[House Report 115-871]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]


115th Congress    }                                 {         Report
                        HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
 2d Session       }                                 {         115-871

======================================================================



 
                 VETERANS SERVING VETERANS ACT OF 2018

                                _______
                                

 July 24, 2018.--Committed to the Committee of the Whole House on the 
              State of the Union and ordered to be printed

                                _______
                                

    Mr. Roe of Tennessee, from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, 
                        submitted the following

                              R E P O R T

                        [To accompany H.R. 5938]

      [Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office]

    The Committee on Veterans' Affairs, to whom was referred 
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, having considered the same, report favorably 
thereon with an amendment and recommend that the bill as 
amended do pass.

                                CONTENTS

                                                                   Page
Purpose and Summary..............................................     3
Background and Need for Legislation..............................     3
Hearings.........................................................     5
Subcommittee Consideration.......................................     6
Committee Consideration..........................................     6
Committee Votes..................................................     6
Committee Oversight Findings.....................................     6
Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives............     6
New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures     6
Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits.............................     7
Committee Cost Estimate..........................................     7
Congressional Budget Office Estimate.............................     7
Federal Mandates Statement.......................................     8
Advisory Committee Statement.....................................     8
Constitutional Authority Statement...............................     8
Applicability to Legislative Branch..............................     8
Statement on Duplication of Federal Programs.....................     8
Disclosure of Directed Rulemaking................................     9
Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation...................     9
Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported.............     9

    The amendment is as follows:
  Strike all after the enacting clause and insert the 
following:

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 of 2017 (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)''.
          (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 of 
2017 (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 of 2017 (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.

                          Purpose and Summary

    H.R. 5938, as amended, the Veterans Serving Veterans Act, 
would alleviate staff shortages and provide employment 
opportunities in the Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA's) for 
transitioning and separated servicemembers. Representative 
Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico introduced H.R. 5938 on 
May 23, 2018.

                  Background and Need for Legislation


Section 2. Recruitment database

    The Veterans Health Administration (VHA), which manages and 
oversees the VA healthcare system, is currently facing staffing 
shortages in many critical-need occupations nationwide.\1\ 
These shortages exist for both clinical occupations, like 
physicians and nurses, and non-clinical positions, like human 
resource officers and law enforcement personnel.\2\ They are 
exacerbated by the arduous hiring process utilized by VA, which 
often results in a significant time lag between the need for 
and the filling of a position.\3\ In recognition of this, the 
Committee has taken a number of actions to improve VHA's 
ability to recruit and retain needed health professionals and 
support staff to fill shortage areas. For example, section 208 
of the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 (Public Law 
115-46; 131 STAT. 958) established a recruiting database within 
VHA. The database lists each vacant position within VHA that VA 
determines is critical, is difficult to fill, or both. It also 
contains information on qualified individuals who applied for a 
position within VHA and were not chosen but could be qualified 
for similar positions elsewhere in VHA. The Committee's intent 
with establishing this database is to assist VHA in more 
quickly identifying potential qualified applicants for vacant 
positions.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \1\VA Office of the Inspector General 18-01693-196, June 2018, 
``OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration's Occupational 
Staffing Shortages,'' https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-18-01693-
196.pdf.
    \2\Ibid.
    \3\United States Cong. House Committee on Veterans' Affairs 
Subcommittee on Health. ``Healthy Hiring: Enabling VA to Recruit and 
Retain Quality Providers'' March 22, 2017. 115th Cong. 1st sess. 
Washington: GPO, 2017 (testimony of Robert Goldenkoff, Director, 
Strategic Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office)
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Each year thousands of former servicemembers from all 
branches of the Armed Services separate from the Department of 
Defense (DOD).\4\ Despite the extensive training and experience 
these transitioning servicemembers received while in the 
military, they often do not possess a civilian certificate 
allowing them to continue in the occupations for which they 
were trained once they have separated from DOD.\5\ As a result, 
some experience a period of unemployment, as evidenced by a 
2017 report from the Bureau of Labor Statistics which found 
that post-9/11 veterans had a higher unemployment rate (4.5 
percent) when compared to non-veterans (4.1 percent).\6\ 
Congress acted in the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 (Public 
Law 112-56; 125 STAT. 713) to require federal agencies to treat 
servicemembers who are separating from the Armed Services 
within 120 days and applying for a position within a federal 
agency as veterans to encourage transitioning servicemembers to 
seek government employment. However, the Committee believes 
that establishing an improved process for VA to identify 
separating service members with skills sets and experience that 
match those needed within VHA will be useful to both overcoming 
VA's staffing challenges and assisting transitioning 
servicemembers. This is particularly important given that 
employment soon following separation from the military has been 
found to be beneficial for veterans from both a financial and 
psychological perspective.\7\ Section 2 of the bill would 
require VA to identify military occupational specialties that 
correlate with positions that VA needs and to coordinate with 
DOD to identify soon-to-be separated servicemembers with those 
military occupational specialties and to add such 
servicemembers information to the recruiting database that 
Congress previously established.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \4\Brock, D, Bolon S, Wick K, et al: ``The military veteran 
physician assistant pathway: building the primary care workforce.'' 
Acad Med 2013; 88(12): 1890-4
    \5\Watts, B, Lawrence, RH, Schaub, K, et al: ``Transitioning former 
military medics to civilian health care jobs: a novel pilot program to 
integrate medics into ambulatory care teams for high-risk patients.'' 
Military Medicine 2016; Vol 181 (November/December): 1464-69
    \6\Employment Situation of Veterans--2017; Bureau of Labor 
Statistics report, March 22, 2018; https://www.bls.gov/news.release/
pdf/vet.pdf
    \7\Blakely, T, Collins, S, Atkinson, J; ``Unemployment and suicide. 
Evidence for a causal association?''; Journal of Epidemiology and 
Community Health; 2003; 57: 594-600
---------------------------------------------------------------------------

Section 3. Intermediate care technician training program

    As established above, VA has a number of staffing shortages 
in critical-need clinical occupations.\8\ The Committee 
believes that some of these shortages could be addressed by 
improved recruiting of transitioning servicemembers with 
relevant experience in the health professions. In 2014, VHA 
instituted a pilot program to recruit, train, and utilize 
veterans who served as medics in the military as Intermediate 
Care Technicians (ICTs) in VA medical facilities.\9\ National 
survey data demonstrated a 100% satisfaction rate among 
veterans who were cared for by ICTs.\10\ Furthermore, a recent 
study at a VA medical facility demonstrated that ICTs working 
in VA emergency departments decreased per patient time by 40 
minutes, suggesting that greater utilization of ICTs could 
result in greater access and higher productivity.\11\ ICTs earn 
an annual salary of $43,000.\12\ An informal analysis by VA 
estimates that, if only 1% of the clinical shortages were 
filled with an ICT, VA could potentially realize savings of 
approximately $40 million over five years.\13\
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    \8\VA Office of the Inspector General 18-01693-196, June 2018, 
``OIG Determination of Veterans Health Administration's Occupational 
Staffing Shortages,'' https://www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-18-01693-
196.pdf.
    \9\Ibid
    \10\Veterans Affairs ICT informational Brief provided to House 
Committee on Veterans Affairs, January 16, 2018
    \11\Ibid
    \12\Federalpay.org; https://www.federalpay.org/gs/2018/GS-7; 
accessed 7-18-2018
    \13\Data provided by Louis B. Stokes Veterans Affairs Medical 
Center to House Committee Veterans Affairs; January 22, 2018
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
    The Committee is fully supportive of veterans working in VA 
medical facilities as ICTs. As such, section 3 of the bill 
would require VA to implement an expanded program to recruit, 
train, and certify former military medics as ICTs. The 
Committee believes this will serve to reduce health 
professional shortages within VA, reduce veteran unemployment 
by allowing former DOD health care providers to utilize their 
training and experience after serving in the military, and 
improve veteran access to VA care.

                                Hearings

    On June 13, 2018, the Subcommittee on Health conducted a 
legislative hearing on a number of bills including H.R. 5938.
    The following witnesses testified:
          The Honorable Vicky Hartzler, U.S. House of 
        Representatives, 4th District, Missouri; The Honorable 
        Marcy Kaptur, U.S. House of Representatives, 9th 
        District, Ohio; The Honorable Matt Cartwright, U.S. 
        House of Representatives,17th District, Pennsylvania; 
        The Honorable Clay Higgins, U.S. House of 
        Representatives, 3rd District, Louisiana; The Honorable 
        Mike Bost, U.S. House of Representatives, 12th 
        District, Illinois; The Honorable Jeff Denham, U.S. 
        House of Representatives, 10th District, California; 
        The Honorable Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon, U.S. House of 
        Representatives, Puerto Rico; The Honorable Brad 
        Wenstrup, U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd District, 
        Ohio; Roscoe Butler, Deputy Director for Health Care, 
        Veterans Affairs and Rehabilitation, The American 
        Legion; Jeremy Villanueva, Associate National 
        Legislative Director, Disabled American Veterans; Kayda 
        Keleher, Associate Director, National Legislative 
        Service, Veterans of Foreign Wars of the United States; 
        and Jessica Bonjorni MBA, PMP, SPHR, Acting Assistant 
        Deputy Under Secretary for Health for Workforce 
        Services, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. 
        Department of Veterans Affairs, who was accompanied by 
        Dayna Cooper MSN, RN, Director, Home and Community-
        Based Programs, Veterans Health Administration, U.S. 
        Department of Veterans Affairs.
    Statements for the record were submitted by:
          American Orthotic and Prosthetic Association, 
        Paralyzed Veterans of America, and Military Officers 
        Association of America.

                       Subcommittee Consideration

    On June 27, 2018, the Subcommittee on Health met in open 
markup session, a quorum being present, and favorably forwarded 
H.R. 5938, as amended, to the Full Committee. During 
consideration of the bill, the following amendment was 
considered and agreed to by voice vote:

          An amendment in the nature of a substitute offered by 
        Representative Jenniffer Gonzalez-Colon of Puerto Rico, 
        which would allow transitioning servicemembers to 
        choose whether or not to include their contact 
        information in VA's recruiting database.

                        Committee Consideration

    On July 11, 2018, the full Committee met in open markup 
session, a quorum being present, and ordered H.R. 5938, as 
amended, to be reported favorably to the House of 
Representatives by voice vote.

                            Committee Votes

    In compliance with clause 3(b) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, there were no recorded votes 
taken on amendments or in connection with ordering H.R. 5938, 
as amended, reported to the House. A motion by Representative 
Tim Walz of Minnesota to report H.R. 5938, as amended, 
favorably to the House of Representatives was adopted by voice 
vote.

                      Committee Oversight Findings

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(1) of rule XIII and clause 
(2)(b)(1) of rule X of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives, the Committee's oversight findings and 
recommendations are reflected in the descriptive portions of 
this report.

         Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives

    In accordance with clause 3(c)(4) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee's performance 
goals and objectives are to authorize VA to develop a process 
to recruit current and former service members for employment 
within the VA healthcare system.

   New Budget Authority, Entitlement Authority, and Tax Expenditures

    In compliance with clause 3(c)(2) of rule XIII of the Rules 
of the House of Representatives, the Committee adopts as its 
own the estimate of new budget authority, entitlement 
authority, or tax expenditures or revenues contained in the 
cost estimate prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974.

                  Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits

    H.R. 5938, as amended, does not contain any Congressional 
earmarks, limited tax benefits, or limited tariff benefits as 
defined in clause 9 of rule XXI of the Rules of the House of 
Representatives.

                        Committee Cost Estimate

    The Committee adopts as its own the cost estimate on H.R. 
5938, as amended, prepared by the Director of the Congressional 
Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional 
Budget Act of 1974.

               Congressional Budget Office Cost Estimate

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(3) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the following is the cost estimate 
for H.R. 5938, as amended, provided by the Director of the 
Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the 
Congressional Budget Act of 1974:

                                     U.S. Congress,
                               Congressional Budget Office,
                                     Washington, DC, July 18, 2018.
Hon. Phil Roe, M.D.,
Chairman, Committee on Veterans' Affairs,
House of Representatives, Washington, DC.
    Dear Mr. Chairman: The Congressional Budget Office has 
prepared the enclosed cost estimate for H.R. 5938, the Veterans 
Serving Veterans Act of 2018.
    If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be 
pleased to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Ann E. 
Futrell.
            Sincerely,
                                             Mark P. Hadley
                                        (For Keith Hall, Director).
    Enclosure.

H.R. 5938--Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2018

    H.R. 5938 would require the Department of Veterans Affairs 
(VA) to expand its recruitment database, which identifies 
certain open positions at the department, to include the 
military occupational specialties that correspond to those open 
positions as well as contact information for qualified service 
members who could fill those positions. Such members would be 
those who are preparing to separate from the armed forces, 
whose occupational speciality in the military corresponds to an 
open position in the database, and who choose to be listed.
    VA reports that it is currently in the process of targeting 
service members who are transitioning out of the military for 
positions at the department by using data contained in the VA/
DoD Identity Repository database. Using information from VA and 
the Department of Defense (DoD), CBO expects that under the 
bill VA would hire two additional information technology 
specialists (at an average compensation of $100,000) to add 
appropriate service-member data into the database. On that 
basis, CBO estimates that including applicants from DoD in VA's 
recruitment database would cost $1 million over the 2019-2023 
period; such spending would be subject to the availability of 
appropriated funds.
    The bill also would require VA to train and certify 
veterans who served as health care technicians while serving in 
the armed forces to work as intermediate care technicians at 
the department. According to VA, the department already 
operates a training program for intermediate care technicians 
at 23 medical facilities and is in the process of expanding 
that training. Thus, the bill's codification of that 
responsibility would not result in any additional costs.
    Enacting H.R. 5938 would not affect direct spending or 
revenues; therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply.
    CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 5938 would not increase 
net direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four 
consecutive 10-year periods beginning in 2029.
    H.R. 5938 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector 
mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.
    The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Ann E. Futrell. 
The estimate was reviewed by Leo Lex, Deputy Assistant Director 
for Budget Analysis.

                       Federal Mandates Statement

    The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal 
mandates regarding H.R 5938, as amended, prepared by the 
Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 
423 of the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act.

                      Advisory Committee Statement

    No advisory committees within the meaning of section 5(b) 
of the Federal Advisory Committee Act would be created by H.R. 
5938, as amended.

                 Statement of Constitutional Authority

    Pursuant to Article I, section 8 of the United States 
Constitution, H.R. 5938, as amended, is authorized by Congress' 
power to ``provide for the common Defense and general Welfare 
of the United States.''

                  Applicability to Legislative Branch

    The Committee finds that H.R. 5938, as amended, does not 
relate to the terms and conditions of employment or access to 
public services or accommodations within the meaning of section 
102(b)(3) of the Congressional Accountability Act.

              Statement on Duplication of Federal Programs

    Pursuant to clause 3(c)(5) of rule XIII of the Rules of the 
House of Representatives, the Committee finds that no provision 
of H.R. 5938, as amended, establishes or reauthorizes a program 
of the Federal Government known to be duplicative of another 
Federal program, a program that was included in any report from 
the Government Accountability Office to Congress pursuant to 
section 21 of Public Law 111-139, or a program related to a 
program identified in the most recent Catalog of Federal 
Domestic Assistance.

                   Disclosure of Directed Rulemaking

    Pursuant to section 3(i) of H. Res. 5, 115th Cong. (2017), 
the Committee estimates that H.R. 5938, as amended, contains no 
directed rulemaking that would require the Secretary to 
prescribe regulations.

             Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation


Section 1. Short title

    Section 1 of the bill would provide a short title of the 
``Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2018.''

Section 2. Recruitment database

    Section 2(a) of the bill would amend section 208 of the VA 
Choice and Quality Employment Act (Public Law 115-46) to 
require VA to identify military occupational specialties that 
correlate with positions that VA needs, to coordinate with DOD 
to identify soon to be separated servicemembers and, upon the 
election of the servicemember, to add those servicemembers' 
military occupational specialties and contact information to 
VA's existing recruiting database.
    Section 2(b) of the bill requires the Secretary to submit, 
no later than 180 days after enactment, a plan, to include 
timeline, for implementation of this database requirement.

Section 3. Intermediate care technician training program

    Section 3(a) of the bill would require VA to implement a 
program to train and certify covered veterans to work as VA 
ICTs.
    Section 3(b) of the bill would require VA to establish 
centers at VA medical facilities selected by VA for the purpose 
of carrying out the program required by section 3(a) of the 
bill and require VA, in selecting a VA medical facility to 
serve as such a center, to consider the experience and success 
of the facility in training ICTs and the availability of 
resources to train ICTs.
    Section 3(c) of the bill would define the term ``covered 
veteran'' to mean a veteran whom VA determines served as a 
basic health care technician while serving in the Armed Forces.

Section 4. No authorization of appropriations

    Section 4 of the bill would establish that no additional 
funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out this Act 
and that this Act is required to be carried out using amounts 
otherwise authorized to be appropriated.

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

    In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

         Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill, as Reported

  In compliance with clause 3(e) of rule XIII of the Rules of 
the House of Representatives, changes in existing law made by 
the bill, as reported, are shown as follows (existing law 
proposed to be omitted is enclosed in black brackets, new 
matter is printed in italic, and existing law in which no 
change is proposed is shown in roman):

              VA CHOICE AND QUALITY EMPLOYMENT ACT OF 2017




           *       *       *       *       *       *       *
TITLE II--PERSONNEL MATTERS

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


SEC. 208. RECRUITING DATABASE AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

  (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
establish [a single database] and maintain a single searchable 
database (to be known as the ``Departments of Defense and 
Veterans Affairs Recruitment Database'') that lists--
          (1) each vacant position in the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs that the Secretary determines is 
        critical to the mission of the Department, difficult to 
        fill, or both[; and];
          (2) each vacant position in the Department of 
        Veterans Affairs for a mental health professional[.]; 
        and
          (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.
  (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).
  [(b)] (f) Qualified Applicant.--If the Secretary determines 
that an applicant for a vacant position listed in the database 
established under subsection (a) is qualified for such position 
but does not select the applicant for such position, the 
Secretary, at the election of the applicant, may consider the 
applicant for other similar vacant positions listed in the 
database for which the applicant is qualified.
  [(c)] (g) Prolonged Vacancies.--If the Secretary does not 
fill a vacant position listed in the database established under 
subsection (a) after a period determined appropriate by the 
Secretary, the Secretary--
          (1) may ensure that applicants described in 
        [subsection (b)] subsection (g) are considered for such 
        position; and
          (2) may use the database established under subsection 
        (a) to assist in filling such position.
  [(d)] (h) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of 
the enactment [of this Act] of the Veterans Serving Veterans 
Act of 2018, and annually thereafter, the Secretary shall 
submit to Congress a report on the use and efficacy of the 
database established under subsection (a).
  (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).

           *       *       *       *       *       *       *


                                  [all]