountable, 
the VA cannot effectively carry out its mission without being fully 
staffed.
  While this legislation was supported by VA Secretary Shulkin and 
makes some useful changes to improve accountability, we still have much 
work to do to ensure that veterans in Hawaii and across the country 
have access to the best healthcare we can provide.
  Therefore, going forward, I will closely monitor the VA's 
implementation of this law to ensure that the changes made are not 
abused. I will also continue working to see that the staff vacancies in 
Hawaii and across the country are filled with qualified personnel.

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