WASHINGTON, D.C. (WSAU) — New legislation is being proposed that would ensure more accountability in the Veterans Administration healthcare system.
Congressman Sean Duffy introduced two bills in the House of Representatives yesterday. He says they will help “clamp down on bad actors in the VA system” and were written after hearing testimony from VA officials at the Tomah field hearing last month.
Duffy says our Veterans and their families expect the care that they were promised, and the fact that American heroes have died while corrupt VA employees continue to receive a taxpayer funded paycheck is criminal. “That’s what makes people angry here. People are not held accountable and they’re not fired.”
The Duffy bills would require Prescription Drug Monitoring Programs (PDMPs) maintain statewide databases of prescriptions. This bill would ensure the state, the VA, and private physicians all have the same prescription information.
The other bill expands the firing authority given to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs from just senior executives to all health professionals, including the authority to dismiss or remove any healthcare employee that endangers veteran’s safety, including poor or negligent care.
Companion legislation was introduced in the Senate by Senator Ron Johnson.