[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2419 Introduced in Senate (IS)]

113th CONGRESS
  2d Session
                                S. 2419

 To protect America's veterans from dishonesty and malfeasance in the 
  delivery of medical services and to hold the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs accountable to those they serve.


_______________________________________________________________________


                   IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES

                              June 3, 2014

  Mr. Toomey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and 
             referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
 To protect America's veterans from dishonesty and malfeasance in the 
  delivery of medical services and to hold the Department of Veterans 
                Affairs accountable to those they serve.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``VA Accountability Act of 2014''.

SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.

    In this Act:
            (1) Health information.--The term ``health information'' 
        means any information, whether oral or recorded in any form or 
        medium, that relates to--
                    (A) the past, present, or future physical or mental 
                health or condition of an individual;
                    (B) the provision of health care to an individual; 
                or
                    (C) the past, present, or future payment for the 
                provision of health care to an individual.
            (2) VA health record.--The term ``VA health record'' means 
        any item, collection, or grouping of information about an 
        individual that is maintained by the Department of Veterans 
        Affairs and that contains or relates to the health information 
        of the individual.

SEC. 3. PROHIBITED ACTS.

    It shall be a violation of this Act for any officer, employee, or 
agent of the Department of Veterans Affairs to--
            (1) knowingly falsify any health information in the VA 
        health record of an individual;
            (2) knowingly destroy any health information or exclude any 
        health information from the VA health record of an individual 
        with the intent to defraud--
                    (A) the individual;
                    (B) an employee or officer of the United States 
                Government; or
                    (C) a Member of Congress;
            (3) direct another individual to commit conduct described 
        in paragraph (1) or (2); or
            (4) know of the commission of conduct described in 
        paragraph (1), (2), or (3) by an individual under his or her 
        supervision, and fail to stop, if possible, or report to a 
        superior the commission of that conduct.

SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION AND REMEDIES.

    (a) Cause of Action.--
            (1) In general.--An individual aggrieved by a violation of 
        this Act by an officer, employee, or agent of the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs may bring a civil action against the officer, 
        employee, or agent in an appropriate district court of the 
        United States for damages or other legal or equitable relief.
            (2) Considerations.--In determining whether to award 
        compensatory damages or restitution in a civil action brought 
        under this section and in calculating the amount of any such 
        damages, the court--
                    (A) shall consider the amount of benefits the 
                officer, employee, or agent is entitled to collect from 
                the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to service 
                for the Department, including retirement benefits; and
                    (B) may include the amount of those benefits, or a 
                percentage of the amount of those benefits, in 
                calculating the amount of any damages awarded.
    (b) Attorneys' Fees and Expert Fees.--
            (1) Attorneys' fees.--In a civil action brought under this 
        section, the court, in its discretion, may award to the 
        prevailing party, other than the United States, reasonable 
        attorneys' fees.
            (2) Expert fees.--In awarding attorneys' fees under this 
        subsection, the court, in its discretion, may include fees 
        related to the hiring of experts as part of the attorneys' fees 
        awarded.
    (c) No Preemption.--The rights and remedies created by this section 
shall be in addition to, and do not preempt, any other rights and 
remedies available under Federal or State law.

SEC. 5. EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS.

    Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including title 5, 
United States Code, or any contract, on and at any time after the date 
on which a court enters final judgment in an action brought under 
section 4 in which the court determines that the officer, employee, or 
agent violated this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may, without 
prior notice--
            (1) terminate the officer, employee, or agent without 
        cause; and
            (2) may terminate any or all of the benefits of the 
        officer, employee, or agent relating to service as an officer, 
        employee, or agent, including retirement benefits, without 
        cause.

SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.

    This Act shall apply to conduct committed before, on, or after the 
date of the enactment of this Act.
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