[Congressional Record Volume 167, Number 85 (Monday, May 17, 2021)]
[House]
[Pages H2362-H2363]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




      VA EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COUNSELOR MODERNIZATION ACT

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I move to suspend the rules and pass the 
bill (H.R. 2788) to amend title 38, United States Code, to eliminate 
the cap on full-time employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs 
who provide equal employment opportunity counseling.
  The Clerk read the title of the bill.
  The text of the bill is as follows:

                               H.R. 2788

       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 ``VA Equal Employment 
     Opportunity Counselor Modernization Act''.

     SEC. 2. ELIMINATION OF CAP ON FULL-TIME EMPLOYEES OF THE 
                   DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS WHO PROVIDE 
                   EQUAL EMPLOYMENT OPPORTUNITY COUNSELING.

       (a) In General.--Section 516 of title 38, United States 
     Code, is amended--
       (1) by striking subsection (g); and
       (2) by redesignating subsection (h) as subsection (g).
       (b) Report.--Not later than 60 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 
     Senate and House of Representatives a report regarding the 
     effect of the amendment under subsection (a).

  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to the rule, the gentleman from 
California (Mr. Takano) and the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) each 
will control 20 minutes.
  The Chair recognizes the gentleman from California.


                             General Leave

  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I ask unanimous consent that all Members may 
have 5 legislative days in which to revise and extend their remarks and 
to insert extraneous material on H.R. 2788.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Is there objection to the request of the 
gentleman from California?
  There was no objection.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I am pleased to support Representative Lamb's bipartisan 
legislation, the VA Equal Employment Opportunity Counselor 
Modernization Act, which is cosponsored by Representative Mann.
  This bill would help the Department address diversity and equity 
issues within VA's workforce. It removes a portion of a 1997 law that 
limits the number of VA counselors who can advise employees on equal 
employment opportunity issues, provides alternative dispute resolution, 
and helps process formal complaints.
  VA's workforce has roughly doubled in size since the 1997 law was 
enacted, and VA requested for the limit to be removed to allow the 
Department to hire additional counselors to support the needs of a 
large and still growing workforce.
  Our Oversight and Investigations Subcommittee recently held a hearing 
to examine important steps to address workforce diversity and inclusion 
at VA. At this hearing, the subcommittee, once again, learned how 
important these counselors are. This bill builds off that oversight and 
will assist VA's efforts to support its workforce, which serves 
veterans every single day.
  Mr. Speaker, I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this 
legislation, and I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I yield myself such time as I may consume.
  Mr. Speaker, I rise today in support of H.R. 2788, the VA Equal 
Employment Opportunity Counselor Modernization Act.
  Current law prohibits VA from having more than 40 full-time EEO 
counselors. With a workforce of around 400,000, that is only one 
counselor for every 10,000 employees.
  This arbitrary cap has hamstrung VA, and we have heard from the 
Department and stakeholders that the lack of counselors prevents VA 
from addressing complaints quickly. H.R. 2788 would remove this cap and 
finally allow VA to rightsize its need for EEO counselors.
  I thank Congressman Conor Lamb and Ranking Member Tracey Mann for 
introducing and leading this commonsense legislation. I am pleased to 
support it this afternoon.
  Mr. Speaker, I reserve the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I yield 3 minutes to the gentleman from 
Pennsylvania (Mr. Lamb), my good friend and the author of this 
bipartisan legislation, H.R. 2788; and a member of the House Committee 
on Veterans' Affairs.
  Mr. LAMB. Mr. Speaker, I think the key term that Ranking Member Bost 
used was ``common sense.'' That can sometimes be in short supply around 
here.
  When we found out that the VA has roughly the same number of EEOC 
counselors today--38--that it had in 1997, you ask yourself the simple 
question: Well, what else has happened at the VA since that time?
  Their workforce has nearly doubled. Since 1997, the VA has become one 
of the largest Federal agencies, with a workforce of over 400,000 
people, which means those same 38 EEOC counselors are handling roughly 
double the amount of complaints of unfair and illegal discrimination 
today that they were in 1997.
  See, the law placed an artificial cap on the number of counselors, 
but it did not place a cap on the amount of unjust discrimination in 
our society. That has continued. If anything, the last year has shown 
us how deep and intransigent racial discrimination, sex discrimination, 
and other illegal forms of discrimination remain in our society and how 
we have to take active steps to dismantle them wherever we find them.
  Unfair and illegal discrimination exists at the VA. It doesn't make 
me proud to say it as a veteran, as a lawmaker, as a public servant, 
but it exists there just like it exists everywhere else. These folks 
know how to deal with it. They know how to listen. They know how to 
make the employees feel like they have a safe place to go and tell 
their side of the story. They know how to stick up for these employees 
who are giving their careers to helping our veterans.
  All we need to do is lift the cap, and the VA will hire EEOC 
counselors who can do their job effectively and take care of those who 
are taking care of our veterans every day.
  Mr. BOST. Mr. Speaker, I encourage my colleagues to support this 
bill, and I yield back the balance of my time.
  Mr. TAKANO. Mr. Speaker, I, again, urge all of my colleagues to join 
me in

[[Page H2363]]

passing this important piece of legislation, H.R. 2788.
  Mr. Speaker, I yield back the balance of my time.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. The question is on the motion offered by the 
gentleman from California (Mr. Takano) that the House suspend the rules 
and pass the bill, H.R. 2788.
  The question was taken.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. In the opinion of the Chair, two-thirds 
being in the affirmative, the ayes have it.
  Mr. ROSENDALE. Mr. Speaker, on that I demand the yeas and nays.
  The SPEAKER pro tempore. Pursuant to section 3(s) of House Resolution 
8, the yeas and nays are ordered.
  Pursuant to clause 8 of rule XX, further proceedings on this motion 
are postponed.

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