Bill > HR472

This bill, the Restore VA Accountability Act of 2025, introduces significant changes to how supervisors, senior executives, and employees at the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) can be removed, demoted, or suspended for performance or misconduct. The bill establishes a streamlined disciplinary process that allows the VA Secretary to take action against employees with more flexibility and less bureaucratic resistance. Specifically, the bill enables the Secretary to remove, demote, or suspend covered employees (primarily supervisors and management officials) if there is "substantial evidence" of poor performance or misconduct, without requiring traditional performance improvement plans. The process includes providing advance notice and an opportunity to respond, with a condensed timeline of 15 business days for the entire decision-making process. The bill also limits judicial and administrative review of disciplinary actions, preventing most challenges to the specific penalties imposed. Importantly, the bill includes protections for whistleblowers, ensuring that employees who report wrongdoing cannot be easily removed without special scrutiny. The legislation applies retroactively to misconduct occurring since the 2017 VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act and aims to give the VA more direct tools to address employee performance and conduct issues while maintaining some due process protections.

Government Affairs, Military Affairs and Security

https://www.congress.gov/bill/119th-congress/house-bill/472/all-info