WASHINGTON (AP) – The House has approved a bill aimed at making it easier for the Department of Veterans Affairs to fire employees for misconduct or poor performance – a source of ongoing tension with the Obama administration.
The Republican-sponsored bill was approved on Wednesday, 310-116. It would shorten the time employees are given to respond to proposed discipline or firing and would eliminate a provision that allows senior executives to appeal disciplinary actions to an independent review board.
GOP lawmakers have been urging the VA to fire more workers as a key step to improving the scandal-plagued agency.
The bill is the latest in a series of efforts by lawmakers to respond to a two-year-old scandal over chronic delays for veterans seeking medical care, and falsified records covering up the long waits.