Promise Kept: Trump Signs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act for Veterans Administration

President Trump signs the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act. Promise kept!🇺🇸#VAaccountability pic.twitter.com/2d3H5UExVH

— Tennessee (@TEN_GOP) June 23, 2017

Today President Trump signed into law the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act, which streamlines the process to remove, demote, or suspend VA employees for poor performance or misconduct, and authorizes the VA secretary to recoup any bonuses awarded to employees who have acted improperly.

.@SecShulkin of @DeptVetAffairs joins @POTUS 4 signing Veterans Affairs Accountability & Whistleblower Protection Act pic.twitter.com/Yf3MsFZLbr

— Sean Spicer (@PressSec) June 23, 2017

“This is something that we are all very proud to be signing,” said the President. “We’re taking care of our veterans, and we’re taking care of them properly.”

The act, which had passed in Congress earlier this month, is being hailed as one of the president’s “promises fulfilled” as the VA has become the target of scrutiny for its intransigence and inability to take action against corruption and malfeasance.

Another @POTUS promise kept. https://t.co/qWzb0aDRgf

— Sebastian Gorka DrG (@SebGorka) June 23, 2017

CNN has more about Trump’s discussion of veterans’ healthcare during the campaign:

Trump promised throughout his 2016 presidential campaign to reform the Department of Veterans Affairs, and tapped David Shulkin, a former VA official under President Barack Obama, to head the reform effort.

Trump called the department the “most corrupt” and “most incompetently run agency in the United States” during the campaign when he released a 10-point reform plan for the department.

And in a meeting earlier this year with veterans group, Trump vowed to make good on his promises.

“As commander in chief, I will not accept substandard service for our great veterans,” he said.

In 2014, another act, the Choice Act, was passed and tried to cut senior executives’ rights to appeal discipline to the Merit Systems Protection Board. However, a court ruled that it violated the Constitution’s appointments clause.