Pappas Urges Colleagues to Support His Bipartisan Legislation to Strengthen VA Whistleblower Protections

Yesterday, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), Chair of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee of the House Committee on Veterans’ Affairs (HVAC), delivered the following remarks urging the House to support his bipartisan legislation to improve the Department of Veterans Affairs’ (VA) policies and protections for whistleblowers, the Strengthening Whistleblower Protections at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act: 

“Thank you Madam Speaker, and thank you Mr. Chairman. 

I rise in support of my bipartisan legislation, H.R. 8510, the Strengthening Whistleblower Protections at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act, it’s a bill that improves policies and procedures to better protect VA whistleblowers. It also promotes independence – and removes conflicts of interest – at VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. 

Whistleblowers play a critical role in holding the federal government and its agencies accountable against waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement. When employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs witness issues that put the health, safety, and well-being of veterans at risk, VA staff should feel encouraged to speak out without fear of retaliation. This would encourage corrective action to be taken and no harm to the whistleblower. In reality however, too often the messenger is punished. 

The Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee that I chair has done years of work on this issue. And alongside Ranking Member Tracy Mann, we’ve conducted multiple hearings looking into this problem. Our efforts have highlighted the individual stories of whistleblowers who have lost their jobs or faced other retaliatory actions as a result of their disclosures. Further, whistleblowers often wait years to be made whole after experiencing retaliation under current Department policies and procedures. The testimony from three previous VA employees disclosed VA whistleblowers are likely to face retaliation, including the loss of their position, and are forced to wait years for justice. 

So this bipartisan bill will make major changes to how whistleblower claims are handled, strengthening accountability through the process. The bill ends VA’s authority to investigate whistleblower retaliation complaints and instead relies on the independent U.S. Office of Special Counsel to ensure objectivity over the process. OSC is an independent federal investigative agency that has high trust within the whistleblower community. They have the resources and autonomy needed to do this work. 

It will also require VA’s Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection to strengthen accountability over settlement agreements for VA employees who suffered retaliation, which provide financial restitution and guarantees of re-employment. Further, the bill will reaffirm OAWP’s responsibility to provide resources to VA employees on whistleblower rights, including training. These reforms will ensure whistleblowers feel safe reporting issues within the Department.

We can’t continue to allow whistleblowers to be punished for speaking out, and we’ve got to make sure we are doing all we can to protect VA whistleblowers. It’s not only the law, it is also the right thing to do to protect whistleblowers from retaliation.

And my colleague and Ranking Member of the Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee, Congressman Tracey Mann, co-led this bill with me to promote independence and strengthen the mission of VA’s whistleblowers office. And I thank Congressman Mann, and his staff, for their dedication and hard work on this issue. I thank all the Members of the Veterans’ Affairs Committee for their support of this bill last week. And I also want to say that I appreciate the support from whistleblower advocacy groups, including the Project On Government Oversight, the Whistleblowers of America, and the Government Accountability Project, as well as VA’s labor union, AFGE. 

So once this is enacted, this bill will ensure that the protections are on the books at the Department of Veteran Affairs, that will strengthen the independence and mission of VA’s whistleblower office. 

So, I urge the full House to support its passage and I yield back my time. Thank you.” 

Background: 

The Strengthening Whistleblower Protections at the Department of Veterans Affairs Actwill ensure whistleblowers protections when reporting issues within the Department by modifying how whistleblower claims are handled and strengthening accountability over the process. The bill relies on the U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) to ensure objectivity on addressing retaliation complaints and investigations. 

In July, Congressman Chris Pappas (NH-01), alongside Congressman Tracey Mann (KS-01), introduced Strengthening Whistleblower Protections at the Department of Veterans Affairs Act. 

In September, the legislation advanced out of the Veterans Affairs Committee with bipartisan support.