Protecting Physicians: Advocating for Hazard Pay
NAVAPD’s government relations director, Kay Bulow, is working with the staff of both the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees to educate them on our field and the dire need to enact hazard pay provisions for specific positions within VA medical centers.
Brookings published a report on April 10 called “COVID-19’s essential workers deserve hazard pay”. There is widespread support for hazard pay for frontline workers across the country.
In March, the American Federation of Government Employees and workers at the U.S. Bureau of Prisons, the Agriculture Department, and the Veterans Affairs Department sued the federal government in the U.S. Court of Federal Claims, alleging that “by not providing hazard pay to employees who interact with people and materials that could carry the virus, it is violating both federal law and Office of Personnel Management regulations.”
Below is a letter NAVAPD sent in late April to the Chairmen and Ranking Members of both the Senate and the House Veterans’ Affairs Committees. Please feel free to reach out to them on your own to add your support for this effort.
Honorable Jerry Moran, Chairman
Honorable Mark Takano, Chairman
Honorable Jon Tester, Ranking Member
Honorable Phil Roe, Ranking Member
Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee
House Veterans’ Affairs Committee
United States Senate-Washington, DC 20510
U.S. House of Representatives-Washington, DC 20515
April 29, 2020
Dear Chairman Moran,
Ranking Member Tester, Chairman Takano, Ranking Member Dr. Roe:The National Association of Veteran Affairs Physicians and Dentists (NAVAPD) strongly urge you to recommend that the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs frontline caregivers receive hazard pay during the COVID-19 (novel coronavirus) pandemic. This would include physicians, nurses, and respiratory therapists. It is my understanding that discussions about this have been underway between the Department of Veterans Affairs, the Office of Management and Budget, and your committees. I urge you and the members of your committee to support and enact legislation sooner rather than later.
These frontline caregivers are providing needed medical care to America’s veterans, and it is important that we recognize their efforts and extraordinary service.
Please contact us if you need additional information or have any questions.
To add your voice to this effort, you can reach the leadership of the House and Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committees:
Senator Jerry Moran
Chairman, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee
phone: 202-224-6521
Click here to send an email
Senator Jon Tester
Ranking Member, Senate Veterans’ Affairs Committee
phone: 202-224-2644
Click here to send an email
Representative Mark Takano
Chairman, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee
phone: 202-225-2305
Click here to send an email
Representative Phil Roe
Ranking Member, House Veterans’ Affairs Committee
phone: 202-225-6356
Click here to send an email