President Trump Signs VA Accountability And Whistleblower Bill

WASHINGTON, DC — President Trump signed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 Friday morning at the White House at 11:30 a.m. Eastern. You can watch a replay of the signing ceremony below.

"It is critical that employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) are held to the highest performance standards, and that they are accountable when those standards are not met," the White House said in a statement. "In addition, it is important that employees be able to discuss concerns without fear of retribution or reprisal, particularly when those concerns deal with the quality of care Federal employees provide to our veterans. Therefore, whistleblower rights and processes must be clear and unambiguous."

"To fully reform the VA and provide our nation’s veterans with the quality care they were promised and deserve, we must ensure the department can efficiently dismiss employees who are not able or willing to do their jobs,” Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida said of the bill. (For more information on this and other political stories, subscribe to the White House Patch to receive daily newsletters and breaking news alerts.)

"They represent the very best of us," Trump said. "Now we must fulfill our duty to them. So to every veteran who is here with us today, I just want to say two very simple words – thank you, thank you."

At the signing, Trump spoke of the struggles veterans have faced, particularly in their efforts to get health care.

"We all remember the nightmares that veterans surrendered during the VA scandals a few years ago," he said. "Many veterans died waiting for a simple doctor’s appointment."

He also spoke of the need, addressed in the new bill, to be able to fire VA staff who are not up to the job.

"What happened was a national disgrace and yet some of the employees involved in the scandals remained on the payrolls," he said, blaming "outdated laws." "Today, we are finally changing those laws, and it wasn’t easy."

Watch the live stream here:

Photo by Andrew Harrer-Pool/Getty Images