Hearings on the other events throughout the day. Weekdays at 5 pm and 9 pm eastern, catch washington today. A fast paced report on the stories of the day. Listen to cspan anytime. Just tell your Smart Speaker to play cspan radio. Cspan, powered by cable. According to a report from the Government Accountability office, about 17 with veteran Affairs Department says they have experienced Sexual Harassment on the workplace. Va officials appeared before a subcommittee to address what is being done about the issue. This hearing is about now run af. Todays hearing is titled progress made, an exact role harassment at the department of Veterans Affairs. We will hear from two diversity and inclusion. Miss pretty the johnson Amber Crombie, director of a number of operations for o. M. The eyes operation and thomas costa, other Government Accountability office who is joining us virtually. Sexual harassment is a major problem within the department that affects the wellbeing of va employees. According to a 2021 survey from the merit system protection board, an estimated 17 of the vas for hundred thousand employees experience some form of Sexual Harassment in the proceeding two years. This well exceeds a government wide average of 11 and it may be the highest rate of Sexual Harassment across the federal workforce. I am sure everyone agrees that these figures show unacceptable situation. The severity and pervasiveness of Sexual Harassment within va is not new. I wish i could say the department has done all it can throughout history, but despite very highlevels of sir actual harassment reported an anonymous surveys, again, 17 of 400,000 employees. The va says there are fewer than 500,000 formal the meaning is clear. One of the least common responses by an employee who experiences harassment is to report that through official channels. Victims often fear that nobody will believe them then action will be taken where they will be blamed for socially ostracized. That means that too many employees are not getting the help they need. Serious injustices are not being corrected. I would like to acknowledge at the outset of the hearing that, over the last two years, the va has made some progress. One of secretary douglass first asked asked secretary was a policy making clear that he would not accept harassment assault, ayanna neale about the va. This is an important statement. In march there was a detailed list of the procedures the all required to report incidents of Sexual Harassment to the committee of inclusion. Theres also new mandatory training. As we will explain the va has not taken either necessary steps. And hearing over two years ago on this topic, the va testified that many employees do not report Sexual Harassment out of fear of retaliation or retirement. Over half of employees were not confident that their complaint would be resolved in a fair in just a manner. The video made several suggestions some, of which addressing policies going back years. I have to express my frustrations, two years later, the va has only implemented two of the seven recommendations fully. Lets talk about two priority recommendations, in particular. Longstanding eco directive requires that, same, quote, the same official advising on personal actions may not be responsible for overseeing the e e o pre complaint or complaint process. This is for good reason. The same person shouldnt be in charge of pursuing a Sexual Harassment complaint and defending managers. This is a conflict of interest. The eoc put it this way in july 2022 letter. One of several notices dating back to 2017. It says that we are concerned that a perceived conflict of interest could have a Chilling Effect on the use of and confidence in the eco complaint process. Vas, Department Wide, equal of Opportunity Employer and the resources for administration ultimately in charge of handling complaints, both oversees the eco function and for the department. The va has refused to collect this situation that undercuts the confidence in how these situations are addressed. Equally troubling is that people tasked with receiving responding to Sexual Harassment complaints and individual Va Medical Centers, not to the train professionals at resolution management but to the officials. This is more than a box of a chart, this erodes employee faith that Sexual Harassment complaint will be handled in an impartial manner. Two years ago, veteran va officials told us theyre working to realign models. Even now, even that is a sluggish timeline that appears to be slipping. Thats why i know the we have donald roomy at the hearing, he declined because of conflicts. The two witnesses here have done amazing jobs updating policies and procedures. With all respect to mr. Johnson mr. Johnson Amber Crombie, we need the falls on with up to the secretary and the leadership of pa. I am concerned about his lack of his absence today and the clear lack of decisionmaking leadership that we need. I think that can send the wrong message, in the lack of action, to thousands of employees who have experienced Sexual Harassment. I hope todays witnesses have been empowered to share real actionable steps that are being taken now, not two or three years from now, to fix the departments structural deficiencies. The struggles with Sexual Harassment or not begin with this administration but currently doorstep has the opportunity to take action now that would better Position Department to address harassment moving forward. Thank you to all of our witnesses for your willingness to participate. We look forward to your testimony. That concludes my statements, then i will turn things over to Ranking Member manned for your comments. Thank you mister chairman thank you for having this hearing. Nearly two years ago, to the day, this subcommittee held a hearing with almost the exact same title. Some improvements have been made. We know that harassment still exists. One thing that was true then and is still true now is that mandatory training while important, will not end Sexual Harassment. We need employees and to treat each other with respect. Despite the that the harassment does happen, the va must have hold those accountable for their actions. Two years ago the government published a report on the Sexual Harassment for va employees. The eo made seven recommendations, as mentioned by the chair. The va has closed on only two of them. Im very disappointed by the lack of progress. The department did not concur with two of the recommendations for the alignment of the eo director in the eco Program Managers at va medical center. The j o is concerned that this creates a conflict of interest, the video disagrees. Thats been going on for two years with little known to no progress. This debate was always unnecessary and im glad that the house is taking action. I am pleased that earlier in congress we stepped in the past legislation early house that would qualify the recommendations over the objections of the department. Unfortunately, the legislations top in the tenth senate. I hope that the house and Senate Majorities can lodge in with passing legislation, so that we do not continue spin our wheels and have the same debate regarding the alignment of the eo directors. I want to close by saying i appreciate the efforts of va employees to and Sexual Harassment. Battling for this where the cause can be overwhelming and i can feel like everybody is a critic but i think we can all agree that more can and should be done. While the issue of staff alignment is important, congress has already ruled on that issue. Now we must turn to the heart of the matter, which is the leadership in the culture failures at the va. Vas leadership disengaged and culture dangerous. His work scored at the core of the issues for the. Id focus on my questions now first, with that i yield back. I will now yield to chairman to congress to cano, who is here for this hearing. You are recognized for opening comments. Thank you, i would like to associate myself with the states that you gave to begin this hearing. The lack of progress fully addressing a Sexual Harassment at the vas disturbing. I see a lack of prioritization by a leadership which is hardening. I remember in 2020 something hearing that to address these issues, i told the assembled witnesses at the time that i was growing impatient. The vas slow pace or form on Sexual Harassment. Frankly, my comments were mild compared to what several republican members, including my counterpart had to say. Sexual harassment among the workforce is a bipartisan concern and has been a concern of this committee for many years. No one should be subjected to unwelcome sexual advances or made to endure teasing, joking, or derogatory comments based on their sex, sexual orientation, or gender identity. Unfortunately, these are issues that are all too many v a employees have had to deal with. In the past and continue to deal with today. Let me highlight, if i may, several passages from the Government Office accountability report. Quote, alleged incidents of Sexual Harassment are under reported according to the current system. We found some areas of fear of reprisal, fear of reprisal or concerns about the eo processing. Yeah communications intended for all employees and always reach them, and quote. The geo identified concerns about whether the investigation and resolution of eco complaints were dependent on the management of the Va Medical Centers. Now, i am sorry to say that this is not a recent report im writing from this, is a report that was issued in 1993 nearly 30 years ago. Yet the department is still grappling with some of the very same Sexual Harassment issues. Two years ago we were told that a realignment of the equal opportunity, equal Employment Opportunity managers which was underway at the federal Veterans Benefits and mission since 2016, would not even begin to occur at the Veterans Health administration until 2024. We know that the va was the biggest section of what we do at the va. Now even with that ambitious goal or even that unambitious goal, it appears to the unambitious go up and further delayed. I agree that the two va witnesses with us this morning should be commended for the steps they have taken to improve tracking of Sexual Harassment complaints, update employee training, the the handbooks. The policy procedures are only as good as the people of implementing them. What weve heard from any va employees its out there still a lack of trust in the anti harassment reporting structure. I know there has been renewed focus on harassment discrimination and whistleblower protection under this administration, but i want to allocate chairman powell in saying that there is more that needs to be done. I share his concern, to, that the dqd deputy secretary is not here to speak to these issues. He or someone at or near his level should be able to convey to this committee and a clear voice that the rack and citing recommendations on Sexual Harassment have the full department of the attention of the department and should be of lamented without further delay. It was communicated to us that department does not want to set up president for subcommittee hearings. I find this odd since the committee has a long history of having leadership appeared before some committees. Every committee ramming himself appeared before our meeting in november. July 2020 hearing on Sexual Harassment issues at va. Now this is a topic that the the the deputy secretary is the most important va officials to make the changes that the g. A. O. And equal Employment Opportunity commission have been pushing for years. A critical opportunity to the the time for top on these foundational issues is way past due. We, as members of this committee need to see some action. Thank you again, mister chairman, thank you mr. Johnson, thank you miss johnson Amber Crombie, mr. Costa. I look forward to a productive discussion with each they. Thank you chairman to cano. We also joined by the chairwoman of newly authorized me. I recognize you for any opening comments we may have. The very much chairman talk Ranking Member man and including us and so many ways. Including the task force. First as jeremy pompous mentioned i want to bring up the progress made on road va over the recent years as you know required to establish a comprehensive antiassault policy. I look forward to hearing about the enactment of this policy. However, i am disappointed to have to be sitting here, again as i was in 2020 because va is still not compliant with federal laws regulations meaning if the of the geo are unresolved. This continues to harm the ability for the va to bring justice and support to those who have experience Sexual Harassment. I expressed my concerns that the timelines to implement the recommendations are taking too long. Two years later we are sitting here once again. Today, i hope we will not be hearing the same promises and excuses. As we now, at the va deputy secretary declined to be here today. As a leader within the department i would expect the deputy secretary to lead from the front and take responsibility for me to voices community for immediately resolving for va employees. As far as i see, there is no sense of urgency. That is a problem. The 2020 gia reports some va employees may continue to distrust vas handling of Sexual Harassment allegations. There are additional reports that date back decades on this very subject which exposed many of the same problems and distressed. For one, the equal Employment Opportunity condition found that both the Department Wide ego director and the iwo Program Managers were misaligned, creating the perception that there is a conflict of interest among the va workforce. Furthermore, va policies are not consistent through the agency and are missing crucial information such as including all options employees have for reporting Sexual Harassment. Not to mention the Data Collected from Sexual Harassment complaints and reports are incomplete. Va must not discouraged or stifled against reporting or placing harassment. I think we all encouraged at sex Sexual Harassment is under reported. Me the Department Leader is much more work with the Department Leaders coordinators to implement procedures to provide a safe, healthy, and supportive Work Environment for all of our employees. For decades, va employees have not trusted leaders to pop properly handle severe, pervasive issue. This seems to be problems with the survivors will continue to move the suffering without insurance or reassurance that the people will be held accountable for their actions. The Maritime Protection ward in with 2016 in 2021 found that va employees experience more Sexual Harassment than any other federal agency. This is wholly unacceptable. It is time to fix it. Advertising a policy map for me is nothing it is not fully implemented. Employees rightfully expect in deserve better i look forward to talking with others about the improvements made a va and what has been done to address the ones that were still needed. Thank you chairwoman brownley. We have a single panel of witnesses for todays hearing from the apartment of veteran affairs. We have harvey johnson, thank you disesteem for resolution management, diversity and inclusion. Matt measurement and diversity and inclusion. Both mr. Johnson and miss amber khan believe the departments efforts to address allegations of harassment and discrimination amongst the va workforce. We also joined virtually by dr. Thomas costa, a director of the Government Accountability offices work force and Income Security Team where he oversees workplace protection, training issues, and safety for the g. A. O. In addition to these witnesses i ask for from the equal opportunity Employment Opportunity commission which identifies inefficiencies within the m equals Opportunity Employment Program and clearly states that their hiring not comply with federal law. Its a reminder to mr. Costa, who is virtual, please pause for a couple seconds before speaking so we fully capture your comments. With that i want to recognize mr. Johnson fo