[Congressional Record Volume 164, Number 124 (Tuesday, July 24, 2018)]
[House]
[Pages H7142-H7144]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]
VETERANS SERVING VETERANS ACT OF 2018
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and
pass the bill (H.R. 5938) to amend the VA Choice and Quality Employment
Act to direct the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a vacancy
and recruitment database to facilitate the recruitment of certain
members of the Armed Forces to satisfy the occupational needs of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, to establish and implement a training
and certification program for intermediate care technicians in that
Department, and for other purposes, as amended.
The Clerk read the title of the bill.
The text of the bill is as follows:
H.R. 5938
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 Serving Veterans
Act of 2018''.
SEC. 2. RECRUITMENT DATABASE.
(a) Establishment.--Section 208 of the VA Choice and
Quality Employment Act (Public Law 115-46; 38 U.S.C. 701
note) is amended as follows:
(1) In subsection (a)--
(A) in the matter proceeding paragraph (1), by striking ``a
single database'' and inserting ``and maintain a single
searchable database (to be known as the `Departments of
Defense and Veterans Affairs Recruitment Database')'';
(B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``; and'' and inserting a
semicolon;
(C) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the end and
inserting ``; and''; and
(D) by adding after paragraph (2) the following new
paragraph:
``(3) with respect to each vacant position under paragraphs
(1) and (2)--
``(A) the military occupational specialty or skill that
corresponds to the position, as determined by the Secretary,
in consultation with the Secretary of Defense; and
``(B) each qualified member of the Armed Forces who may be
recruited to fill the position before such qualified member
of the Armed Forces has been discharged and released from
active duty.''.
(2) By redesignating subsections (b), (c), and (d) as
subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively.
(3) By inserting after subsection (a) the following new
subsections:
``(b) Additional Information.--Subject to subsection (c),
the database established under subsection (a) shall include,
with respect to each qualified member of the Armed Forces,
the following information:
``(1) The name and contact information of the qualified
member of the Armed Forces.
``(2) The date on which the qualified member of the Armed
Forces is expected to be discharged and released from active
duty.
``(3) Each military occupational specialty currently or
previously assigned to the qualified member of the Armed
Forces.
``(c) Availability.--Information in the database shall be
available to offices, officials, and employees of the
Department of Veterans Affairs to the extent the Secretary of
Veterans Affairs determines appropriate.
``(d) Expedited Hiring Procedures.--The Secretary shall
hire qualified members of the Armed Forces who apply for
vacant positions listed in the database established under
subsection (a) without regard to the provisions of subchapter
I of chapter 33 of title 5, United States Code.
``(e) Relocation Bonus.--The Secretary may authorize a
relocation bonus, in an amount determined appropriate by the
Secretary and subject to the same limitations as in the case
of the authority provided under section 5753 of title 5, to
any qualified member of the Armed Forces who has accepted a
position listed in the database established under subsection
(a).''.
(4) In subsection (g)(1), as redesignated in paragraph (2),
by striking ``subsection (b)'' and inserting ``subsection
(g)''.
[[Page H7143]]
(5) In subsection (h), as redesignated in paragraph (2), by
striking ``of this Act'' and inserting ``of the Veterans
Serving Veterans Act of 2018, and annually thereafter''.
(6) By adding after subsection (h), as redesignated in
paragraph (2), the following new subsection:
``(i) Qualified Member of the Armed Forces Defined.--In
this section, the term `qualified member of the Armed Forces'
means a member of the Armed Forces--
``(1) described in section 1142(a) of title 10;
``(2) who elects to be listed in the database established
under subsection (a); and
``(3) who has been determined by the Secretary, in
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to have a
military occupational speciality that corresponds to a vacant
position described in subsection (a).''.
(b) Implementation Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the
date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Senate a plan to
implement, including a timeline, section 208 of the VA Choice
and Quality Employment Act (Public Law 115-46; 38 U.S.C. 701
note), as amended by this section.
SEC. 3. INTERMEDIATE CARE TECHNICIAN TRAINING PROGRAM.
(a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
implement a program to train and certify covered veterans to
work as intermediate care technicians in the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(b) Locations.--
(1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish centers
at medical facilities of the Department selected by the
Secretary for the purposes of carrying out the program under
subsection (a).
(2) Selection of medical facilities.--In selecting a
medical facility of the Department under this subsection to
serve as a center, the Secretary shall consider--
(A) the experience and success of the facility in training
intermediate care technicians; and
(B) the availability of resources of the facility to train
intermediate care technicians.
(c) Covered Veteran Defined.--In this section, the term
``covered veteran'' means a veteran whom the Secretary
determines served as a basic health care technician while
serving in the Armed Forces.
SEC. 4. NO AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out section 208 of the VA Choice and Quality Employment
Act (Public Law 115-46; 38 U.S.C. 701 note), as amended by
section 2 of this Act, or to carry out section 3 of this Act.
Such sections shall be carried out using amounts otherwise
authorized to be appropriated for such purpose.
SEC. 5. NO ADDITIONAL FUNDS AUTHORIZED.
No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to
carry out the requirements of this Act and the amendments
made by this Act. Such requirements shall be carried out
using amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from
Tennessee (Mr. Roe) and the gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) each
will control 20 minutes.
The Chair recognizes the gentleman from Tennessee.
General Leave
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all
Members have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their
remarks and insert extraneous material.
The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the
gentleman from Tennessee?
There was no objection.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may
consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 5938, as amended, the
Veterans Serving Veterans Act. This bill is sponsored by my friend and
fellow committee member, the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss
Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon).
Mr. Speaker, I am very grateful for her hard work and leadership on
this bill on behalf of our Nation's veterans in Puerto Rico and across
the country. The Veterans Serving Veterans Act contains two provisions
that would help alleviate staffing shortages at the Department of
Veterans Affairs medical facilities and create employment opportunities
for servicemembers separating from the Armed Forces.
First, it would expand VA's recruiting database to include
information about soon-to-be separated servicemembers whose military
training and experience match open positions within the VA healthcare
system. It is common sense.
Second, it would expand an existing pilot program that recruits
former medics to serve as intermediate care technicians in VA medical
facilities. We all know that, all other things being equal, veterans
prefer being seen and treated by their peers. This bill would create a
pathway for that to happen more often, while addressing the serious
recruitment issues that continue to hamper VA medical facilities coast
to coast.
Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to join me in supporting this
bill, and I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
Mr. Speaker, I rise in support of H.R. 5938, as amended, the Veterans
Serving Veterans Act of 2018.
Veterans exit the military with the highest quality of education and
experience in their respective fields. We, along with the private
sector, have worked diligently to ensure servicemembers are able to
translate their skills to the private industry. However, this bill
takes our efforts a step further by allowing the VA to create a
searchable vacancy and recruitment database containing each VA vacancy
and the corresponding military occupation code or skill that
corresponds to the positions.
The database will also allow interested servicemembers to opt in to
be included in the database, so that the VA may begin recruiting
transitioning servicemembers to fill vacant positions before their
discharges are complete.
In addition to the creation of the database, the bill also allows the
Secretary to create a pilot program to train servicemembers who served
as basic healthcare technicians while serving in the Armed Forces to be
trained as intermediate care technicians at the VHA.
By creating a pipeline from service to bedside, the VA can better
treat the 9 million veterans who depend on its services.
I appreciate the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico (Miss Gonzalez-Colon)
for her hard work on this bill, and I urge my colleagues to support it.
Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, before I yield to our next
speaker, I want to tell Members about this young woman. She represents
the island of Puerto Rico, and before one of the hurricanes hit, I
called her on the phone just moments before the hurricane. I was amazed
that I even got through.
Following that, we led a group. I came to visit the hospital and the
island of Puerto Rico, and the passion that she shows for the people
she represents, and the passion she shows for veterans, is second to
none.
I wanted to pass that along. I saw something in this young woman down
there that I had not seen before I visited her beautiful island.
Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentlewoman from Puerto Rico
(Miss Gonzalez-Colon), a member of the Veterans Affairs' Committee.
Miss GONZALEZ-COLON of Puerto Rico. Mr. Speaker, I thank Chairman Roe
for, first of all, visiting the island. This is the first time ever the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs ever visited Puerto Rico. I thank the
gentleman for that, for his leadership, and for his commitment, and the
ranking member's commitment, during the last months.
Mr. Speaker, I rise today to speak in support of my bill, H.R. 5938,
the Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2018. This bill seeks to alleviate
chronic staffing shortages that currently affect the Department of
Veterans Affairs, which hinders their ability to serve our veterans in
an effective and timely manner.
This issue never fails to come up during those meetings with veterans
residing in Puerto Rico and is often discussed by my colleagues here in
the House. H.R. 5938 seeks a remedial option to this issue by doing two
things.
First, amending section 208 of the VA Choice and Quality Employment
Act of 2017 to include the military occupational specialties of soon-
to-be discharged servicemembers that correspond to vacant positions at
the VA in the recruiting database, as well as servicemembers' contact
information and the date of discharge. Inclusion in the database is
completely optional for those servicemembers. If included, they will
potentially be matched for vacant positions at the VA that correspond
with the skills they acquired with the Department of Defense.
Second, the bill will also require the VA to implement a program to
train
[[Page H7144]]
and certify former Department of Defense healthcare technicians as
intermediate care technicians, ICTs, to address the large demand for
healthcare providers at the Veterans Health Administration.
These very skilled technicians trained by the DOD have difficulty
gaining employment in their field after separating from the Armed
Forces due to the lack of a certification. At the same time, the VHA
has a significant shortage of providers. The ICT program has a high
satisfaction rate and helps fill this void.
Servicemembers are a remarkable asset upon transitioning from the
Department of Defense. We should do everything we can do to foster this
transition and facilitate this opportunity to our men and women in
uniform to serve our veterans.
Mr. Speaker, I need to again thank Chairman Roe for his leadership.
For me, it is an honor to serve on this committee with a gentleman who
has this commitment and who works in a bipartisan manner with Ranking
Member Walz and Congressman Takano. I thank the gentlemen for their
support. It is an honor to improve so many bills like this with these
amendments.
Their leadership and assistance in moving this bill forward make us
all proud, so I urge all my colleagues to vote in favor of this bill.
{time} 1930
Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in passing
H.R. 5938, as amended, and I yield back the balance of my time.
Mr. ROE of Tennessee. Mr. Speaker, once again, I encourage all
Members to support H.R. 5938, as amended, and I yield back the balance
of my time
The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the
gentleman from Tennessee (Mr. Roe) that the House suspend the rules and
pass the bill, H.R. 5938, as amended.
The question was taken; and (two-thirds being in the affirmative) the
rules were suspended and the bill, as amended, was passed.
A motion to reconsider was laid on the table.
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