VA Secretary David Shulkin said it is unacceptable that the department has to wait 30 days to act on a proposed removal.

VA Secretary David Shulkin said it is unacceptable that the department has to wait 30 days to act on a proposed removal. Cliff Owen/AP

Citing Porn Watcher, VA Secretary Begs Congress for More Firing Authority

VA wants to immediately terminate employee it says was watching porn while with a patient.

The Veterans Affairs Department should be able to fire any employee caught watching pornography at work immediately, according to its recently sworn in secretary.

The request comes after a Houston-based medical center employee was found, after a “through [sic] internal review,” to have viewed pornography while with a patient. The employee is currently on paid administrative leave, but has not yet been fired as VA is required by law to provide 30 days of notice to its workers before terminating them. VA Secretary David Shulkin said that law, which governs the entire federal workforce, must change.

“This is an example of why we need accountability legislation as soon as possible,” Shulkin said. “It’s unacceptable that VA has to wait 30 days to act on a proposed removal.”

In a statement, the department complained that it must continue to pay the accused porn-watcher throughout the removal process. VA was able to place the employee on administrative leave after determining the individual was a “potential danger to veterans.”

Shulkin praised a House-backed bill that would expedite the firing process, shrinking the notice period to 10 days. Employees would maintain appeal rights to the Merit Systems Protection Board and U.S. Court of Federal Claims. It would eliminate the ability of union-represented employees to go through the grievance process, which reform advocates have complained takes an average of 350 days.

“Current legislation in Congress reduces the amount of time we have to wait before taking action,” Shulkin said. “I look forward to working with both the Senate and the House to ensure final legislation gives us the flexibility we need.”

Supporters of the bill -- the VA Accountability First Act -- took Shulkin’s comments as a welcome sign.

“The time for talking about accountability is over,” said Rep. Phil Roe, R-Tenn, who chairs the House Veterans' Affairs Committee. “This situation underscores the need for Congress to get VA accountability legislation to President Trump's desk, and I thank Secretary Shulkin for making this a top priority.”

Concerned Veterans for America, a conservative group that has for years called on Congress to change the disciplinary procedures at VA, said Shulkin’s response marked “a new era at the VA.”

“It is incredibly refreshing to see Dr. Shulkin emphatically calling for strong accountability measures at the VA,” said Dan Caldwell, CVA’s policy director.” Under the previous administration, the secretaries spent most of their time denying that problems within the department existed. By acknowledging the need for systemic reform, Secretary Shulkin has taken a bold and courageous step in helping veterans push Congress to pass meaningful accountability legislation.”

Democrats so far have declined to champion the measure, saying the bill goes too far in limiting due process rights for employees and the role of unions at the department. Just 10 Democrats voted to pass the legislation and three Republicans voted against it. The American Federation of Government Employees, which represents 230,000 VA employees, called the legislation “a union-busting bill, plain and simple.”

A spokeswoman for Sen. Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Veterans' Affairs Committee, recently told Government Executive the senator is still “exploring options” for a bill that can pass the Senate. Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., has introduced companion legislation for Roe’s House-backed measure, which has yet to receive any action. Isakson himself said he is committed to working with his House colleagues and Democrats on his committee to move accountability legislation forward.

“I'm committed to moving legislation that gives Secretary Shulkin the tools to discipline bad employees,” Isakson said. “Accountability reform is a top priority.” The senator authored bipartisan legislation in the last Congress to expedite the firing process at VA, but it stalled in the Senate after clearing his committee.

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.