I 

118TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 10142 

To improve the workforce of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

NOVEMBER 15, 2024 

Mr. HARDER of California introduced the following bill; which was referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the workforce of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs, 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. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Department of Vet5 erans Affairs Compensation Optimization and Moderniza6 tion for Physicians to Ensure Treatment Excellence and 

7 Service Act’’ or the ‘‘VA COMPETES Act’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION OF PAY LIMITATION FOR PHYSI2 CIANS, PODIATRISTS, OPTOMETRISTS, AND 

3 DENTISTS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

4 AFFAIRS. 

5 (a) MARKET PAY.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 7431 of title 38, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (A) by striking subsections (a), (b), and 

9 (d); 

10 (B) by redesignating subsections (c), (e), 

11 (f), (g), and (h) as subsections (a), (b), (c), (d), 

12 and (e), respectively; 

13 (C) by inserting ‘‘optometrists,’’ after ‘‘po14 diatrists,’’ each place it appears; 

15 (D) by inserting ‘‘optometrist,’’ after ‘‘po16 diatrist,’’ each place it appears; 

17 (E) in subsection (a), as so redesignated— 

18 (i) by striking the matter preceding 

19 paragraph (1) and inserting ‘‘Pay of physi20 cians, podiatrists, optometrists, and den21 tists in the Veterans Health Administra22 tion shall consist of market pay, which 

23 shall meet the following requirements:’’; 

24 (ii) in paragraph (4)— 

25 (I) in subparagraph (E), by 

26 striking ‘‘and’’ at the end; 


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1 (II) by redesignating subpara2 graph (F) as subparagraph (I); and 

3 (III) by inserting after subpara4 graph (E) the following new subpara5 graphs: 

6 ‘‘(F) the performance of the physician, po7 diatrist, optometrist, or dentist based on spe8 cific criteria prescribed by the Secretary, includ9 ing the parameters to determine the relevant 

10 timeframe of performance; 

11 ‘‘(G) the annual pay adjustments under 

12 section 5303 of title 5; 

13 ‘‘(H) the nonforeign cost of living adjust14 ment allowance authorized under section 5941 

15 of title 5; and’’; 

16 (iii) in paragraph (5), by adding at 

17 the end the following new sentence: ‘‘Such 

18 a notice shall include a statement of 

19 whether the market pay will increase, de20 crease, or remain unchanged following 

21 such evaluation.’’; and 

22 (iv) by adding at the end the following 

23 new paragraphs: 


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1 ‘‘(7) The Secretary shall ensure that each phy2 sician, podiatrist, optometrist, and dentist in the 

3 Veterans Health Administration is— 

4 ‘‘(A) advised, on an annual basis, of the 

5 criteria referred to in paragraph (4)(F); 

6 ‘‘(B) evaluated in accordance with such 

7 criteria; and 

8 ‘‘(C) compensated in accordance with— 

9 ‘‘(i) applicable assignment and pay 

10 levels, subject to relevant pay limitations; 

11 and 

12 ‘‘(ii) the extent to which such criteria 

13 are met. 

14 ‘‘(8) Not later than 120 days after the last day 

15 of each fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the 

16 Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

17 the House of Representatives a report covering that 

18 fiscal year that includes the following: 

19 ‘‘(A) A list of each medical specialty clinic 

20 that conducted an evaluation of market pay 

21 during the fiscal year covered by the report. 

22 ‘‘(B) For each evaluation described in sub23 paragraph (A)— 

24 ‘‘(i) a list of occupations for which 

25 pay was evaluated, disaggregated by medVerDate Sep 11 2014 01:11 Nov 16, 2024 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00004 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H10142.IH H10142

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1 ical specialty, number of authorized full2 time employees, and onsite full-time em3 ployees as of the date of the evaluation; 

4 ‘‘(ii) the date such evaluation was 

5 completed; 

6 ‘‘(iii) whether a market pay adjust7 ment was made following the evaluation 

8 per each occupation and specialty evalu9 ated; 

10 ‘‘(iv) whether applicable employees 

11 were notified of such evaluation; 

12 ‘‘(v) whether local labor partners were 

13 notified of such evaluation; and 

14 ‘‘(vi) in the case of an evaluation that 

15 resulted in an adjustment of pay— 

16 ‘‘(I) the date such adjustment— 

17 ‘‘(aa) was implemented; and 

18 ‘‘(bb) became effective; and 

19 ‘‘(II) the percentage of employees 

20 of each occupation and specialty for 

21 which pay was adjusted pursuant to 

22 such evaluation. 

23 ‘‘(C) A list of facilities of the Department 

24 that did not conduct an evaluation of market 


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1 pay, pursuant to paragraph (5), during the fis2 cal year covered by the report.’’; 

3 (F) in subsection (b), as so redesignated— 

4 (i) in the heading, by striking 

5 ‘‘TOTAL’’ and inserting ‘‘MARKET’’; 

6 (ii) in paragraph (1)(A)— 

7 (I) by striking ‘‘annual’’ each 

8 place it appears and inserting ‘‘mar9 ket’’; and 

10 (II) by inserting ‘‘, optom11 etrists,’’ after ‘‘podiatrists’’; 

12 (iii) by striking paragraphs (2) and 

13 (3); 

14 (iv) by redesignating paragraph (4) as 

15 paragraph (2); 

16 (v) in paragraph (2), as so redesig17 nated— 

18 (I) by striking ‘‘Except as pro19 vided in sections 7404A(c) and 

20 7410(a)(2) of this title, in no case 

21 may the total amount of compensa22 tion’’ and inserting ‘‘The total amount 

23 of market pay under subsection (a)’’; 

24 and 


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1 (II) by inserting ‘‘not’’ before 

2 ‘‘exceed’’; and 

3 (vi) by adding at the end the following 

4 new paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(3) Notwithstanding any compensation or pay limi6 tations under this title or title 5, the Secretary may au7 thorize the Under Secretary for Health to pay physicians, 

8 podiatrists, optometrists, and dentists— 

9 ‘‘(A) awards authorized under this title; 

10 ‘‘(B) advance payments, recruitment or reloca11 tion bonuses, and retention allowances authorized 

12 under section 7410(a) of this title or as otherwise 

13 provided by law; 

14 ‘‘(C) incentives or bonuses under section 706 of 

15 this title or as otherwise provided by law; and 

16 ‘‘(D) earnings from fee-basis appointments 

17 under section 7405(a)(2) of this title. 

18 ‘‘(4)(A) The Secretary may waive any pay limitation 

19 described in this section (including tier limitations) as the 

20 Secretary determines necessary for the recruitment or re21 tention of critical health care personnel that the Secretary 

22 determines would provide direct patient care. 

23 ‘‘(B) Priority for such waivers shall be given for posi24 tions, locations, and care provided through contracts at 

25 a high cost to the Department. 


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1 ‘‘(C) During the period the authority under subpara2 graph (A) is effective, the Secretary may not issue more 

3 than 300 waivers under such subparagraph. 

4 ‘‘(D) The Secretary may prescribe requirements, limi5 tations, and other considerations for waivers under such 

6 subparagraph. 

7 ‘‘(E) Not later than 180 days after the date of enact8 ment of the VA COMPETES Act, and annually there9 after, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on 

10 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of Rep11 resentatives a report that includes— 

12 ‘‘(i) any updates to the requirements, limita13 tions, and considerations prescribed under subpara14 graph (B) during the period covered by the report; 

15 ‘‘(ii) a description of the findings of each re16 view, if any, conducted pursuant to subparagraph 

17 (G); 

18 ‘‘(iii) a description of each waiver under sub19 paragraph (A) in effect as of the date of the submis20 sion of the report, including the— 

21 ‘‘(I) duty location, position, specialty, mar22 ket, and performance considerations for the 

23 waiver; and 


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1 ‘‘(II) impact, if any, of the waiver on con2 tracted care purchased by the Department for 

3 the region; and 

4 ‘‘(iv) a list of any separation actions during the 

5 period covered by the report with respect to a posi6 tion for which a waiver under subparagraph (A) is 

7 in effect. 

8 ‘‘(F) The authority of the Secretary under subpara9 graph (A) shall terminate on the date that is five years 

10 after the date of enactment of the VA COMPETES Act. 

11 ‘‘(G) The Chief Human Capital Officer of the De12 partment, the Chief Financial Officer of the Department, 

13 and the Office of the General Counsel of the Department 

14 shall review any waiver issued pursuant to subparagraph 

15 (A).;’’; 

16 (G) in subsection (c), as so redesignated, 

17 by striking ‘‘subsections (a) and (b) of and’’; 

18 (H) in subsection (d), as so redesignated— 

19 (i) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘sub20 section (c)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’; 

21 and 

22 (ii) by adding at the end the following 

23 new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(3) An individual receiving market pay under sub25 section (a) may not receive an adjustment or a nonforeign 


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1 cost of living allowance under sections 5303 or 5941 of 

2 title 5.’’; and 

3 (I) in subsection (e), as so redesignated, by 

4 striking ‘‘subsection (c), (d), or (e) except for 

5 the responsibilities of the Secretary under sub6 section (e)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection (a) or 

7 (b) except for the responsibilities of the Sec8 retary under subsection (b)(1)’’. 

9 (2) REPORT ON WAIVER AUTHORITY.—Not 

10 later than 180 days after the date of enactment of 

11 this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall sub12 mit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

13 Senate and the House of Representatives a report 

14 that includes a description of the requirements, limi15 tations, and other considerations prescribed under 

16 section 7431(b)(4)(B) of title 38, United States 

17 Code, as added by paragraph (1). 

18 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

19 (A) INCENTIVES FOR RECRUITMENT.—Sec20 tion 706(d)(6) of title 38, United States Code, 

21 is amended by striking ‘‘total amount of com22 pensation under section 7431(e)(4)’’ and insert23 ing ‘‘total amount of market pay under section 

24 7431’’. 


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1 (B) AWARDS.—Section 7404A(c) of such 

2 title is amended by striking ‘‘the limitation 

3 under section 7431(e)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘a lim4 itation under section 7431’’. 

5 (C) ADDITIONAL PAY AUTHORITIES.—Sec6 tion 7410(a)(2) of such title is amended by 

7 striking ‘‘the limitation under section 

8 7431(e)(4)’’ and inserting ‘‘a limitation under 

9 section 7431’’. 

10 (D) PAY OF UNDER SECRETARY FOR

11 HEALTH.—Section 7432(b)(1) of such title is 

12 amended— 

13 (i) by inserting ‘‘, podiatrist, optom14 etrist,’’ after ‘‘physician’’; 

15 (ii) by striking ‘‘the market pay ele16 ment of pay of physicians and dentists’’ 

17 and inserting ‘‘market pay’’; and 

18 (iii) by striking ‘‘7431(c)’’ and insert19 ing ‘‘7431’’. 

20 (E) ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS.—Section 

21 7433 of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘op22 tometrists,’’ after ‘‘physicians,’’ each place it 

23 appears. 


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1 (F) COMPETITIVE PAY.—Section 

2 7451(a)(2)(C) of such title is amended by in3 serting ‘‘optometrist,’’ after ‘‘physician,’’. 

4 (G) COMPENSATION AND PROFESSIONAL

5 STANDARDS FOR CERTAIN MEDICAL OFFI6 CERS.—Section 27(b) of the Central Intel7 ligence Agency Act of 1949 (50 U.S.C. 

8 3528(b)) is amended by striking ‘‘section 

9 7431(e)(1)(C)’’ and inserting ‘‘section 

10 7431(b)(1)(C)’’. 

11 (4) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.— 

12 (A) SECTION HEADING.— 

13 (i) IN GENERAL.—The heading for 

14 section 7431 of title 38, United States 

15 Code is amended to read as follows: 

16 ‘‘§ 7431. Market pay’’. 

17 (ii) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table 

18 of sections at the beginning of subchapter 

19 III of chapter 74 of title 38, United States 

20 Code, is amended by striking the item re21 lating to section 7431 and inserting the 

22 following new item: 

‘‘7431. Market pay.’’. 

23 (B) SUBCHAPTER HEADING.— 


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1 (i) IN GENERAL.—The heading for 

2 subchapter III of chapter 74 of such title 

3 is amended to read as follows: 

4 ‘‘Subchapter III—Pay for Physicians, 

5 Podiatrists, Optometrists, and Dentists’’. 

6 (ii) TABLE OF SECTIONS.—The table 

7 of sections at the beginning of chapter 74 

8 of such title is amended by striking the 

9 item relating to subchapter III and insert10 ing the following new item: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—PAY FOR PHYSICIANS, PODIATRISTS, OPTOMETRISTS, AND

DENTISTS’’. 

11 (5) APPLICABILITY DATES.— 

12 (A) IN GENERAL.—The amendments made 

13 by this subsection shall apply to any pay period 

14 of the Department of Veterans Affairs begin15 ning on or after the date that is 180 days after 

16 the date of enactment of this Act. 

17 (B) PERFORMANCE PAY.—The Secretary 

18 of Veterans Affairs may pay performance pay 

19 under section 7431(d) of title 38, United States 

20 Code, as in effect on the day before the date of 

21 the enactment of this Act, for the calendar year 

22 during which this Act is enacted. 


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1 (b) MODIFICATION AND CLARIFICATION OF PAY

2 GRADE FOR OPTOMETRISTS.—Section 7404 of such title 

3 is amended— 

4 (1) in subsection (a)(2)(A), by inserting ‘‘op5 tometrists,’’ after ‘‘podiatrists,’’; and 

6 (2) in the list in subsection (b)— 

7 (A) in the first heading of the list following 

8 the colon, by striking ‘‘PODIATRIST (DPM), 

9 AND DENTIST’’ and inserting ‘‘PODIA10 TRIST (DPM), OPTOMETRIST (OD), AND 

11 DENTIST’’; 

12 (B) by inserting ‘‘and optometrist grade’’ 

13 after ‘‘Podiatrist grade’’; and 

14 (C) in the third heading of the list fol15 lowing the colon, by striking ‘‘CLINICAL CHI16 ROPRACTOR AND OPTOMETRIST 

17 SCHEDULE’’ and inserting ‘‘CLINICAL CHI18 ROPRACTOR SCHEDULE’’. 

19 (c) RETROACTIVE AUTHORITY FOR COMPENSA20 TION.— 

21 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans 

22 Affairs may pay retroactive compensation to a cov23 ered employee in an amount that equals the amount 

24 of compensation that was authorized to be paid to 

25 such covered employee during the period specified in 


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1 paragraph (2), but was deferred and paid to such 

2 employee in the calendar year following the calendar 

3 year in which such compensation was authorized be4 cause the payment of such compensation would have 

5 exceeded an applicable cap on annual compensation. 

6 (2) PERIOD SPECIFIED.—The period specified 

7 in this paragraph is the period beginning on Janu8 ary 8, 2006, and ending on December 31, 2017. 

9 (3) EXCLUSION.—Compensation authorized 

10 under this subsection shall not be included in the 

11 calculation of any aggregate limit on compensation 

12 for a covered employee for the year in which it is 

13 paid. 

14 (4) CHARGING OF COMPENSATION.—Compensa15 tion authorized under this subsection shall be 

16 charged to the appropriate medical care appropria17 tion account of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

18 for the fiscal year in which the work was performed 

19 except as follows: 

20 (A) In the case of an account that has 

21 closed pursuant to section 1552 of title 31, 

22 United States Code, the compensation shall be 

23 charged to a current appropriation account in 

24 accordance with section 1553 of such title. 


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1 (B) In the case of an expired account that 

2 has not closed, if charging the compensation to 

3 the expired account would cause such account 

4 to have a negative unliquidated or unexpended 

5 balance, the compensation may be charged to a 

6 current appropriation account available for the 

7 same purpose. 

8 (5) DEFINITIONS.—In this subsection: 

9 (A) The term ‘‘compensation’’ means any 

10 pay, including salary, awards, and incentives. 

11 (B) The term ‘‘covered employee’’ means a 

12 physician, podiatrist, or dentist subject to mar13 ket pay under section 7431 of title 38, United 

14 States Code. 

Æ 


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