U.S. Sen. Joni Ernst (R-IA) cosponsored legislation last week that would create needed reforms and improvements to shield whistleblowers while holding retaliators responsible and ensuring that veterans’ medical records are protected.
The legislation, the Dr. Chris Kirkpatrick Whistleblower Protection Act of 2015, introduced by Sens. Ron Johnson (R-WI) and Kelly Ayotte (R-NH), passed unanimously out of committee on Wednesday during a Senate Homeland Security and Government Affairs Committee business meeting.
The act follows September’s “Improving VA Accountability: Examining First-Hand Accounts of Department of Veterans Affairs Whistleblowers” Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs Committee hearing, which included testimony from Kirkpatrick’s brother, who said that Kirkpatrick was fired from the VA after questioning the amount of medication being given to veterans. Kirkpatrick committee suicide not long after the firing.
“[T]oday’s hearing is just re-emphasizing to me that we have a corrupt and broken VA system,” Ernst said during the September hearing. “And when I hear that supervisors, other workers, are more concerned about their own jobs than they are about the veterans – we have an issue.”
Language from Ernst included in the legislation would inform veterans serving as VA employees of their telemedicine options.
Ernst has made fighting for improved healthcare access for disabled or rural veterans an ongoing goal. She previously introduced the bipartisan Veterans E-Health and Telemedicine Act to expand telemedicine services from the VA across state lines. The legislation currently awaits further consideration by the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.