April 27, 2017

Ranking Member Walz Reacts To Trump Executive Order Creating VA Office Of Accountability And Whistleblower Protection

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs Ranking Member Tim Walz (D-MN) released the following statement after President Donald Trump signed an executive order creating the Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, an office that was originally proposed and championed by Democratic Rep. Ann Kirkpatrick of Arizona during the 113th Congress in the wake of the Phoenix VA crisis.

“It is ridiculous that Trump is going to take credit for this proposal and point to it as a major success during his first 100 days in the White House,” Rep. Walz said. “From the beginning, the idea to create this office was championed for multiple Congresses by Democrats, despite Republican attempts to stonewall its implementation because they were unwilling to invest the relatively small amount of money required to create the new office and staff it appropriately.”

“While we support efforts to increase accountability in the VA and make it easier to get rid of bad employees, so long as we have the mechanisms in place to protect good employees and whistleblowers, the Republican track record on accountability has been flimsy at best. The Majority’s accountability legislation, which passed the House last month, failed to meet that standard. The legislation, which has very little chance of passing in the Senate, would undermine workplace protections for frontline employees and therefor dissuade them from stepping forward out of fear of retribution from bad managers.”

“We will continue to urge the Trump Administration and the soon-to-be Office of VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection to enact policies making it easier for whistleblowers to come forward; creating an anonymous hotline for whistleblowers serves as just one example of how we can remove barriers and reduce the chilling effect felt by potential whistleblowers who only want to do the right thing.”

“President Trump, his administration, and Republicans in Congress must start taking responsibility for what is now their Department of Veterans Affairs. I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again, Donald Trump made service to veterans a pillar of his campaign for the Presidency, and it is time for him to make good on those promises.”

The text of the Kirkpatrick legislation can be found here.

###