May 22, 2014

Rep. Mike Michaud Urges President Obama to Issue Executive Order Increasing VA Accountability

Washington, D.C.  – Congressman Mike Michaud, Ranking Member of the House Veterans’ Affairs Committee, sent a letter to President Obama this afternoon urging the President to use his executive authority to immediately implement key reforms in the Department of Veteran’s Affairs executive management system. The reforms Rep. Michaud is asking the President to implement through an Executive Order align with those presented in H.R. 4399, legislation Michaud introduced last month aimed at strengthening VA performance and accountability.

“As elected officials, we must use every tool at our disposal to take action that improves the quality of the care our veterans receive,” said Michaud. “Yesterday, I reluctantly supported a bill that gives the VA Secretary increased flexibility  to fire senior executives within the Department. But we must make immediate strides in tackling the systemic failures within the VA that have allowed these problems to fester. There is no time to waste.  I hope President Obama recognizes that and takes swift action.”

The reforms Rep. Michaud is calling on President Obama to act on include:

  • Requiring the establishment of organizational goals and expected outcomes for veterans, and tie progress on these goals to the annual performance reviews of each senior executive.
  • Requiring senior executives not meeting their goals to receive a detailed remedial plan with concrete actions that can be taken to improve performance.
  • Ensuring these strengthened performance guidelines apply to both Senior Executive Service members and Title 38 employees within the VA – so we are covering the entire breadth of VA leadership.
  • Ensuring that accountability authorities currently afforded the Secretary are streamlined and utilized when warranted, and that supervisors who wish to take disciplinary action are supported.

“The President has expressed his outrage at the ongoing situation within the VA, and this is one opportunity for him to use his authority to put badly needed course corrections in place,” added Michaud. “All of us, Republicans and Democrats alike, share the goal of ensuring our brave veterans receive the quality treatment they deserve. We must not waste a single second in implementing reforms that can address these problems and prevent them from recurring.

A copy of Ranking Member Michaud’s letter to President Obama is available here.