69–006 

115TH CONGRESS REPORT " ! HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 1st Session 115–248 

VA SENIOR EXECUTIVE ACCOUNTABILITY ACT 

JULY 24, 2017.—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. 2772] 

[Including cost estimate of the Congressional Budget Office] 

The Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, to whom was referred the 

bill (H.R. 2772) to amend title 38, United States Code, to provide 

for requirements relating to the reassignment of Department of 

Veterans Affairs senior executive employees, having considered the 

same, report favorably thereon without amendment and recommend that the bill do pass. 

CONTENTS 

Page 

Purpose and Summary ............................................................................................ 2 

Background and Need for Legislation .................................................................... 2 

Hearings ................................................................................................................... 3 

Subcommittee Consideration .................................................................................. 3 

Committee Consideration ........................................................................................ 3 

Committee Votes ...................................................................................................... 3 

Committee Oversight Findings ............................................................................... 3 

Statement of General Performance Goals and Objectives .................................... 3 

Earmarks and Tax and Tariff Benefits .................................................................. 4 

Committee Cost Estimate ....................................................................................... 4 

Budget Authority and Congressional Budget Office Estimate ............................ 4 

Federal Mandates Statement ................................................................................. 5 

Advisory Committee Statement .............................................................................. 5 

Constitutional Authority Statement ...................................................................... 5 

Applicability to Legislative Branch ........................................................................ 5 

Statement on Duplication of Federal Programs .................................................... 5 

Disclosure of Directed Rulemaking ........................................................................ 5 

Section-by-Section Analysis of the Legislation ...................................................... 5 

Changes in Existing Law Made by the Bill as Reported ...................................... 6 

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1 U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General, ‘‘Inappropriate Use of Position and Misuse of Relocation Program and Incentives,’’ September 28, 2015, https:// 

www.va.gov/oig/pubs/VAOIG-15-02997-526.pdf. 

PURPOSE AND SUMMARY

H.R. 2772, ‘‘VA Senior Executive Accountability Act’’ or the ‘‘SEA 

Act,’’ introduced by Representative Scott Taylor of Virginia on June 

6, 2017. H.R. 2772 would require the Secretary of the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to personally approve of a reassignment of any VA employee, submit a semiannual report to Congress 

identifying those employees who were reassigned and the costs associated with this reassignment. 

BACKGROUND AND NEED FOR LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

This section would create the short title of this bill to be the ‘‘VA 

Senior Executive Accountability Act’’ or the ‘‘SEA Act’’. 

Section 2. Semiannual report on reassignment of Department of Veterans Affairs Senior Executive Employees 

In 2015, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General (VAOIG) published a report that concluded that 

members of VA’s Senior Executive Service (SES) used their management positions to be reassigned to another position within the 

Department for personal gain.1 Following this report, and the subsequent Committee investigation, the VA suspended indefinitely 

the use of the Appraised Value Offer (AVO) program that the Department used to help sell the homes of SES employees when they 

were reassigned to a new position within the Department, often at 

a significant expense to the taxpayer. 

November 10, 2016, VA quietly reauthorized the AVO program 

with little to no transparency on its use or new implementation 

policy to avoid abuse. The Committee remains concerned about the 

use of the AVO program and believes that there needs to be a 

mechanism put in place to provide transparency of the cost to taxpayers of any reassignment of a SES employee. Additionally, the 

Committee is concerned about the perceived practice that VA 

moves senior officials to another location within the Department instead of providing true accountability for the misconduct or poor 

performance for members of the SES. For example, the Department 

has reassigned an offending SES employee to an administrative position for brief period to only reassign the employee to another SES 

position within the Department at a later date. The Committee believes that transparency of the reassignment of all SES employees 

is important, which is why this section, therefore, would require 

VA to semiannually report to Congress about where senior executives are being moved and to report all expenses associated with 

such moves. In addition, this report would also require that the 

Secretary personally approve and sign off on all reassignments of 

SES employees to ensure that such moves are justified and are in 

the best interests of the Department, veterans, and taxpayers. 

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HEARINGS

On June 29 2017, the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

held a legislative hearing on several bills pending before the Subcommittee, including H.R. 2772. The following witnesses testified: 

The Honorable Elise Stefanik, U.S. House of Representatives, 21st district of New York; The Honorable Robert Wittman, U.S. House of Representatives, 1st district of Virginia; 

The Honorable Claudia Tenney, U.S. House of Representatives, 

22nd district of New York; The Honorable David Cicilline, U.S. 

House of Representatives, 1st district of Rhode Island; The 

Honorable Scott Taylor, U.S. House of Representatives, 2nd 

district of Virginia; Mr. Curtis L. Coy, Deputy Under Secretary 

for Economic Opportunity, Veterans Benefits Administration, 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, who was accompanied by 

Ms. Tia Butler, Executive Director, Corporate Senior Executive 

Management Office, Human Resources and Administration, 

U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, and Mr. Jeffrey London, 

Director, Loan Guaranty Service, Veterans Benefits Administration, U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs; Maj. Gen. Jeffrey 

E. Phillips, USAR (Ret.), Executive Director, Reserve Officers 

Association; and Mr. Gabriel Stultz, Legislative Counsel, Paralyzed Veterans of America. 

The following organizations submitted statements for the record: 

U.S. Department of Defense and U.S. Chamber of Commerce. 

SUBCOMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On July 12, 2017 the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity 

met in an open markup session, a quorum being present, and ordered H.R. 2772, favorably forwarded to the full Committee by 

voice vote. 

COMMITTEE CONSIDERATION

On July 19, 2017, the full Committee met in open markup session, a quorum being present, and ordered H.R. 2772 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, no recorded votes were taken on amendments or in connection with ordering H.R. 2772 reported favorably 

to the House. 

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 

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objectives of H.R. 2772 are to improve transparency of the reassignment of members of the SES at VA. 

EARMARKS AND TAX AND TARIFF BENEFITS

H.R. 2772 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. 2772, 

prepared by the Director of the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974. 

BUDGET AUTHORITY AND 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. 2772, 

provided by the Congressional Budget Office pursuant to section 

402 of the Congressional Budget Act of 1974: 

U.S. CONGRESS, 

CONGRESSIONAL BUDGET OFFICE, 

Washington, DC, July 21, 2017. 

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. 2772, the SEA Act. 

If you wish further details on this estimate, we will be pleased 

to provide them. The CBO staff contact is Dwayne M. Wright. 

Sincerely, 

MARK P. HADLEY

(For Keith Hall, Director). 

Enclosure. 

H.R. 2772—SEA Act 

H.R. 2772 would bar a member of the Senior Executive Service 

(SES) employed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) from 

being reassigned within the agency without written approval by 

the Secretary of VA. H.R. 2772 also would require VA to submit 

semi-annual reports to the Congress on reassigned SES employees. 

CBO expects that changing the requirements for reassigning SES 

employees would have no budgetary effect. On the basis of information from VA regarding reports of a similar nature, CBO estimates 

that implementing H.R. 2772 would cost less than $500,000 over 

the 2017–2022 period, subject to the availability of appropriations. 

Enacting H.R. 2772 would not affect direct spending or revenues; 

therefore, pay-as-you-go procedures do not apply. 

CBO estimates that enacting H.R. 2772 would not increase net 

direct spending or on-budget deficits in any of the four consecutive 

10-year periods beginning in 2028. 

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H.R. 2772 contains no intergovernmental or private-sector mandates as defined in the Unfunded Mandates Reform Act and would 

not affect the budgets of state, local, or tribal governments. 

The CBO staff contact for this estimate is Dwayne M. Wright. 

The estimate was approved by H. Samuel Papenfuss, Deputy Assistant Director of Budget Analysis. 

FEDERAL MANDATES STATEMENT

The Committee adopts as its own the estimate of Federal mandates regarding H.R. 2772, 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. 2772. 

CONSTITUTIONAL AUTHORITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to Article I, section 8 of the United States Constitution, 

H.R. 2772 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. 2772 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. 

2772 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), H.R. 

2772 contains no direct rule making. 

SECTION-BY-SECTION ANALYSIS OF THE LEGISLATION

Section 1. Short title 

This section cites the short of this bill to be, the ‘‘VA Senior Executive Accountability Act’’ or the ‘‘SEA Act’’. 

Section 2. Semiannual reports on reassignment of Department of 

Veterans Affairs Senior Executive Employees 

This section would amend chapter 7 of title 38, U.S.C., to create 

a new section 719 entitled, ‘‘§ 719. Reassignment of Senior Executives.’’ 

6 

Subsection (a) of the new section 719 would require that no member of the SES may be reassigned unless the reassignment is approved, in writing, by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs. 

Subsection (b) of the new section 719 would require that no later 

than June 30 and December 31 of each year, the Secretary to submit to Congress a report on the reassignment of individuals employed in the SES to other locations within the Department during 

the reporting period. Each such report would describe the purpose 

of each such reassignment and the costs associated with such reassignment. 

Subsection (c) of the new section 719 would give the term ‘‘senior 

executive position’’ the definition as provided by section 713(g)(3) of 

title 38, U.S.C. 

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, 

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 (new matter is printed in italic 

and existing law in which no change is proposed is shown in 

roman): 

TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE 

PART I—GENERAL PROVISIONS 

* * * * * * * 

CHAPTER 7—EMPLOYEES 

SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL EMPLOYEE MATTERS 

Sec. 

701. Placement of employees in military installations. 

* * * * * * * 

719. Reassignment of senior executives. 

719. Reduction of benefits of employees convicted of certain crimes. 

721. Recoupment of bonuses or awards paid to employees of Department. 

723. Recoupment of relocation expenses paid on behalf of employees of Department. 

* * * * * * * 

SUBCHAPTER I—GENERAL EMPLOYEE MATTERS 

* * * * * * * 

§ 719. Reassignment of senior executives 

(a) APPROVAL OF REASSIGNMENTS.—No individual employed in a 

senior executive position at the Department may be reassigned to 

another such position at the Department unless such reassignment 

is approved in writing and signed by the Secretary. 

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(b) SEMIANNUAL REPORTS REQUIRED.—Not later than June 30 

and December 31 of each year, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the reassignment of individuals employed in senior 

executive positions at the Department to other such positions at the 

Department during the period covered by the report. Each such report shall describe the purpose of each such reassignment and the 

costs associated with such reassignment. 

(c) SENIOR EXECUTIVE POSITION DEFINED.—In this section, the 

term ‘‘senior executive position’’ has the meaning given such term in 

section 713(g)(3) of this title. 

* * * * * * * 

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