WASHINGTON – The Republican-controlled House is moving forward with a bill making it easier to fire or demote hundreds of thousands of employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs. Supporters say the bill is needed to speed up the pace of change at the beleaguered agency.
The White House has threatened to veto the measure, saying it would remove important due process rights and create a two-tier system in which VA employees would be treated differently than other federal workers.
The measure builds on a law adopted last year that made it easier to fire senior VA executives. The provision was part of a VA overhaul passed in response to a nationwide uproar over long waits for veterans seeking medical care and falsified records by VA employees to cover up the delays.
The hottest stories ripped from the headlines, from crime to courts, legal and scandal.
