Sen. Jerry Moran of Kansas announced on Apr. 29 that he has co-sponsored a bipartisan bill aimed at improving staffing within the Department of Veterans Affairs. The legislation, known as the Optimizing the VA Workforce for Veterans Act, was introduced alongside Sen. Angus King of Maine.
The proposed bill is intended to ensure veterans receive timely and high-quality healthcare and benefits by requiring the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop a long-term workforce strategy and enhance staff productivity. Moran said this approach would help address staffing challenges facing the department.
“Veterans deserve a VA workforce that is adequately staffed to deliver the healthcare and benefits they have earned through service,” Moran said in a press release. “By creating a mandatory workforce strategy focused on improved outcomes, this legislation will help the department more effectively recruit, retain and manage its workforce.”
The legislation also mandates that the Department of Veterans Affairs notify Congress ahead of any major staffing changes or layoffs, providing detailed justifications for such actions.
Moran serves on both the Senate Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry according to his official website. Before his time in the Senate, he represented Kansas’s 1st Congressional District for seven terms in the U.S. House of Representatives according to his official website. He worked as a banker early in his career before entering politics according to his official website.
Moran obtained an economics degree from Fort Hays State University and the University of Kansas before earning a Juris Doctor from the University of Kansas School of Law according to his official website. He has two daughters and four grandchildren with his wife Robba according to his official website.
As Congress considers this legislation, supporters say it could provide lasting improvements for veterans’ services nationwide.
