II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 57 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to revoke bonuses paid to 

employees involved in electronic wait list manipulations, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JANUARY 5, 2017 

Mr. CASSIDY (for himself, Mr. CRAPO, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. DAINES, Mr. 

FLAKE, and Mr. JOHNSON) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to revoke bonuses paid to employees involved in electronic wait list 

manipulations, and for other purposes. 

1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 

3 SECTION 1. PROHIBITION ON AWARD OF BONUSES TO EM4 PLOYEES SUBJECT OF ADVERSE FINDINGS. 

5 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 38, United 

6 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol7 lowing new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 717. Prohibition on award of bonuses to employees 

2 subject of adverse findings 

3 ‘‘(a) PROHIBITION.—(1) Notwithstanding any other 

4 provision of law, in a case in which the Secretary makes 

5 an adverse finding relating to an employee of the Depart6 ment, the Secretary may not award a bonus to such em7 ployee until the earlier of— 

8 ‘‘(A) the date that is five years after the end of 

9 the fiscal year in which the adverse finding was 

10 made; or 

11 ‘‘(B) the date that the finding is found to have 

12 been made in error. 

13 ‘‘(2) The Secretary may base an adverse finding 

14 under paragraph (1) on an investigation by, determination 

15 of, or information provided by the Inspector General of 

16 the Department or another senior ethics official of the De17 partment or the Comptroller General of the United States 

18 in connection with the carrying out by such official of an 

19 activity, authority, or function under a provision of law 

20 other than this section. 

21 ‘‘(b) PREVIOUSLY AWARDED BONUSES.—If the Sec22 retary makes an adverse finding relating to an employee 

23 under subsection (a), the Secretary, after notice and an 

24 opportunity for a hearing, shall issue an order directing 

25 the employee to repay the amount of any bonus awarded 

26 to the employee during the year during which the adverse 


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1 finding is made, unless such finding is found to have been 

2 made in error. 

3 ‘‘(c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘adverse finding’ relating to an 

5 employee means a determination that the conduct of 

6 the employee— 

7 ‘‘(A) violated a policy of the Department 

8 for which the employee may be removed or sus9 pended; or 

10 ‘‘(B) violated a law for which the employee 

11 may be imprisoned for more than 1 year. 

12 ‘‘(2) The term ‘bonus’ means any bonus or cash 

13 award, including— 

14 ‘‘(A) an award under chapter 45 of title 5; 

15 ‘‘(B) an award under section 5384 of such 

16 title; and 

17 ‘‘(C) a retention bonus under section 5754 

18 of such title.’’. 

19 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

20 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘717. Prohibition on award of bonuses to employees subject of adverse findings.’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. RETENTION OF RECORDS OF REPRIMANDS AND AD2 MONISHMENTS RECEIVED BY EMPLOYEES OF 

3 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 38, United 

5 States Code, as amended by section 1, is further amended 

6 by adding at the end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 719. Record of reprimands and admonishments 

8 ‘‘If any employee of the Department receives a rep9 rimand or admonishment, the Secretary shall retain a 

10 copy of such reprimand or admonishment in the perma11 nent record of the employee as long as the employee is 

12 employed by the Department.’’. 

13 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

14 at the beginning of such chapter, as amended by section 

15 1, is further amended by adding at the end the following 

16 new item: 

‘‘719. Record of reprimands and admonishments.’’. 

Æ 


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