“Landmark” VA bill signed
The President signed what is being called a “landmark” bill to overhaul the Department of Veterans’ Affairs, according to Stars & Stripes;
“This will not and cannot be the end of our effort,” Obama said. “Implementing this bill will take time. It will take focus from all of us.”
The massive reform package has been a rare instance of bipartisanship in Washington and won overwhelming support in both chambers of Congress in late July, just three months after delays in veteran health care exploded into a national scandal. It dramatically expands veteran access to private care, adds medical staff and facilities, and streamlines the firing of VA executives found to be incompetent or guilty of manipulating patient data.
“It’s a good deal,” Obama said. “This bill covers a lot of ground.”
Everything this President does is somehow “landmark” and I’m not sure why they signed it at Fort Belvoir, an Army base which has nothing to do with the VA. Of course, it’s really not going to change much about the way the VA is run. From another S&S link;
The bill includes a compromise by House and Senate lawmakers allowing the Department of Veterans Affairs to continue handing out up to $360 million in employee performance awards each year as it attempts to overhaul its health care system and ease chronically long patient wait times.
So, basically, the bill rewards VA employees by pushing their workload off on civilian hospitals and continuing their bonuses.
Pete Hegseth, CEO of Concerned Veterans for America, issued the following statement in reaction:
“Today is a victory for veterans. The VA reform bill President Obama signed into law today brings the first major civil service reform since the 1980’s. But while the key provisions in this legislation that hold VA executives accoundailytable and grant veterans’ choice for private sector care are long overdue, they are only the first step. CVA fought long and hard for these reforms, and it’s important to remember that this historic legislative compromise happened in spite of this administration’s efforts rather than because of them.
“The fact is that there was little appetite from those on the stage today for the reforms that are the core of this legislation. It is telling that rather than pausing for victory laps, House Veterans Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller—who deserves the lion’s share of the credit for his leadership on this legislation—and CVA, were in the field today making sure that the calcified bureaucracy at the center of this scandal as well as the politicians who failed to prevent it, are held to account.
“The President has no more room to shirk responsibilities or shift blame. How effective these reforms will be now rests squarely on the shoulders of this administration. CVA will be keeping a close eye on how these reforms are implemented and enforced to ensure that Congress’ intent is met and that President Obama and VA Secretary McDonald use these significant tools of reform so that the betrayal we have seen is never repeated.”
Category: Veterans' Affairs Department
Why Ft. Belvoir? He hadn’t played the course there yet.
Also, Ft. Belvoir is in VA, so maybe he thought that was close enough.
The VA department is a few blocks from the White House.
F Obama. F Congress. F the VA. And F all of those assholes who crammed in together for the phot op. Start the damn revolution already. I’ve had enough of this shit.
Seems to me to be little more than another instance of throwing money at a problem.
It ain’t a resource problem at the VA. It’s a leadership and culture problem.
Ticked off my local Representative, who was proud of the House putting in that SES could be fired. Told him that it was a start, but not a good one. That if they really wanted to fix and change, they would let them fire ANY and all employees. Don’t think he liked hearing that.
Yeah well truth hurts.
This just just in Foxnews is reporting our favorite pladgiarist Senator is dropping out of his reelction race.
I hope he gets court martial and gets taken down a few pay grades too.
Including bonus money really ticked me off… but then it struck me that if they used it to reward innovative, improve-the-care, make-it-more-efficient folks – I’m all over that.
Sadly, having realized that the Tooth Fairy, the Guinness Fairy, and the Ideal Woman (OK, I already said the Guinness Fairy) don’t exist, I am sure the money will be wasted on business as usual, rewarded for breathing or maybe blowing the boss, typical administrative hacks as usual.
Guinness Fairy ???
Dude, you better sign up for rehab if you are seeing the Guinness fairy !!!
I remember telling people that they made me the CDAAC NCO because I had more experience than anyone else.
And what more Ideal Woman than a Guinness Fairy?
It’s almost as if He hadn’t been the President the past 6 years. SIX F’ing YEARS!!!! He is worse than Sgt Schultz on knowing shit.
I guess I scared all of the fed employees from this thread. Sorry about that. I’ll try to tone it down–during ACTUAL business hours (i.e., (9:3–10:45) hereafter.
As an almost 30 year Guvmint employee I take no offense to what you said. I couldn’t fire shit employees but saw good ones go through hell as they tried to fire them. It is a truly fucked up system. My worst enemy in Federal Employment was a Marine Corps Major, Helo jockey, who was not going to make Lite Col. who they sent to run the Family Service Center. He wanted me out to try and give my job to a Borderline woman who I didn’t want to hire, but had to, because she was the wife of a Navy Doctor. He wanted to boink her and thought giving her my job would do that. I could go on, but the Readers Digest version was: 1. The base SGTMAJ, “Big Knife” Johnson, a Vietnam Vet and 1/9 survivor, got her phone records and found she was calling HQ USMC every day. She was saying I was doing all kinds of weird shit. The MCAS Beaufort, Base CO told the SGTMAJ, “I’m retiring, we will not get involved in this. Back off SGTMAJ.” Anyway, after a year with out pay, a divorce, them getting my license pulled, I won in Federal Court hands down. No back pay because they blamed the state for pulling my license after the Major called them and said I was “under Investigation”. NCIS and CID called my license office and told them I was under NO investigation. They didn’t care. Fed Court said, “no back pay because it was the state that pulled his license”. All Catch 22. So, had I not had some protection, I would have been fired for no reason. The state deliberated for less than 10 minutes after the “governments evidence” and immediately gave me back my license with no restrictions. It all works both ways. If you only knew how much overtime I put in at the Vet Center, and DOD, with NO monetary award, you’d think I was lying and that was just me. I know tons of Vet Center employees especially, that were not authorized overtime pay, yet… Read more »
I loved how “O” said that if the administrators committed any illegal or nephrarious act that they “should be fired”. Notice that he didn’t say “Would be ” fired, but “Should be”. What a weasel.