Throughout the 2016 presidential campaign, then-candidate Donald J. Trump was extremely critical of the Department of Veterans Affairs and the horrific crisis going on with America’s soldiers.
Trump pledged to reform the VA, and upon taking office in January he made good on that promise, announcing a 10-point plan for VA reform. When he announced his plan in January, the president focused on two main issues: “better access to care of the veteran’s choice, including access to private care, and accountability of agency employees.”
In addition to his VA reform plan, on Thursday, President Trump signed an Executive Order creating an office that will identify incompetent and dangerous VA employees who need to be fired.
Trump to sign executive order to easily oust bad VA employees https://t.co/GK6pt9bc5O pic.twitter.com/QP8Le1Sszb
— The Hill (@thehill) April 27, 2017
From The Hill:
The order, which Trump will sign at the VA offices, will create the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, a wide-reaching office that identifies “systemic barriers that prevent us from making the right decisions.”
The order will also “make sure that we’re honoring the commitment we have to our whistleblowers that come forth and identify issues, so that there’s not a retaliation against them,” Shulkin said during a media briefing at the White House.
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The VA has been criticized for years for failing to quickly fire problematic employees, and Trump repeatedly vowed on the campaign trail that he would increase accountability at VA.
President Trump’s Executive Order mirrors a Senate bill introduced by Senator Johnny Isakson designed to reform the VA and to streamline the process in which bad VA employees are fired.
If a VA employee is failing to provide adequate care to our military veterans, it should not take years to fire them. While there should be an appropriate review process, it should be swift and efficient.
Trump’s order comes on the heels of the ongoing VA scandal, in which veterans died waiting for medical care across the country, and no one was held accountable. A VA hospital in Phoenix became the poster child for the flawed system, one the President Trump pledged to fix.
No veteran should ever have to wait for care, and it is a national disgrace that those who risked their lives protecting our freedom died while waiting to see a doctor at a VA facility.
Under past presidents, both Republican and Democrat, America’s veterans were neglected and denied the proper care they deserve. President Trump is committed to fixing this problem, and ensuring that every veteran is treated with the dignity and respect they deserve.
Do you agree with President Trump’s Executive Order making it easier to fire VA employees? Share your thoughts below!