[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 119 (Monday, July 16, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H6213-H6215]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




        VETERANS PROVIDING HEALTHCARE TRANSITION IMPROVEMENT ACT

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (S. 899) to amend title 38, United States Code, to ensure that the 
requirements that new Federal employees who are veterans with service-
connected disabilities are provided leave for purposes of undergoing 
medical treatment for such disabilities apply to certain employees of 
the Veterans Health Administration, and for other purposes, as amended.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                                 S. 899

       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 ``Veterans Providing 
     Healthcare Transition Improvement Act''.

     SEC. 2. DISABLED VETERAN LEAVE FOR HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS 
                   IN VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION.

       (a) In General.--Section 6329(d)(1) of title 5, United 
     States Code, is amended to read as follows:
       ``(1) the term `employee' has the meaning given such term 
     in section 2105, and includes--
       ``(A) an officer or employee of the United States Postal 
     Service or the Postal Regulatory Commission; and
       ``(B) notwithstanding subsection (a) of section 7421 of 
     title 38, an individual occupying a position listed in 
     subsection (b) of such section;''.

[[Page H6214]]

       (b) Applicability.--With respect to a position listed in 
     section 7421(b) of title 38, United States Code, the 
     amendment made by subsection (a) shall apply to any 
     individual appointed to such a position on or after the date 
     of enactment of this Act.

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
North Carolina (Mr. Walker) and the gentleman from Maryland (Mr. 
Sarbanes) each will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from North Carolina.


                             General Leave

  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members 
have 5 legislative days 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 North Carolina?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of S. 899, the Veterans Providing 
Healthcare Transition Improvement Act introduced by the junior Senator 
from Hawaii.
  S. 899 is the Senate version of H.R. 2648 introduced by the gentleman 
from Ohio (Mr. Stivers). In 2015, Congress enacted the Wounded Warriors 
Federal Leave Act. The Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act provides 104 
hours of paid sick leave to newly employed veterans with a service-
connected disability rating of 30 percent or more.
  The sick leave is used to attend medical treatment related to the 
service-connected disability and must be used within 12 months of 
beginning employment. The law, however, did not explicitly apply to 
veterans hired into certain medical occupations at the Department of 
Veterans Affairs.
  When the VA has applied the provisions of the act to these 
occupations, this bill would ensure new veterans hired in these 
positions continue to receive paid sick leave to treat their service-
connected disability.
  Mr. Speaker, I would like to thank the gentleman from Ohio (Mr. 
Stivers) for sponsoring the House version of this bill and for his 
dedication to caring for our Nation's veterans. I would also like to 
thank Chairman  David Roe and his staff at the House Committee on 
Veterans' Affairs for working with us to bring this bill to the floor.
  I urge my colleagues to support the bill, and I reserve the balance 
of my time.

                                         House of Representatives,


                                Committee on Veterans Affairs,

                                    Washington, DC, June 19, 2018.
     Hon. Trey Gowdy,
     Chairman, Committee on Oversight and Government Reform, 
         Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: I am writing to you concerning H.R. 
     2648, the ``Veterans Transition Improvement Act,'' and its 
     Senate companion, S. 899. There are provisions in the 
     legislation that fall within the jurisdiction of the 
     Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
       In the interest of permitting your committee to proceed 
     expeditiously to floor consideration of this legislation, I 
     am willing to waive this committee's right to sequential 
     referral. I do so with the understanding that by waiving 
     consideration of the bills, the Committee on Veterans' 
     Affairs does not waive any future jurisdictional claim over 
     the subject matters contained in the bills which fall within 
     its jurisdiction. I also request that you urge the Speaker to 
     name members of this committee to any conference committee 
     which is named to consider such provisions.
       Please place this letter into the committee report on H.R. 
     2648 and into the Congressional Record during consideration 
     of this legislation on the House floor.
           Sincerely,
                                               David P. Roe, M.D.,
     Chairman.
                                  ____

         House of Representatives, Committee on Oversight and 
           Government Reform,
                                    Washington, DC, June 20, 2018.
     Hon. David P. Roe, M.D.,
     Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
     House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
       Dear Mr. Chairman: On May 23, 2018, the Committee on 
     Oversight and Government Reform ordered reported H.R. 2648, 
     the Veterans Transition Improvement Act with an amendment, by 
     voice vote. The bill was referred primarily to the Committee 
     on Veterans' Affairs with an additional referral to the 
     Committee on Oversight and Government Reform. Based on our 
     previous consultation, we intend to request S. 899--the 
     Senate companion to H.R. 2648--be scheduled for floor 
     consideration.
       To expedite floor consideration, I ask that you forego 
     further consideration of H.R. 2648. This in no way affects 
     your jurisdiction over the subject matter of the bill, and it 
     will not serve as precedent for future referrals. In 
     addition, should a conference on the bill be necessary, I 
     would support your request to have the Committee on Veterans' 
     Affairs represented on the conference committee. Finally, I 
     would be pleased to include this letter and any response in 
     the bill report filed by the Committee on Oversight and 
     Government Reform on H.R. 2648, as well as in the 
     Congressional Record during floor consideration of S. 899, to 
     memorialize our understanding.
       Thank you for your consideration of my request.
           Sincerely,
                                                       Trey Gowdy.

  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  I want to thank Representatives Stivers and Takano for their 
sponsorship of this much needed bipartisan bill, which would expand, as 
you heard, coverage of Representative Stephen Lynch's Wounded Warriors 
Federal Leave Act to newly hired healthcare veterans at the Veterans 
Health Administration.
  Approximately one-third of VA's new hires are veterans. It is no 
surprise that veterans who leave military service want to continue to 
serve this country and the American people. We are grateful that these 
brave men and women, many of whom are wounded themselves, choose to 
devote their civilian careers to taking care of their fellow wounded 
warriors.
  The bill would provide newly hired doctors, nurses, physician 
assistants, dentists, optometrists, and chiropractors at the VHA who 
have service-connected disabilities with 104 hours of sick leave during 
their first year of employment to take care of their medical 
conditions.
  This is a very good bill that I urge my colleagues to support, and I 
reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I yield 5 minutes to the gentleman from Ohio 
(Mr. Stivers), the champion of this bill and the sponsor of its House 
companion.
  Mr. STIVERS. Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 899, the 
Veterans Providing Healthcare Transition Improvement Act.
  I thank the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), for helping me, 
being the lead Democrat on this. This is bipartisan and bicameral 
legislation. Senator Hirono is the sponsor in the Senate. We are the 
sponsors in the House.
  But, Mr. Speaker, it is great to have a veteran in the chair today. 
Mr. Speaker, as a brigadier general in the Ohio Army National Guard, I 
know firsthand the incredible sacrifices that our veterans have made in 
the service of our country. We owe it to them to provide them time when 
they come home to deal with the things they need to work on, their 
medical and other conditions.
  In 2015, the Wounded Warriors Federal Leave Act was signed into law, 
which was great. It gave sick leave to people that are newly hired 
Federal employees, rather than waiting on that leave to accrue, if they 
had a disability rating, a service-connected disability rating of 30 
percent of more. Unfortunately, that bill did not extend those benefits 
to title 38 employees.

                              {time}  1645

  Those are VA employees, like physicians, physician assistants, 
registered nurses, chiropractors, podiatrists, optometrists, and 
dentists. They are healthcare providers themselves. It is no small 
number of employees. In fact, as we sit here, there are over 14,000 
vacancies in title 38 jobs. That means up to 14,000 people can benefit 
from this bill.
  Again, it is bipartisan. It is a simple change that allows these 
title 38 veteran employees to get leave to deal with their wounded 
warrior conditions rather than waiting for that leave to accrue over 
time. It is a bipartisan bill. I thank Mr. Takano for that.
  A lot of veteran organizations have supported it: the National 
Association of VA Physicians and Dentists, the Nurses Organization of 
Veterans Affairs, the American Legion, the VFW, Paralyzed Veterans of 
America, Disabled American Veterans, Association of the United States 
Navy, American Federation of Government Employees, National Federation 
of Federal Employees, Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America, AMVETS, 
and the Federal Managers Association.

[[Page H6215]]

  I thank the House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, the 
gentleman from North Carolina, the gentleman from Maryland, and the 
chairman from South Carolina for their hard work on this. I also want 
to thank the Veterans' Affairs Committee and the gentleman from 
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) for their expertise as they worked through this 
bill. I thank the sponsors of the Senate legislation, and I thank 
Representative Takano for joining me in this important effort.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge my colleagues to support this commonsense, 
bipartisan legislation.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to yield 5 minutes to the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano), one of the sponsors of this 
very, very important bill.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I thank the gentleman for yielding.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of S. 899, the Veterans 
Providing Healthcare Transition Improvement Act, which extends paid 
sick leave benefits for veteran employees with service-connected 
disabilities in their first year of work at the Department of Veterans 
Affairs.
  As the lead Democrat on this bill, I thank my colleague 
Representative  Steve Stivers from Ohio for his bipartisan leadership 
on this issue. And let me hasten to add, I do enjoy the work that we do 
together as founders and co-chairs of the bipartisan Congressional 
Maker Caucus, bringing to the attention of the Congress advanced 
manufacturing technologies.
  But back to the issue at hand.
  Mr. Speaker, I also thank Senator Mazie Hirono for taking the lead on 
this important issue in the Senate.
  Veterans who choose to provide their medical skills and expertise to 
serve other veterans at the Department of Veterans Affairs should not 
have to take a leave of absence to receive the care that they need. By 
improving the Wounded Warrior Federal Leave Act to extend benefits to 
wounded warriors working at the VA, we will help veterans who need to 
take time off to get their own medical care.
  This will also help in hiring and recruiting what are known as title 
38 employees at the VA. This group of employees includes physicians, 
physician assistants, registered nurses, chiropractors, podiatrists, 
optometrists, and dentists.
  According to 2018 data from the Veterans Health Administration, there 
are over 14,000 title 38 vacancies nationwide. We must make it a 
priority to fill these vacancies to ensure that the VA is well staffed 
and capable of providing veterans with the services that they need. 
Extending benefits to title 38 employees at the VA can help with the 
recruitment and hiring of veterans who want to continue helping other 
veterans.
  Veterans working at the VA already make incredible sacrifices to help 
their fellow veterans. Their paychecks should not be one of them. This 
is why I urge my colleagues to stand with our veterans and support this 
legislation.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I have no additional speakers, and I reserve 
the balance of my time.
  Mr. SARBANES. Mr. Speaker, I urge the passage of S. 899, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  Mr. WALKER. Mr. Speaker, I urge adoption of the bill, and I yield 
back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore (Mr. Francis Rooney of Florida). The question 
is on the motion offered by the gentleman from North Carolina (Mr. 
Walker) that the House suspend the rules and pass the bill, S. 899, as 
amended.
  The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the 
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
  The title of the bill was amended so as to read: ``An Act to amend 
title 5, United States Code, to ensure that the requirements that new 
Federal employees who are veterans with service-connected disabilities 
are provided leave for purposes of undergoing medical treatment for 
such disabilities apply to certain employees of the Veterans Health 
Administration.''.
  A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.

                          ____________________