Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., (right) introduces Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump before a speech in Virginia Beach, Va.

Rep. Jeff Miller, R-Fla., (right) introduces Republican Presidential candidate Donald Trump before a speech in Virginia Beach, Va. Steve Helber/AP

Trump Wants to Reward Good VA Employees, and Fire the Bad Ones

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee announces a department reform plan that focused heavily on accountability.

Presumptive Republican presidential nominee Donald Trump on Monday outlined a 10-point plan to reform the Veterans Affairs Department and improve vets’ access to health care, promising to financially reward employees who do a good job, and fire those who don’t.

“One of the most important reforms we can make is accountability,” Trump said, complaining that “outdated civil service rules” prevented leaders from disciplining problem employees at the department. “Can you imagine the waste and corruption we will find when we begin a full investigation [of the VA] in January 2017?” Trump told the crowd during the speech in Virginia Beach, Va. He said fixing the VA will be “one of my many and highest priorities,” adding “believe me, it will happen. I am really good at things like that.”

Trump said that as part of his multi-pronged plan, he was “going to make sure that the honest and dedicated people in the VA have their jobs protected and are put in line for serious promotions if they continue to do great work.” The Republican said he would give bonuses to employees who improve service to vets and save the government money – an idea that others have floated before .

Poor performers and those engaged in misconduct at the department would be fired using “every lawful authority,” according to Trump. As for veterans, Trump said they “represent the best in America” and should have better access to both VA and non-VA health care. “I will ensure that every vet has the choice to seek care at the VA, or seek private medical care paid for by our government.”

The 2014 Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act allows veterans who have waited more than 30 days for a medical appointment, or live more than 40 miles from a VA health care facility, to seek private sector care. A congressionally-chartered commission recently released a 300-page report calling for a VA health care system that integrates more private sector facilities, the panel did not recommend privatizing the Veterans Health Administration, as some have proposed. Trump’s plan would allow all vets to access VA health care or private care at the government’s expense, but he did not say he would privatize the VHA.

Trump clearly had been briefed on various VA-related management problems and policies, referencing the patient wait times scandal, the controversy over two senior executives’ relocation benefits , and the botched construction of a Colorado VA facility that grossly exceeded its budget. He also referenced a new VA study on veteran suicide showing that on average 20 veterans a day kill themselves, and said female vets need better access to care because “they are not being treated right.” House Veterans’ Affairs Committee Chairman Jeff Miller, R-Fla., a strong proponent of more accountability for VA employees, joined Trump at Monday’s event.

The Republican also said he would:

  • Appoint a VA secretary who would “make it his or her personal mission to clean up the VA. He added that his pick would be “a person of great competence” and “not a political hack.”
  • Ask Congress to pass legislation to ensure the secretary has the authority to remove or discipline any employee who “risks the health, safety or well-being” of any veteran.
  • Create a commission to investigate “all the wrongdoing” at the VA and present proposed legislative reforms to Congress.
  • Create a 24/7 White House hotline to handle VA complaints. The calls would be answered by “a real person who picks up the phone.”
  • Reform visa programs to ensure vets are at the front of the line.
  • Increase the number of mental health care professionals and facilities, and expand vets’ access to mental health care outside of the VA system.

Trump also used Monday’s speech to talk about the recent police and civilian shootings in Louisiana, Minnesota, and Texas, as well as to criticize presumptive Democratic presidential nominee Hillary Clinton, giving the former secretary of State a new nickname: “Secretary of the Status Quo.”

X
This website uses cookies to enhance user experience and to analyze performance and traffic on our website. We also share information about your use of our site with our social media, advertising and analytics partners. Learn More / Do Not Sell My Personal Information
Accept Cookies
X
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Do Not Sell My Personal Information

When you visit our website, we store cookies on your browser to collect information. The information collected might relate to you, your preferences or your device, and is mostly used to make the site work as you expect it to and to provide a more personalized web experience. However, you can choose not to allow certain types of cookies, which may impact your experience of the site and the services we are able to offer. Click on the different category headings to find out more and change our default settings according to your preference. You cannot opt-out of our First Party Strictly Necessary Cookies as they are deployed in order to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting the cookie banner and remembering your settings, to log into your account, to redirect you when you log out, etc.). For more information about the First and Third Party Cookies used please follow this link.

Allow All Cookies

Manage Consent Preferences

Strictly Necessary Cookies - Always Active

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data, Targeting & Social Media Cookies

Under the California Consumer Privacy Act, you have the right to opt-out of the sale of your personal information to third parties. These cookies collect information for analytics and to personalize your experience with targeted ads. You may exercise your right to opt out of the sale of personal information by using this toggle switch. If you opt out we will not be able to offer you personalised ads and will not hand over your personal information to any third parties. Additionally, you may contact our legal department for further clarification about your rights as a California consumer by using this Exercise My Rights link

If you have enabled privacy controls on your browser (such as a plugin), we have to take that as a valid request to opt-out. Therefore we would not be able to track your activity through the web. This may affect our ability to personalize ads according to your preferences.

Targeting cookies may be set through our site by our advertising partners. They may be used by those companies to build a profile of your interests and show you relevant adverts on other sites. They do not store directly personal information, but are based on uniquely identifying your browser and internet device. If you do not allow these cookies, you will experience less targeted advertising.

Social media cookies are set by a range of social media services that we have added to the site to enable you to share our content with your friends and networks. They are capable of tracking your browser across other sites and building up a profile of your interests. This may impact the content and messages you see on other websites you visit. If you do not allow these cookies you may not be able to use or see these sharing tools.

If you want to opt out of all of our lead reports and lists, please submit a privacy request at our Do Not Sell page.

Save Settings
Cookie Preferences Cookie List

Cookie List

A cookie is a small piece of data (text file) that a website – when visited by a user – asks your browser to store on your device in order to remember information about you, such as your language preference or login information. Those cookies are set by us and called first-party cookies. We also use third-party cookies – which are cookies from a domain different than the domain of the website you are visiting – for our advertising and marketing efforts. More specifically, we use cookies and other tracking technologies for the following purposes:

Strictly Necessary Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Functional Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Performance Cookies

We do not allow you to opt-out of our certain cookies, as they are necessary to ensure the proper functioning of our website (such as prompting our cookie banner and remembering your privacy choices) and/or to monitor site performance. These cookies are not used in a way that constitutes a “sale” of your data under the CCPA. You can set your browser to block or alert you about these cookies, but some parts of the site will not work as intended if you do so. You can usually find these settings in the Options or Preferences menu of your browser. Visit www.allaboutcookies.org to learn more.

Sale of Personal Data

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Social Media Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.

Targeting Cookies

We also use cookies to personalize your experience on our websites, including by determining the most relevant content and advertisements to show you, and to monitor site traffic and performance, so that we may improve our websites and your experience. You may opt out of our use of such cookies (and the associated “sale” of your Personal Information) by using this toggle switch. You will still see some advertising, regardless of your selection. Because we do not track you across different devices, browsers and GEMG properties, your selection will take effect only on this browser, this device and this website.