The House Veterans Affairs Committee May 8 passed a bill that would pave the way for a wholesale privatization of the VA.
H.R. 5476 passed the House VA Committee by a 20-2 margin, with Ranking Member Tim Walz and Vice Ranking Member Mark Takano voting against the measure. It will now go to the House Rules Committee and on to the House Floor for consideration.
AFGE opposes the bill because it would:
AFGE sent a letter to the committee prior to the markup voicing our opposition. We submitted seven recommendations, including holding private providers to the same standards for patient care as VA’s in-house providers, but they were rejected. The committee, however, agreed to require the VA to be more transparent about the number of unfilled positions.
“It is imperative that we not starve the VA for resources and kowtow to the Koch Brothers scheme to dismantle the crown jewel of the American health care system,” AFGE said in the May 7 letter.
Our members came together at the union’s 41st National Convention to elect our top three national officers.
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Our union has faced life-threatening challenges before, but these threats are different. We have politicians in the White House, the House, and the Senate who are hell bent on wiping us out. We have never had our union contracts unilaterally annulled, our union volunteers kicked out of offices, our work fighting injustice severely restricted or denied. That’s why this national convention is extremely important. The stakes have never been higher – and that's why our 41st Triennial National Convention is so important.
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With all the new anti-federal employee laws, pending bills, and Executive Orders, you may feel federal employees are the sole target of politicians. In reality, these politicians have been coming after all working people for decades.
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