WASHINGTON – U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., chairman of the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, today released the following statement regarding the Justice Department’s refusal to defend certain Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) accountability provisions included in the Veterans Access, Choice and Accountability Act of 2014 against a constitutional challenge by a key VA executive who was fired in the Phoenix wait-time scandal:

“The Justice Department’s decision not to defend a portion of the accountability measures enacted in the Veterans Choice Act against a constitutional challenge is very disappointing and would allow the Merit Systems Protection Board to continue second-guessing VA’s efforts to discipline senior executives. Our Veterans First Act allows for stronger accountability without raising this constitutional challenge. I call on the Senate to pass this much-needed reform bill immediately.” 

Sharon Helman, Director of the Phoenix VA Health Care System, was fired in 2014 in the wake of the VA wait-time scandal. Helman sued for her job back, saying the Veterans Choice Act is unconstitutional, partly because it does not allow executives to appeal to the full Merit Systems Protection Board, only to an administrative judge at the board.

The Justice Department announced that it is refusing to mount a defense against this claim by Helman, saying current law violates the Appointments Clause of the Constitution because the administrative judges are not presidentially appointed whereas members of the Board are.

Isakson’s Veterans First Act removes the Merit Systems Protection Board from the appeal process for senior executives altogether, avoiding this constitutionality challenge.

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The Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs is chaired by U.S. Senator Johnny Isakson, R-Ga., in the 114th Congress. Isakson is a veteran himself – having served in the Georgia Air National Guard from 1966-1972 – and has been a member of the Senate VA Committee since he joined the Senate in 2005. Isakson’s home state of Georgia is home to more than a dozen military installations representing each branch of the military as well as more than 750,000 veterans.