U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, introduced the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, bipartisan legislation to increase accountability at the Department of Veterans Affairs.

“When the VA cannot hold bad actors accountable, everyone loses,” said Isakson. “Taxpayer dollars are wasted on employees who are not fully committed to helping our veterans. Other employees at the VA suffer because they are forced to work alongside or take direction from delinquent individuals. Most egregiously, our veterans suffer because the people responsible for caring for them are putting themselves first – not our veterans.

“I am proud to introduce this bipartisan measure that will help create a culture of accountability at the VA by giving Secretary Shulkin the tools necessary to discipline bad employees in a timely manner while protecting whistleblowers from the threat of retaliation and ensuring the quality of care that our veterans receive at the VA,” Isakson continued.

The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act increases the VA’s authority to remove employees at all levels of the department, shortens the removal process and ensures an individual removed from the VA is not kept on the VA’s payroll while appealing that decision.

It will also make it easier for the VA to remove poor performing senior executives and replace them with qualified candidates. Additionally, any appeals by senior VA executives would no longer be brought before the bureaucratic Merit Systems Protection Board, but instead would be handled directly by the VA secretary under an expedited timeline.

Last month, Isakson joined President Trump and Secretary Shulkin at the signing of an executive order to establish the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection within the VA. The Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act establishes in law this newly created office, which mirrors a proposal first introduced by Isakson in his Veterans First Act last Congress.

The legislation also includes a number of other provisions to hold employees accountable, including:

• Requires the VA to evaluate supervisors based on the protection of whistleblowers;

• Incentivizes managers to address poor performance and misconduct among employees by requiring the VA secretary to include this as part of the annual performance plan;

• Prohibits bonuses for employees who have been found guilty of wrongdoing; and

• Prohibits relocation expenses to employees who abuse the system.

Isakson introduced the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act with U.S. Senators Marco Rubio, R-Fla., and Jon Tester, D-Mont., ranking member of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs. Additional cosponsors of the legislation include U.S. Senators Tammy Baldwin, D-Wis., John McCain, R-Ariz., Jerry Moran, R-Kan., Bill Nelson, D-Fla., and Jeanne Shaheen, D-N.H.