3.0.0 3909 2023-01-11T13:29:27Z 2023-01-11T13:29:27Z House HR 2015-11-03 114 [Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 163 (Tuesday, November 3, 2015)]From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]By Mr. GUINTA:H.R. 3909.Congress has the power to enact this legislation pursuantto the following:Article I, Section VIII, Clause 18. The Congress shall havepower . . . to make all laws which shall be necessary andproper for carrying into execution the foregoing powers, andall other powers vested by this constitution in thegovernment of the United States[Page H7625]]]> hsvr00 Veterans' Affairs Committee House Standing hsvr03 Health Subcommittee Referred to 2015-12-03T20:48:09Z Referred to 2015-11-03T15:01:45Z hsgo00 Oversight and Accountability Committee House Standing Referred to 2015-11-03T15:01:50Z VA Patient Protection Act of 2015 114 2291 S 2015-11-18 Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-252. Related bill CRS VA Accountability Act of 2015 114 1994 HR 2015-07-30 Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Related bill CRS 2015-12-03 hsvr03 Health Subcommittee 1 House committee actions Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. Committee 2015-11-03 Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsgo00 Oversight and Accountability Committee 2015-11-03 Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. IntroReferral H11100-A 9 Library of Congress 2015-11-03 Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned. IntroReferral H11100 2 House floor actions hsvr00 Veterans' Affairs Committee 2015-11-03 Sponsor introductory remarks on measure. (CR H7640) IntroReferral B00100 9 Library of Congress 2015-11-03 Introduced in House IntroReferral Intro-H 9 Library of Congress 2015-11-03 Introduced in House IntroReferral 1000 9 Library of Congress G000570 Rep. Guinta, Frank C. [R-NH-1] Frank Guinta R NH C. 1 N Armed Forces and National Security Administrative remedies Congressional oversight Department of Veterans Affairs Employee leave Employee performance Employment discrimination and employee rights Evidence and witnesses Federal officials Government employee pay, benefits, personnel management Government ethics and transparency, public corruption Government studies and investigations Merit Systems Protection Board Veterans' medical care Armed Forces and National Security 00 2015-11-03 Introduced in House 2015-11-09T17:39:09Z Veterans Health and Accountability Act

This bill amends the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to revise the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Choice Program eligibility requirements.

The VA may: (1) remove or demote a VA employee based on performance or misconduct, and (2) also remove an individual from the civil service or demote the individual through a reduction in grade or annual pay rate.

An employee may appeal to the Merit Systems Protection Board within seven days of removal or demotion.

Between the date on which an individual appeals a removal from the civil service and the date on which the administrative judge issues a final decision, the individual may not receive any pay, awards, bonuses, or other specified benefits.

A demoted individual: (1) shall be paid at the demoted rate as of the date of demotion, (2) may not be placed on administrative leave or any other category of paid leave while an appeal is ongoing, and (3) may only receive pay and other benefits if the individual reports for duty.

The VA may not remove or demote an employee during the pendency of a whistle blower complaint made to the VA Office of Special Counsel or to the central whistle blower office until a final decision has been made.

An individual's appointment to a permanent position within the competitive service or as a career appointee within the Senior Executive Service (SES) shall become final after an 18-month probationary period, which the VA may extend. Final appointment shall be made by the employee's supervisor.

An additional method is established for filing whistle blower complaints in which a VA employee may file such complaints with his or her immediate and next-level supervisors, and ultimately with the VA after having properly filed a complaint at each supervisory level.

The VA may not exempt any employee from such whistle blower coverage.

The VA shall carry out specified adverse actions against a supervisor who commits a prohibited personnel action relating to a whistle blower complaint.

A supervisor who commits a prohibited personnel action shall not be paid any award or bonus for a one-year period, and any award or bonus paid during that period shall be recouped.

The performance appraisal system for SES employees is revised, including by providing for five annual performance level ratings for SES employees as follows: outstanding, exceeds fully successful, fully successful, minimally satisfactory, and unsatisfactory.

The Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 is amended to reduce to $300 million the aggregate amount of awards and bonuses that may be paid by the VA in each of FY2016-FY2018.

]]> Veterans Health and Accountability Act Display Title Veterans Health and Accountability Act Official Title as Introduced To amend the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of 2014 to expand the Veterans Choice Program, to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the removal or demotion of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs based on performance or misconduct, and for other purposes. Introduced in House IH Short Titles as Introduced Veterans Health and Accountability Act Introduced in House 2015-11-03T05:00:00Z https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/BILLS-114hr3909ih/xml/BILLS-114hr3909ih.xml 2015-12-03 Referred to the Subcommittee on Health. text/xml EN Pursuant to Title 17 Section 105 of the United States Code, this file is not subject to copyright protection and is in the public domain. Congressional Research Service, Library of Congress This file contains bill summaries and statuses for federal legislation. A bill summary describes the most significant provisions of a piece of legislation and details the effects the legislative text may have on current law and federal programs. Bill summaries are authored by the Congressional Research Service (CRS) of the Library of Congress. As stated in Public Law 91-510 (2 USC 166 (d)(6)), one of the duties of CRS is "to prepare summaries and digests of bills and resolutions of a public general nature introduced in the Senate or House of Representatives". For more information, refer to the User Guide that accompanies this file.