[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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