Sen. Cruz: VA Must Prioritize Veteran Services First

Introduces the VET Protection Act to ensure meeting the needs of veterans takes priority over union activity  Texas InsiderWASHINGTON D.C. U.S. Sen. Ted Cruz (R-Texas) today introduced the Veterans Employees and Taxpayers (VET) Protection Act of 2017 which would ensure union activity does not undermine the service and care of our veterans and is not subsidized by taxpayers. The bill and companion legislation introduced in the House by U.S. Rep. Jodey Arrington (R-Texas) follows a January 2017 Government Accountability Office (GAO) Report concerning the abuse of official time practices and union activities by employees at the VA.

Meeting the needs of veterans not union activity should be the top priority of the VA and its employees" Sen. Cruz said. The VA must prioritize care for our veterans over the VA bureaucracy. VA employees should focus their time attention and energy on the duties to which they were hired. The findings in this GAO report are unacceptable. Veterans across Texas and the country should not be waiting to receive care while VA employees spend even a moment of their time at work dealing with union activities."

The full text of the bill may be viewed here.