Department of Veterans Affairs Nurses Appreciation Act of 1999

Summary: Department of Veterans Affairs Nurses Appreciation Act of 1999 - Amends Federal provisions relating to the pay of health care personnel within the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) of the Department of Veterans Affairs to provide that, effective October 1, 1999, pay adjustments for registered nurses and certain other positions within the VHA shall be made in the same manner as those generally applicable to Federal employees.  Provides that, effective October 1, 2002, whenever the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines that such rates of pay are inadequate to recruit or retain high-quality health care personnel at such a facility, the Secretary shall adjust such pay to achieve consistency with the rate of compensation for corresponding health-care professionals in the Bureau of Labor Statistics labor market area of that facility.

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Department of Veterans Affairs 
Nurses Appreciation Act of 1999''.

SEC. 2. REVISED AUTHORITY FOR ADJUSTMENT OF BASIC PAY FOR NURSES AND 
              CERTAIN OTHER HEALTH-CARE PROFESSIONALS OF THE DEPARTMENT 
              OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Revision of Covered Positions.--Effective October 1, 1999, 
section 7451 of title 38, United States Code, is amended in subsection 
(a)(2) by striking ``are the following:'' and all that follows and 
inserting ``are registered nurses and each additional position referred 
to in paragraphs (1), (2), and (3) of section 7401 of this title (other 
than the positions of physician and dentist).''.
    (b) Annual Adjustments Under Title 5.--Effective October 1, 1999, 
such section is further amended by striking subsections (d), (e), (f), 
and (g) and inserting the following:
    ``(d) The rates of basic pay for each grade in a covered position 
shall (notwithstanding subsection (a)(3)(A)) be adjusted in accordance 
with sections 5303 and 5304 of title 5.''.
    (c) Revised Title 38 Locality Pay Authority.--Effective October 1, 
2002, such section is further amended by inserting after subsection 
(d), as added by subsection (b) of this section, the following new 
subsection:
    ``(e)(1) Whenever the Secretary determines that the rates of basic 
pay in effect for any grade of a covered position, as most recently 
adjusted under subsection (d), are inadequate in any area to recruit or 
retain high quality personnel at a Department health-care facility in 
that area for service in that position, the Secretary shall in 
accordance with this subsection adjust the rates of pay for employees 
at that facility in that grade of that position.
    ``(2) An adjustment in rates of basic pay under this subsection for 
a grade shall be carried out by adjusting the minimum rate of basic pay 
for that grade in accordance with paragraph (3) and then adjusting the 
other rates for that grade to conform to the requirements of subsection 
(c). Such an adjustment in the minimum rate of basic pay for a grade 
shall be made by the Secretary for employees of a Department health-
care facility so as to achieve consistency with the rate of 
compensation for corresponding health-care professionals with respect 
to that grade in the Bureau of Labor Statistics labor-market area of 
that facility.
    ``(3)(A) In the case of a Department health-care facility located 
in an area for which there is current information, based upon 
appropriate Bureau of Labor Statistics data for that survey area, on 
rates of compensation for corresponding health-care professionals for 
the Bureau of Labor Statistics survey or data area of that facility, 
the Secretary shall use that information as the basis for making 
adjustments in rates of pay under this subsection for that facility. 
Whenever the Bureau of Labor Statistics releases the results of a new 
appropriate wage survey for that labor market that includes information 
on rates of compensation for corresponding health-care professionals, 
the Secretary shall determine, not later than 30 days after the results 
of the survey are released, the amount of an adjustment in rates of pay 
for employees at that facility for any covered position necessary in 
order to meet the purposes of this section.
    ``(B) If the Secretary determines under subparagraph (A) that an 
adjustment described in that subparagraph is necessary, such 
adjustment, based upon the information determined in the survey under 
that subparagraph, shall take effect on the first day of the first pay 
period beginning after that determination.
    ``(4) An adjustment under this subsection may not reduce any rate 
of pay.
    ``(5) The Secretary shall prescribe regulations providing for the 
adjustment of the rates of basic pay for Regional and Central Office 
employees in covered positions in order to assure that those rates are 
sufficient and competitive.
    ``(6) In this subsection--
            ``(A) The term `rate of compensation', with respect to 
        health-care personnel positions in non-Department health-care 
        facilities corresponding to a grade of a covered position, 
        means the sum of--
                    ``(i) the rate of pay established for personnel in 
                such positions who have education, training, and 
                experience equivalent or similar to the education, 
                training, and experience required for health-care 
                personnel employed in the same category of Department 
                covered positions; and
                    ``(ii) other employees benefits for those positions 
                to the extent that those benefits are reasonably 
                quantifiable.
            ``(B) The term `corresponding', with respect to health care 
        personnel in a specified grade of a covered position in a 
        Department health-care facility, means health-care personnel 
        positions in non-Department health-care facilities for which 
        the education, training, and experience requirements are 
        equivalent or similar to the education, training, and 
        experience requirements for Department health care personnel in 
        that grade of that covered position.''.

SEC. 3. SAVINGS PROVISION.

    In the case of an employee of the Veterans Health Administration 
who on the day before the effective date for the amendment made by 
section 2(b) is receiving a rate of pay by reason of the second 
sentence of section 7451(e) of title 38, United States Code, as in 
effect on that day, the provisions of the second and third sentences of 
that section, as in effect on that day, shall continue to apply to that 
employee, notwithstanding the amendment made by section 2(b).