On Tuesday, the House passed the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017, which will be signed into law during a White House ceremony next week. This piece of legislation creates a new streamlined and efficient process to remove, demote or suspend any VA employee for poor performance or misconduct with a concrete shortened timeline, while still protecting employees’ due process rights, and provides them with the right to appeal the action. It will also provide expanded protections for whistleblowers and will specifically bar VA from using this removal authority if the employee has an open whistleblower complaint/case with the Office of Special Counsel. The House also passed H.R.2372, VETERAN Act, on Thursday. This piece of legislation amends the Internal Revenue Code to specify that, for the purpose of determining eligibility for the premium assistance tax credit under the American Health Care Act of 2017, a veteran may not be treated as eligible for coverage under certain Department of Veterans Affairs health insurance programs unless the individual is enrolled in the program.