{"id":14133,"date":"2018-01-31T04:05:50","date_gmt":"2018-01-31T04:05:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/uncategorized\/2018\/01\/31\/trump-exaggerates-va-accountability-laws-impact-in-state-of-the-union-address\/"},"modified":"2026-08-08T01:44:11","modified_gmt":"2026-08-08T01:44:11","slug":"trump-exaggerates-va-accountability-laws-impact-in-state-of-the-union-address","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/one.sightlinemg.com\/airforcetimes\/veterans\/2018\/01\/31\/trump-exaggerates-va-accountability-laws-impact-in-state-of-the-union-address\/","title":{"rendered":"VA backs Trump\u2019s State of the Union comments about accountability law’s impact"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

[EDITOR\u2019sS NOTE: This story has been updated to reflect new information provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs the day after the president\u2019s speech.<\/i>]<\/b><\/p>\n\n\n\n

WASHINGTON \u2014 In his first State of the Union speech Tuesday, President Donald Trump boasted that his administration has begun cleaning up the Department of Veterans Affairs by getting rid of problematic workers thanks to new accountability legislation passed by Congress last summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

During the address, Trump said that his administration\u2019s actions over the last year have shown that \u201cwe are serving our brave veterans, including giving our veterans choice in their health care decisions.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Among the accomplishments was his signing of the VA Accountability Act last June, which eased hiring and firing rules for tens of thousands of VA workers.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cSince its passage, my administration has already removed more than 1,500 VA employees who failed to give our veterans the care they deserve,\u201d Trump said. \u201cAnd we are hiring talented people who love our vets as much as we do.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But VA records posted on the department\u2019s new accountability website did not reflect those figures during the Tuesday evening speech. Firing data made public by the Department of Veterans Affairs only showed 1,046 worker removals since mid-June, after the new legislation was signed.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

On Wednesday, following questions about Trump\u2019s speech assertions, VA spokesman Curt Cashour said the firing total also includes 691 probationary dismissals not previously made public by the department.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With those additional dismissals, the total of employees forced out since the new legislation was passed is more than 1,700. <\/p>\n\n\n\t