Witness Testimony of Hon. Bob Filner, Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and a Representative in Congress from the State of California

Hearing on 03/25/2010: Legislative Hearing on H.R. 949, H.R. 1075, H.R. 2698, H.R. 2699, H.R. 2879, H.R. 3926, H.R. 4006, H.R. 84, and 3 Discussion Drafts

Chairman Michaud, thank you for the opportunity to testify before the Subcommittee on Health on H.R. 949, a bill that would improve the collective bargaining rights and procedures for reviews of adverse actions of certain VA employees.

This bill is all about ensuring equity among the health care professionals employed at the Department of Veterans Affairs so that VA providers such as doctors, nurses, dentists, chiropractors, optometrists, and podiatrists who are hired under the “pure title 38” system have the same rights as their fellow VA health care professionals who are hired under different hiring systems.

Without this bill, “pure title 38” providers do not have the right to challenge errors in pay computations and lack other key bargaining rights enjoyed by their colleagues at the VA.

To address this problem, H.R. 949 would clarify that these “pure title 38” providers have equal rights to collective bargaining. This means that they would be able to challenge personnel actions through such methods as grievances, arbitrations, and labor-management negotiations.

My bill would also require the VA to review the adverse personnel action and issue a final decision, no later than 60 days after the employee appeals the adverse personnel action.

Finally, H.R. 949 would subject the VA’s final decision on the employee appealed adverse personnel action to judicial review in the appropriate U.S. District Court or the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit.

I recognize VA has concerns and I am looking forward to working with them and other stakeholders as we move forward on this piece of legislation.

Thank you again for the opportunity to share my thoughts with you.