[Congressional Bills 118th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6531 Introduced in House (IH)]

<DOC>






118th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 6531

   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a training 
 program for certain senior executives and supervisors employed by the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                           November 30, 2023

  Mr. Pappas (for himself and Mr. Van Orden) introduced the following 
     bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
   To direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to develop a training 
 program for certain senior executives and supervisors employed by the 
                    Department of Veterans Affairs.

    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 ``Training Responsible And Informed 
National VA Employees Act'' or the ``TRAIN VA Employees Act''.

SEC. 2. TRAINING PROGRAM FOR CERTAIN SENIOR EXECUTIVES AND SUPERVISORS.

    (a) Program Required.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
develop a training program for all covered employees. Such training 
shall be mandatory for all such covered employees and for any 
individual who is hired to be such an covered employee.
    (b) Consultation.--In developing the training required under 
subsection (a), the Secretary shall consult with the heads of at least 
three other Federal departments and agencies, including the Department 
of Defense, to gather information about how such departments and 
agencies approach management training.
    (c) Current Employees.--Any individual who as of the date of the 
enactment of this Act is an covered employee shall be required, as a 
condition of continued employment at the Department of Veterans 
Affairs, to complete the training program developed under subsection 
(a) by not later than 18 months after the date of the enactment of this 
Act.
    (d) Refresher Training.--The Secretary shall develop a refresher 
training program for the program required under subsection (a), and 
each covered employee shall be required, as a condition of continued 
employment at the Department of Veterans Affairs, to complete such 
refresher training once every two years.
    (e) Design of Training.--The training program required under 
subsection (a) shall be designed using principles of adult learning and 
industry standard instructional design. To the extent practicable, the 
training shall--
            (1) be instructor-based and provided in-person; and
            (2) focus on--
                    (A) developing and discussing relevant performance 
                goals and objectives with the employees they supervise;
                    (B) communicating and discussing employees' 
                progress relative to performance goals and objectives, 
                and conducting performance appraisals;
                    (C) mentoring and motivating employees and 
                improving employee engagement, performance, and 
                productivity;
                    (D) effectively managing employees with 
                unacceptable performance, including training to 
                understand the disciplinary options and procedures 
                available to the supervisor;
                    (E) prohibited personnel practices, employee 
                rights, and the procedures and processes used to 
                enforce employee rights;
                    (F) effectively using the probationary period to 
                examine whether an employee has demonstrated successful 
                performance or conduct to continue past the 
                probationary period;
                    (G) addressing reports of a hostile work 
                environment, retaliation, or harassment of, or by, 
                another supervisor or employee;
                    (H) collaborating with human resources employees to 
                recruit, select, appraise, and reward employees to 
                build a workforce based on organizational goals, budget 
                considerations, and staffing needs; and
                    (I) carrying out the duties or responsibilities of 
                a supervisor.
    (f) Covered Employee Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered 
employee'' means an employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who 
is--
            (1) a supervisor (as defined in section 7103(a) of title 5, 
        United States Code); or
            (2) a covered individual under section 713 of title 38, 
        United States Code.
                                 <all>