Congressman Steny H. Hoyer (MD-05) released the following statement today after the House Veterans Affairs Committee completed a markup of the VET Protection Act of 2017:
"I am extremely disappointed by the Veterans, Employees, and Taxpayers (VET) Protection Act, which was marked-up by the House Veterans Affairs Committee this morning. This legislation unfairly targets federal employees in the Department of Veterans Affairs by significantly limiting their ability to be adequately represented by their unions, interfering with union leadership elections, and severely limiting the ability of union representatives to communicate with Members of Congress. I am strongly opposed to efforts that erode the right of federal employees to engage in efforts to protect workers on official time, and will continue to urge my colleagues to oppose this harmful legislation.
"In the past, Congress has rejected this type of anti-union legislation on a bipartisan basis. I hope that Republicans will join with Democrats to reject this unfair legislation, and instead work to enact real reform at the VA--reform that will help veterans obtain the health care and benefits they deserve for their service to their country."