Congressional plans to encourage Veterans Affairs employees to speak out against departmental abuses like waste and negligence – and shield such whistleblowers from retaliation – may soon be put to a vote.

Stars and Stripes has the story:

A long-stalled plan in Congress to strengthen protections for Veterans Affairs Department employees who disclose waste and misconduct – and to punish officials who retaliate against them – is poised to hitch a ride to enactment this week on the high-priority measure to head off a partial government shutdown…

While the measure would continue funding most government operations only through Dec. 9, the portions affecting the VA – along with military construction projects also funded by the same underlying bill – would apply through the entire new fiscal year.

“VA has promised to foster a culture of openness by encouraging employees to report cases of wrongdoing, yet there continue to be reports that after bringing to light cases of wrongdoing, the whistleblowers become subjects of retaliation,” says a summary by the Senate Appropriations Committee.

President Obama’s Veteran Affairs department needs to be overhauled. It’s time we start serving the men and women who put their lives on the line for liberty, not serving the big-government bureaucrats who threaten retaliation if someone blows the lid on government corruption! Click here to get involved and help Tea Party Patriots push back against big-government red tape that covers up misconduct and hurts our veterans.