Amata Chairs Portion of Legislative Hearing Examining 12 Veterans’ Bills

Washington, D.C. - Congresswoman Uifa'atali Amata on Wednesday presided for part of a legislative hearing that examined 12 new Veterans' bills, the first step in their legislative process through the House Veterans' Affairs Committee (HVAC) following introduction. Note this group of bills is separate from the 27 bills examinedon March 18 by the full Committee, where Aumua Amata serves as Vice Chairman.

Congresswoman Amata presiding over Veterans' legislative hearing on Wednesday

The HVAC Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigationsis led by Chairwoman Jen Kiggans (R-Virginia), who presided for the first portion of the hearing, then Congresswoman Amata held the center chair for part of the hearing.

"I'm pleased we have plentiful Veterans legislation to continue working on and send the best of these bills forward to the full House of Representatives for votes," said Congresswoman Amata. "Many of these bills address specific service needs or VA reforms resulting from listening to Veterans constantly in testimony, roundtables, and meetings. I will continue to provide updates from Washington."

The hearing provided the first examination of the following legislation:

• H.R. 7280, the Veteran DATA Act
• H.R. 6654, the Veterans Affairs Management and Oversight of Software Assets Act
• H.R. 7319, the VA Bonus and Relocation Recovery Act
• H.R. 7683, the VA Fiscal Management Modernization Act
• Discussion Draft, the Vets CLEAR Act
• Discussion Draft, the Veterans Affairs Subcontractor Competition and Opportunity Network Act
• Discussion Draft, to amend title 38, United States Code, to require that certain sterile processing technicians of the Veterans Health Administration hold appropriate professional certifications, and for other purposes
• Discussion Draft, to amend title 38, United States Code, to modify the rate of pay for care or services provided under the Community Care Program of the Department of Veterans Affairs based on the location at which such care or services were provided, and for other purposes
• Discussion Draft, to establish an entitlement to a supplemental period of unpaid parental leave for employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs
• Discussion Draft, to deem certain individuals as parents of Department of Veterans Affairs employees for purposes of determining entitlement to certain family and medical leave for such employees
• Discussion Draft, to prohibit the downgrading of law enforcement positions in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes
• Discussion Draft, to amend Title 38, United States Code, to establish the Office of Congressional and Legislative Affairs in the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

Subcommittee Chairwoman Kiggans statedthat the hearing examined "12 bills covering a wide range of issues, all aimed at strengthening accountability, improving care, and ensuring VA delivers on its commitments to those who served. These bills address critical areas including oversight of VA operations, protection of veterans' data, workforce retention and accountability, small business opportunity, payment reform, and improvements to the quality and safety of healthcare veterans receive every day."

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