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.
The U.S. Office of Special Counsel (OSC) has determined that management at Federal Correctional Institution Dublin in California violated OSHA standards by exposing staff and inmates to asbestos, validating a complaint filed by AFGE.
Read More
AFGE District 10 was recently recognized for having the highest number of net increase of 2,839 new members in one year between Oct. 2022 and Oct. 2023.
Read More
Holding signs that read “Dignity, Fairness, Respect”, a group of workers Nov. 21 stood in the rain in front of the Cincinnati VA hospital calling for better working conditions and fair treatment of the VA staff.
Read More
