You’ve Seen the Headlines. Now See the Solutions.
We’re done watching leadership spin the truth while veterans wait and employees burn out. These 7 bills force action. Be part of it.
Behind the Curtain – How Fake Reform Hurts Real People
📬 Scroll down to see the 7 bills and send your letter to Congress
🧠 What We’re Demanding from Congress
These aren’t vague reforms. These are 7 specific, actionable legislative changes that would fix the root causes of failure inside the VA.
📜 Explore the Reform Proposals
Each of the bills below targets a real, fixable problem inside the VA system—from broken data and unsafe staffing to fake reforms and buzzword branding.
🔍 Scroll down to read about each proposed bill—what it does, why it matters, and how you can take action to support it.
These aren’t abstract policies. They’re built from real experiences. And they’re designed to protect veterans, support frontline staff, and hold leadership accountable.
📨 What Happens When You Click “Support This Bill"
Clicking the button will take you to a letter-writing page where you can send a message directly to Congress in support of this bill.
We’ve already pre-filled the letter with key points from the proposal—but this isn’t a copy-and-paste petition. You can (and should!) make it your own by:
Adding your name, city, or role (VA employee, veteran, family member, etc.)
Including a personal story or reason this bill matters to you
Editing the message to reflect your voice or experiences
Every personalized letter makes a bigger impact. This is your chance to be heard—loud, clear, and real.
🧠The VA Data Competency and Collaboration Act
📈 🤝 📊
Fix the data before you fund the reform.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
📜 Key Provisions
✅ Mandatory Data Literacy Training
All GS-12 and above in business/program analyst roles will be required to complete training that covers:
VA data systems like VistA, Cerner, and Power BI
How to interpret reports, validate metrics, and spot red flags
Real-world examples of data misuse and its consequences
🤝 Multidisciplinary Oversight Teams
Each VISN and national office must create a data task force that includes:
1️⃣ End-user (scheduler, nurse, coordinator)
2️⃣ IT/data developer
3️⃣ Program analyst or operations lead
Teams will meet monthly, analyze reforms in progress, and publish joint findings.
🧩 Data Ownership and Stewardship Structure
Every major program must appoint a Data Steward to:
Sign off on reports
Work with the data team to validate accuracy
Ensure end-user testing happens before any release
📊 Public Data Literacy Report
Once a year, VA must release a transparency report showing:
Each department’s data literacy competency scores
Team collaboration benchmarks
Progress on GAO/OIG data recommendations
"You wouldn’t let someone perform surgery without training. So why is the VA letting people lead billion-dollar reforms without understanding the data behind them?"
🧾 The VA Administrative Data Integrity and Transparency Act
🔍 📊 ⚖️
Because fake numbers lead to real harm.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
🔑 Key Provisions
1️⃣ Independent Audits of Core Data Systems
Annual third-party audits of VA’s scheduling, staffing, and consult tracking systems to verify accuracy and expose systemic flaws.
2️⃣ Public Transparency of Data Quality
Mandate data quality scores for key systems to be published annually, with required Congressional hearings to review progress and failures.
3️⃣ Standardized Data Validation Protocols
Implement a uniform, VA-wide protocol for validating business data — enforced across all VISNs and program offices for consistency and trust.
4️⃣ Accountability for False Data Reporting
Ban performance-based bonuses for executives who knowingly use inaccurate or unvalidated data to hit targets or justify decisions.
"Veterans are waiting. Employees are burning out. Leadership is hiding behind reports no one believes.
This bill forces transparency and makes data integrity a requirement — not a slogan."
🏛️ VA Mission-Critical Role Protection Act
🔧 🧾 🛡️
Protect the backbone of veteran care—before it breaks.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
🔑 Key Provisions
🧩 Define “Mission-Critical” with Independent Benchmarks VA must formally identify essential roles—like schedulers, care coordinators, and claims processors—using staffing benchmarks from the GAO and OIG.
👩💼 Include Administrative Staff in Critical Role Definitions The system for identifying mission-critical roles must include key administrative positions—not just clinical jobs—to reflect how care truly gets delivered.
📋 Internal Controls with Routine Audit Requirements The classification process must follow documented internal controls that are reviewed regularly through third-party audits to ensure accuracy and prevent misclassification.
🏛️ Congressional Oversight for Protected Role Reductions VA leadership cannot reduce or eliminate protected roles without prior approval and justification presented to Congress.
📣 Frontline Whistleblower Protection Channel A secure, anonymous system must be available for VA staff to report misclassified or unjustly targeted roles—with strong protections against retaliation.
"Cutting schedulers, program assistants, or care coordinators may seem like a budget win—but it’s a catastrophic loss in care access and quality. This bill makes sure critical doesn’t only mean clinical, and that no one in leadership can hide behind vague definitions or unchecked authority.
And even when a role is clinical, it can still be overlooked due to misclassification or documentation errors—especially if coding systems are outdated or inconsistent. Without internal controls and audits, vital roles can vanish on paper before they vanish in real life."
🧭 VA Reform Accountability Act
📊 🕵️ 🚨
Because the VA doesn’t need another ‘reorg’—it needs results.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
🔑 Key Provisions
💰 Tie Funding to Reform Follow-Through VA reform budgets must be linked to the percentage of completed priority GAO and OIG recommendations, ensuring real progress before more funding flows.
🔍 Independent Oversight Before Restructuring Require third-party implementation assessments before launching major restructuring efforts—no more blindly reorganizing without understanding the risks.
⏳ Penalties for Long-Open Recommendations Trigger mandatory Congressional leadership hearings when priority GAO/OIG recommendations remain open past a set threshold. Accountability isn’t optional.
"You’ve seen it over and over—new reform, same dysfunction. This bill ends the cycle of performative change by making the VA fix what’s broken before building something new. If the foundation’s cracked, you don’t renovate the roof."
✅High-Reliability Realignment Act
🏅 ⚠️ 🗣️
Real HROs prevent failure—they don’t just rebrand it.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
🔑 Key Provisions
🏅 Independent HRO Certification Requirement the VA must obtain certification from a recognized High Reliability Organization standards body—such as The Joint Commission—before using HRO language in reports, scorecards, or reform plans.
⚠️ Proactive Risk Assessment Mandate Any initiative labeled as “HRO-aligned” must include documented proactive risk assessments and show how potential system failures were addressed before implementation.
📣 Frontline Feedback Integration Projects using HRO branding must show evidence of frontline staff input during planning and implementation—not just leadership sign-off. Real reliability starts from the ground up.
"The VA throws around “High Reliability” like it’s a marketing slogan. But the real standard means identifying risk before it causes harm—and that doesn’t happen when you ignore frontline feedback or fail to validate changes.
This bill draws a line in the sand: You can’t slap on the HRO label unless you’ve earned it."
🧮Veterans Access Protection through Staffing Standards Act
📞 📊 🧑💼
Because access to care starts with someone picking up the phone.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
🔑 Key Provisions
📏 Use Real Staffing Benchmarks Require the VA to adopt industry-standard workload models, such as MGMA benchmarks and FTE-to-patient ratios, for front-office and administrative roles—not just clinical staff.
📊 National Staffing Transparency Dashboard Create a public-facing dashboard showing actual vs. required staffing (FTE) at every facility—so veterans, employees, and lawmakers can see where gaps exist in real time.
🚫 Freeze Bonuses at Failing Facilities Suspend leadership performance bonuses at any VA facility that consistently fails to meet staffing minimums or access-to-care targets.
"Access to care isn’t just about having enough doctors—it’s about having enough people to answer the phone, check in patients, and schedule appointments.
You’ve seen it firsthand: When front-office staff are burned out or stretched thin, veterans wait—and leadership hides behind skewed data. This bill forces the VA to staff to real demand, and finally stop pretending everything’s fine when the phones are going unanswered."
🛠️ VA Operational Accountability and Frontline Support Act
🗂️ 🧑🏫 🔒
The union isn’t the problem—VA’s lack of documentation is.
WHAT THIS BILL DOES
🔑 Key Provisions
📅 1. Monthly One-on-One Performance Discussions Supervisors must hold monthly meetings with frontline staff (e.g., schedulers) to review:
Current workload
Performance metrics
Barriers to meeting goals
Training or support needs
✔️ Prevents staff from being blindsided by performance actions or punished without context.
🖥️ 2. Proof of Compliance All meetings must be logged in a centralized HR system (e.g., HR Smart or Talent Management), with:
Digital certification by the supervisor
Optional employee signature to confirm the meeting occurred
Monthly compliance reports reviewed by facility and VISN leadership
✔️ No more “phantom” performance meetings—this adds traceability and transparency.
📊 3. Standardized Scheduling Metrics Establish national benchmarks for schedulers, including:
Appointments per day (clinic-adjusted)
Appointment lead time
Consult timeliness
Patient satisfaction (where applicable)
These must be:
Publicly shared at the VISN level
Benchmarked against industry standards (e.g., MGMA)
Used for support—not punishment
✔️ Builds consistency and removes the guesswork from scheduling “performance.”
📝 4. New Scheduler Compliance Monitoring All new schedulers receive 60- and 90-day checks, including:
Data accuracy audits
Policy knowledge assessments
Supervisor review of communication/documentation skills
If problems are found:
A 14-day action plan is required
Uptraining and mentoring must follow
Repeat failures lead to HR-level review, not automatic termination
✔️ Supports growth, not churn—especially for new hires still learning the system.
👩💼 5. Supervisor Accountability Supervisors must:
Complete quarterly training in performance management
Maintain documentation of performance plans and actions taken
Failure to comply results in:
Leadership performance hearings
Additional coaching or re-training
✔️ Accountability flows both ways—not just downhill.
🏛️ 6. Leadership Oversight and Transparency VISN and national leaders must:
Track facility compliance monthly
Report on performance improvement outcomes quarterly
Trigger an OIG review if meeting compliance drops below 80% for two quarters
✔️ This ensures frontline support isn’t optional—it’s enforceable.
"The VA talks about accountability—but it’s often a one-way street. This bill flips the script by requiring actual conversations, documented coaching, and traceable actions. Supervisors can't skip check-ins. Employees won’t be left in the dark. And “performance” becomes more than just a punishment buzzword—it becomes a path forward."
🧩 Why These Bills Matter
From frontline workers to federal oversight—everyone sees the same failures. It’s time to act.
💬 Real Voices from Inside the VA
These are the anonymous, unfiltered stories of VA employees who have witnessed the dysfunction firsthand. These aren’t complaints—they’re calls for change. Listen to those who lived it.
📑 Oversight That Echoes the Truth
These quotes from GAO and OIG reports confirm what frontline VA employees have been saying for years: the system is broken at the top—and veterans are paying the price.
📣 Share Your Story. Help Shape the Fight
Have you experienced one of the problems these bills aim to fix? Whether it’s burnout, broken data, ignored feedback, or staffing chaos—your story matters. You can remain anonymous or include your name if you're comfortable.
🛡️All submissions are reviewed with care.
We’ll never share identifying info without your consent.
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Which bill does your story relate to?:
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📬 Stay Connected. Stay Loud.
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🎁 Show Your Support. Fuel the Reform.
Everything here—the book, the merch, the message—is part of a bigger mission.100% of proceeds go directly toward building this movement, funding campaigns, and creating tools for real VA reform.
📚 The Illusion of High Reliability
A brutally honest look behind the VA’s broken reform efforts—told by someone who lived it.
Part exposé, part survival story, The Illusion of High Reliability is for anyone who’s tired of seeing veterans and staff pay the price for performative leadership.
⭐ What Readers Are Saying
🎯 Silent Protest Merch – Wear the Message
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Whether you're a veteran, employee, or ally—this is how we stand together.
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Behind the Curtain VA
Not affiliated with or endorsed by the Department of Veterans Affairs. Just someone who got fed up and decided to speak out.
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