[Congressional Record Volume 161, Number 140 (Monday, September 28, 2015)]
[House]
[Pages H6268-H6269]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
WOUNDED WARRIORS FEDERAL LEAVE ACT OF 2015
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the
bill (H.R. 313) to amend title 5, United States Code, to provide leave
to any new Federal employee who is a veteran with a service-connected
disability rated at 30 percent or more for purposes of undergoing
medical treatment for such disability, and for other purposes.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 313
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 ``Wounded Warriors Federal
Leave Act of 2015''.
SEC. 2. ADDITIONAL LEAVE FOR FEDERAL EMPLOYEES WHO ARE
DISABLED VETERANS.
(a) In General.--Subchapter II of chapter 63 of title 5,
United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the
following:
``Sec. 6329. Disabled veteran leave
``(a) During the 12-month period beginning on the first day
of employment, any employee who is a veteran with a service-
connected disability rated at 30 percent or more is entitled
to leave, without loss or reduction in pay, for purposes of
undergoing medical treatment for such disability for which
sick leave could regularly be used.
``(b)(1) The leave credited to an employee under subsection
(a) may not exceed 104 hours.
``(2) Any leave credited to an employee pursuant to
subsection (a) that is not used during the 12-month period
described in such subsection may not be carried over and
shall be forfeited.
``(c) In order to verify that leave credited to an employee
pursuant to subsection (a) is used for treating a service-
connected disability, such employee shall submit to the head
of the employing agency certification, in such form and
manner as the Director of the Office of Personnel Management
may prescribe, that such employee used such leave for
purposes of being furnished treatment for such disability by
a health care provider.
``(d) In this section--
``(1) the term `employee' has the meaning given such term
in section 2105, and includes an officer or employee of the
United States Postal Service or of the Postal Regulatory
Commission;
``(2) the term `service-connected' has the meaning given
such term in section 101(16) of title 38; and
``(3) the term `veteran' has the meaning given such term in
section 101(2) of such title.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections for chapter
63 of title 5, United States Code, is amended by adding after
the item relating to section 6328 the following:
``6329. Disabled veteran leave.''.
(c) Application.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall apply with respect to any employee (as that term is
defined in section 6329(d)(1) of title 5, United States Code,
as added by subsection (a)) hired on or after the date that
is one year after the date of enactment of this Act.
(d) Regulations.--Not later than 9 months after the date of
enactment of this Act--
(1) the Director of the Office of Personnel Management
shall prescribe regulations with respect to the leave
provided by the amendment in subsection (a) for employees,
but not including employees of the United States Postal
Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission; and
(2) the Postmaster General shall prescribe regulations for
such leave with respect to officers and employees of the
United States Postal Service and the Postal Regulatory
Commission.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Michigan (Mr. Walberg) and the gentleman from Massachusetts (Mr. Lynch)
each will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Michigan.
General Leave
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members
may have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks
and include extraneous material on the bill under consideration.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Michigan?
There was no objection.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 313, the Wounded
Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015, sponsored by my colleague,
Congressman Stephen Lynch. This important piece of legislation supports
wounded warriors newly hired in the Federal Government.
The Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015 supports our disabled
veterans transitioning to civilian careers by providing sick leave for
medical treatments and appointments that are related to their service-
connected disability.
Mr. Speaker, this bipartisan legislation provides immediate access to
sick leave for any new Federal employee who is a veteran with a
service-connected disability rated at 30 percent or more for the
purposes of undergoing medical treatment for such disability.
Because Federal employees begin with a zero sick leave balance and
accrue sick leave over time, disabled veterans beginning civilian jobs
often have insufficient sick leave to attend medical appointments
required for treatment of their service-connected disabilities. This
bill provides our newly hired disabled veterans with immediate access
of up to 13 days for sick leave so that our disabled veterans do not
have to take unpaid leave to care for their service-connected injuries.
Mr. Speaker, H.R. 313 is supported by a number of veterans and
employee organizations, including the American Legion, Veterans of
Foreign Wars, and Federal Managers Association.
[[Page H6269]]
I commend Mr. Lynch for his leadership on this issue and for working
with Mr. Farenthold, Ranking Member Cummings, Mr. Connolly, and Ms.
Norton to bring this bipartisan legislation before the committee. I
also want to acknowledge Senators Tester, Moran, and Toomey for their
work on the Senate companion bill.
Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this important piece of
legislation.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. LYNCH. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in strong support of H.R. 313, the Wounded
Warriors Federal Leave Act of 2015.
I introduced this bipartisan legislation in January of this year, and
I am proud that it has now gained the support of over 30 Democratic and
Republican Members of Congress.
I also want to thank the gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg), for
his remarks and his support of this bill. At the outset, I would also
like to thank Chairman Jason Chaffetz and Ranking Member Elijah
Cummings along with the gentleman from Texas (Mr. Farenthold) and the
gentleman from Virginia (Mr. Connolly) of the House Oversight and
Government Reform Committee for their leadership in bringing H.R. 313
to the floor. I would also like to thank many of the veterans groups
and Federal unions and workforce organizations that have joined
together to endorse this legislation. They include the Veterans of
Foreign Wars, the American Legion, and the 31 unions and member
organizations that make up the Federal Postal Coalition.
Let me also commend Jennifer Hemingway of the majority staff for the
Oversight and Government Reform Committee and Lena Chang of the
Democratic staff for our committee for their great work on this bill.
Mr. Speaker, the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act will address a
problem faced by many wounded warriors who are transitioning to
civilian life through new careers in the Federal workforce. Currently,
a first-year Federal employee will begin his or her career with zero
sick leave in the event of a medical event. That is because under
current law, full-time Federal employees only earn 4 hours of paid sick
leave for each pay period that they work.
Obviously, starting from the beginning, they will have zero balance
in their sick leave bank--with a maximum of 104 hours of paid sick
leave that is available per year. Nevertheless, new employees start
with zero. While Federal workers are able to carry over unused annual
sick leave from year to year, they begin their first year on the job
with no sick leave whatsoever.
Now, this lack of initial leave for newly hired Federal workers is
particularly burdensome on those employees who are also wounded
warriors. These employees need to make regular visits to the VA to seek
medical treatment for post-traumatic stress disorder, traumatic brain
injury, and other service-connected disabilities, and they are quickly
forced to burn up any sick leave that they do accrue during their first
year at a Federal agency.
{time} 1530
Several wounded warriors who have transitioned to the Federal
workforce following their tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan and
other assignments have highlighted this difficulty during discussions
with me and my staff.
These workers reported that, without sufficient leave during their
first year on the job, they were routinely faced with the difficult
choice between having to take a day off work without pay or simply
skipping their scheduled VA appointments altogether. Some wounded
warriors reported that the closest VA facility to their job was located
a 2- or 3-hour drive away.
As additionally noted by the Federal Managers Association: ``Young
men and women struggle with available leave as they attempt to keep
service-related, medically-necessary appointments, which puts undue
stress on both managers and their Federal employees as they try to meet
their Congressionally-mandated missions and goals.''
Mr. Speaker, we must afford our wounded warriors the flexibility to
receive medical care as they transition to serving our Nation in a new
capacity, through a Federal civilian job. The Wounded Warriors Federal
Leave Act would do just that.
This bill will provide first-year Federal employees who have a VA
disability rating of 30 percent or greater with 104 hours of wounded
warrior leave from the moment they begin their Federal workforce
careers. This includes eligible new hires at our Nation's largest
employer of veterans--the Defense Department--as well as the United
States Postal Service.
H.R. 313 also recognizes that these dedicated Federal workers will
have accumulated up to 104 hours of traditional sick leave by the end
of their first year on the job. That is why the bill also provides that
any unused wounded warrior leave would not carry over beyond the second
year.
The Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act will also provide critical
importance, given that the most recent Federal data on veterans
employment indicates that Federal agencies are hiring a growing number
of veterans each year. In fiscal year 2014, nearly 60,000, or 33.2
percent, of new hires at Federal agencies were veterans. That is an
increase of 9.2 percent over fiscal year 2009.
With the number of our young people who have served multiple tours of
duty--three, four, five tours of duty in Iraq and Afghanistan--this is
especially important. Approximately 16,000 of newly Federal employees
were wounded warriors with a disability rating of 30 percent or
greater.
Again, I am thankful to Mr. Chaffetz, Mr. Walberg, Mr. Cummings, and
Mr. Connolly. And, also, I want to thank Mr. Tester. When we sent this
bill over to the Senate looking for a cosponsor in the Senate, Senator
Tester was quick to step up and take on this fight in the Senate. I
want to thank him for his work on this bill in the Senate side.
In closing, I urge all our Members to vote in favor of H.R. 313.
I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. WALBERG. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
I truly thank Congressman Lynch for his leadership on this issue. It
is an issue not only whose time has come, but probably should have come
long before this. It is a great idea that deals with the reality of
what we face in dealing with wounded warriors and their ongoing success
that this country--a grateful country--ought to be involved with
encouraging.
I urge the adoption of the bill.
I yield back the balance of my time.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Michigan (Mr. Walberg) that the House suspend the rules
and pass the bill, H.R. 313.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
____________________