II 

Calendar No. 103 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1094 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the accountability of 

employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 11, 2017 

Mr. RUBIO (for himself, Mr. TESTER, Mr. ISAKSON, Mr. NELSON, Mr. 

MCCAIN, Mrs. SHAHEEN, Mr. MORAN, Ms. BALDWIN, Mr. HELLER, Mr. 

FLAKE, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. COTTON, Mr. INHOFE, Mr. KENNEDY, Mrs. 

CAPITO, Mr. COCHRAN, Mr. SULLIVAN, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. CASSIDY, Mr. 

PERDUE, Mr. TILLIS, Mr. WICKER, Mr. DAINES, and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

MAY 24, 2017 

Reported by Mr. ISAKSON, with an amendment 

[Strike out all after the enacting clause and insert the part printed in italic] 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 

accountability of employees 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, 


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1 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

2 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the 

3 ‘‘Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and 

4 Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017’’. 

5 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

6 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER 

PROTECTION 

Sec. 101. Establishment of Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. 

Sec. 102. Protection of whistleblowers in Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 103. Report on methods used to investigate employees of Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

TITLE II—ACCOUNTABILITY OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES, 

SUPERVISORS, AND OTHER EMPLOYEES 

Sec. 201. Improved authorities of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve accountability of senior executives. 

Sec. 202. Improved authorities of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve accountability of employees. 

Sec. 203. Reduction of benefits for Department of Veterans Affairs employees 

convicted of certain crimes. 

Sec. 204. Authority to recoup bonuses or awards paid to employees of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 205. Authority to recoup relocation expenses paid to or on behalf of employees of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 206. Time period for response to notice of adverse actions against supervisory employees who commit prohibited personnel actions. 

Sec. 207. Direct hiring authority for medical center directors and VISN directors. 

Sec. 208. Time periods for review of adverse actions with respect to certain employees. 

Sec. 209. Improvement of training for supervisors. 

Sec. 210. Assessment and report on effect on senior executives at Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 211. Measurement of Department of Veterans Affairs disciplinary process 

outcomes and effectiveness. 


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1 TITLE I—OFFICE OF ACCOUNT2 ABILITY AND WHISTLE3 BLOWER PROTECTION 

4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF ACCOUNT5 ABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United 

7 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol8 lowing new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 323. Office of Accountability and Whistleblower 

10 Protection 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the 

12 Department an office to be known as the ‘Office of Ac13 countability and Whistleblower Protection’ (in this section 

14 referred to as the ‘Office’). 

15 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.—(1) The head of the Office 

16 shall be responsible for the functions of the Office and 

17 shall be appointed by the President pursuant to section 

18 308(a) of this title. 

19 ‘‘(2) The head of the Office shall be known as the 

20 ‘Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower 

21 Protection’. 

22 ‘‘(3) The Assistant Secretary shall report directly to 

23 the Secretary on all matters relating to the Office. 

24 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding section 308(b) of this title, the 

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1 sponsibilities relating to the functions of the Office set 

2 forth in subsection (c). 

3 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—(1) The functions of the Office 

4 are as follows: 

5 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary on all matters of 

6 the Department relating to accountability, including 

7 accountability of employees of the Department, re8 taliation against whistleblowers, and such matters as 

9 the Secretary considers similar and affect public 

10 trust in the Department. 

11 ‘‘(B) Issuing reports and providing rec12 ommendations related to the duties described in sub13 paragraph (A). 

14 ‘‘(C) Receiving whistleblower disclosures. 

15 ‘‘(D) Referring whistleblower disclosures re16 ceived under subparagraph (C) for investigation to 

17 the Office of the Medical Inspector, the Office of In18 spector General, or other investigative entity, as ap19 propriate, if the Assistant Secretary has reason to 

20 believe the whistleblower disclosure is evidence of a 

21 violation of a provision of law, mismanagement, 

22 gross waste of funds, abuse of authority, or a sub23 stantial and specific danger to public health and 

24 safety. 


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1 ‘‘(E) Receiving and referring disclosures from 

2 the Special Counsel for investigation to the Medical 

3 Inspector of the Department, the Inspector General 

4 of the Department, or such other person with inves5 tigatory authority, as the Assistant Secretary con6 siders appropriate. 

7 ‘‘(F) Recording, tracking, reviewing, and con8 firming implementation of recommendations from 

9 audits and investigations carried out by the Inspec10 tor General of the Department, the Medical Inspec11 tor of the Department, the Special Counsel, and the 

12 Comptroller General of the United States, including 

13 the imposition of disciplinary actions and other cor14 rective actions contained in such recommendations. 

15 ‘‘(G) Analyzing data from the Office and the 

16 Office of Inspector General telephone hotlines, other 

17 whistleblower disclosures, disaggregated by facility 

18 and area of health care if appropriate, and relevant 

19 audits and investigations to identify trends and issue 

20 reports to the Secretary based on analysis conducted 

21 under this subparagraph. 

22 ‘‘(H) Receiving, reviewing, and investigating al23 legations of misconduct, retaliation, or poor perform24 ance involving— 


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1 ‘‘(i) an individual in a senior executive po2 sition (as defined in section 713(d) of this title) 

3 in the Department; 

4 ‘‘(ii) an individual employed in a confiden5 tial, policy-making, policy-determining, or pol6 icy-advocating position in the Department; or 

7 ‘‘(iii) a supervisory employee, if the allega8 tion involves retaliation against an employee for 

9 making a whistleblower disclosure. 

10 ‘‘(I) Making such recommendations to the Sec11 retary for disciplinary action as the Assistant Sec12 retary considers appropriate after substantiating any 

13 allegation of misconduct or poor performance pursu14 ant to an investigation carried out as described in 

15 subparagraph (F) or (H). 

16 ‘‘(2) In carrying out the functions of the Office, the 

17 Assistant Secretary shall ensure that the Office maintains 

18 a toll-free telephone number and Internet website to re19 ceive anonymous whistleblower disclosures. 

20 ‘‘(3) In any case in which the Assistant Secretary re21 ceives a whistleblower disclosure from an employee of the 

22 Department under paragraph (1)(C), the Assistant Sec23 retary may not disclose the identity of the employee with24 out the consent of the employee, except in accordance with 


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1 the provisions of section 552a of title 5, or as required 

2 by any other applicable provision of Federal law. 

3 ‘‘(d) STAFF AND RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall 

4 ensure that the Assistant Secretary has such staff, re5 sources, and access to information as may be necessary 

6 to carry out the functions of the Office. 

7 ‘‘(e) RELATION TO OFFICE OF GENERAL COUN8 SEL.—The Office shall not be established as an element 

9 of the Office of the General Counsel and the Assistant 

10 Secretary may not report to the General Counsel. 

11 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—(1)(A) Not later than June 30 of 

12 each calendar year, beginning with June 30, 2017, the As13 sistant Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Vet14 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet15 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

16 on the activities of the Office during the calendar year 

17 in which the report is submitted. 

18 ‘‘(B) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) 

19 shall include, for the period covered by the report, the fol20 lowing: 

21 ‘‘(i) A full and substantive analysis of the ac22 tivities of the Office, including such statistical infor23 mation as the Assistant Secretary considers appro24 priate. 


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1 ‘‘(ii) Identification of any issues reported to the 

2 Secretary under subsection (c)(1)(G), including such 

3 data as the Assistant Secretary considers relevant to 

4 such issues and any trends the Assistant Secretary 

5 may have identified with respect to such issues. 

6 ‘‘(iii) Identification of such concerns as the As7 sistant Secretary may have regarding the size, staff8 ing, and resources of the Office and such rec9 ommendations as the Assistant Secretary may have 

10 for legislative or administrative action to address 

11 such concerns. 

12 ‘‘(iv) Such recommendations as the Assistant 

13 Secretary may have for legislative or administrative 

14 action to improve— 

15 ‘‘(I) the process by which concerns are re16 ported to the Office; and 

17 ‘‘(II) the protection of whistleblowers with18 in the Department. 

19 ‘‘(v) Such other matters as the Assistant Sec20 retary considers appropriate regarding the functions 

21 of the Office or other matters relating to the Office. 

22 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary receives a recommendation for 

23 disciplinary action under subsection (c)(1)(I) and does not 

24 take or initiate the recommended disciplinary action before 

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1 retary received the recommendation, the Secretary shall 

2 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen3 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

4 of Representatives a detailed justification for not taking 

5 or initiating such disciplinary action. 

6 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

7 ‘‘(1) The term ‘supervisory employee’ means an 

8 employee of the Department who is a supervisor as 

9 defined in section 7103(a) of title 5. 

10 ‘‘(2) The term ‘whistleblower’ means one who 

11 makes a whistleblower disclosure. 

12 ‘‘(3) The term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ means 

13 any disclosure of information by an employee of the 

14 Department or individual applying to become an em15 ployee of the Department which the employee or in16 dividual reasonably believes evidences— 

17 ‘‘(A) a violation of a provision of law; or 

18 ‘‘(B) gross mismanagement, a gross waste 

19 of funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 

20 and specific danger to public health or safety.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 308(b) of 

22 such title is amended by adding at the end the following 

23 new paragraph: 

24 ‘‘(12) The functions set forth in section 323(c) 

25 of this title.’’. 


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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

2 at the beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by 

3 adding at the end the following new item: 

‘‘323. Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.’’. 

4 SEC. 102. PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS IN DEPART5 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 

7 38, United States Code, is amended by— 

8 (1) striking sections 731, 732, 734, 735, and 

9 736; 

10 (2) by redesignating section 733 as section 731; 

11 and 

12 (3) by adding at the end the following new sec13 tions: 

14 ‘‘§ 732. Protection of whistleblowers as criteria in 

15 evaluation of supervisors 

16 ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF CRITERIA RE17 QUIRED.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Assist18 ant Secretary of Accountability and Whistleblower Protec19 tion, shall develop criteria that— 

20 ‘‘(1) the Secretary shall use as a critical ele21 ment in any evaluation of the performance of a su22 pervisory employee; and 

23 ‘‘(2) promotes the protection of whistleblowers. 

24 ‘‘(b) PRINCIPLES FOR PROTECTION OF WHISTLE25 BLOWERS.—The criteria required by subsection (a) shall 


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1 include principles for the protection of whistleblowers, 

2 such as the degree to which supervisory employees respond 

3 constructively when employees of the Department report 

4 concerns, take responsible action to resolve such concerns, 

5 and foster an environment in which employees of the De6 partment feel comfortable reporting concerns to super7 visory employees or to the appropriate authorities. 

8 ‘‘(c) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE AND WHISTLE9 BLOWER DEFINED.—In this section, the terms ‘super10 visory employee’ and ‘whistleblower’ have the meanings 

11 given such terms in section 323 of this title. 

12 ‘‘§ 733. Training regarding whistleblower disclosures 

13 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—Not less frequently than once every 

14 two years, the Secretary, in coordination with the Whistle15 blower Protection Ombudsman designated under section 

16 3(d)(1)(C) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

17 App.), shall provide to each employee of the Department 

18 training regarding whistleblower disclosures, including— 

19 ‘‘(1) an explanation of each method established 

20 by law in which an employee may file a whistle21 blower disclosure; 

22 ‘‘(2) the right of the employee to petition Con23 gress regarding a whistleblower disclosure in accord24 ance with section 7211 of title 5; 


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1 ‘‘(3) an explanation that the employee may not 

2 be prosecuted or reprised against for disclosing in3 formation to Congress, the Inspector General, or an4 other investigatory agency in instances where such 

5 disclosure is permitted by law, including under sec6 tions 5701, 5705, and 7732 of this title, under sec7 tion 552a of title 5 (commonly referred to as the 

8 Privacy Act), under chapter 93 of title 18, and pur9 suant to regulations promulgated under section 

10 264(c) of the Health Insurance Portability and Ac11 countability Act of 1996 (Public Law 104–191); 

12 ‘‘(4) an explanation of the language that is re13 quired to be included in all nondisclosure policies, 

14 forms, and agreements pursuant to section 

15 115(a)(1) of the Whistleblower Protection Enhance16 ment Act of 2012 (5 U.S.C. 2302 note); and 

17 ‘‘(5) the right of contractors to be protected 

18 from reprisal for the disclosure of certain informa19 tion under section 4705 or 4712 of title 41. 

20 ‘‘(b) MANNER TRAINING IS PROVIDED.—The Sec21 retary shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, 

22 that training provided under subsection (a) is provided in 

23 person. 

24 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—Not less frequently than once 

25 every two years, the Secretary shall provide training on 


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1 merit system protection in a manner that the Special 

2 Counsel certifies as being satisfactory. 

3 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish on 

4 the Internet website of the Department, and display 

5 prominently at each facility of the Department, the rights 

6 of an employee to make a whistleblower disclosure, includ7 ing the information described in paragraphs (1) through 

8 (5) of subsection (a). 

9 ‘‘(e) WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURE DEFINED.—In 

10 this section, the term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ has the 

11 meaning given such term in section 323 of this title.’’. 

12 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections 

13 at the beginning of such chapter is amended— 

14 (1) by striking the items relating to sections 

15 731 through 736; and 

16 (2) by adding at the end the following new 

17 items: 

‘‘731. Adverse actions against supervisory employees who commit prohibited personnel actions relating to whistleblower complaints. 

‘‘732. Protection of whistleblowers as criteria in evaluation of supervisors. 

‘‘733. Training regarding whistleblower disclosures.’’. 

18 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 731 of 

19 such title, as redesignated by subsection (a)(2), is amend20 ed— 

21 (1) in subsection (c)— 

22 (A) in paragraph (1)— 


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1 (i) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 

2 (B) and inserting the following: 

3 ‘‘(A) making a whistleblower disclosure to 

4 the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and 

5 Whistleblower Protection, the Inspector General 

6 of the Department, the Special Counsel, or 

7 Congress;’’; and 

8 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

9 (C) through (F) as subparagraphs (B) 

10 through (E), respectively; and 

11 (iii) in subparagraph (B), as redesig12 nated by clause (ii), by striking ‘‘complaint 

13 in accordance with section 732 or with’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘disclosure made to the As15 sistant Secretary for Accountability and 

16 Whistleblower Protection,’’; and 

17 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘through 

18 (F)’’ and inserting ‘‘through (E)’’; and 

19 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub20 section: 

21 ‘‘(d) WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURE DEFINED.—In 

22 this section, the term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ has the 

23 meaning given such term in section 323(g) of this title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. REPORT ON METHODS USED TO INVESTIGATE EM2 PLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF3 FAIRS. 

4 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 540 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 

6 Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection 

7 shall submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the 

8 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the 

9 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep10 resentatives a report on methods used to investigate em11 ployees of the Department of Veterans Affairs and wheth12 er such methods are used to retaliate against whistle13 blowers. 

14 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection 

15 (a) shall include the following: 

16 (1) An assessment of the use of administrative 

17 investigation boards, peer review, searches of med18 ical records, and other methods for investigating em19 ployees of the Department. 

20 (2) A determination of whether and to what de21 gree the methods described in paragraph (1) are 

22 being used to retaliate against whistleblowers. 

23 (3) Recommendations for legislative or adminis24 trative action to implement safeguards to prevent 

25 the retaliation described in paragraph (2). 


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1 (c) WHISTLEBLOWER DEFINED.—In this section, the 

2 term ‘‘whistleblower’’ has the meaning given such term in 

3 section 323 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

4 section 101. 

5 TITLE II—ACCOUNTABILITY OF 

6 SENIOR EXECUTIVES, SUPER7 VISORS, AND OTHER EMPLOY8 EES 

9 SEC. 201. IMPROVED AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF VET10 ERANS AFFAIRS TO IMPROVE ACCOUNT11 ABILITY OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 713 of title 38, United 

13 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

14 ‘‘§ 713. Senior executives: removal, demotion, or sus15 pension based on performance or mis16 conduct 

17 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—(1) The Secretary may, as pro18 vided in this section, reprimand or suspend, involuntarily 

19 reassign, demote, or remove a covered individual from a 

20 senior executive position at the Department if the Sec21 retary determines that the misconduct or performance of 

22 the covered individual warrants such action. 

23 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary so removes such an individual, 

24 the Secretary may remove the individual from the civil 

25 service (as defined in section 2101 of title 5). 


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1 ‘‘(b) RIGHTS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) A covered indi2 vidual who is the subject of an action under subsection 

3 (a) is entitled to— 

4 ‘‘(A) advance notice of the action; 

5 ‘‘(B) be represented by an attorney or other 

6 representative of the covered individual’s choice; and 

7 ‘‘(C) grieve the action in accordance with an in8 ternal grievance process that the Secretary, in con9 sultation with the Assistant Secretary for Account10 ability and Whistleblower Protection, shall establish 

11 for purposes of this subsection. 

12 ‘‘(2)(A) The aggregate period for notice, response, 

13 and decision on an action under subsection (a) may not 

14 exceed 15 business days. 

15 ‘‘(B) The period for the response of a covered indi16 vidual to a notice under paragraph (1)(A) of an action 

17 under subsection (a) shall be 7 business days. 

18 ‘‘(C) A decision under this paragraph on an action 

19 under subsection (a) shall be issued not later than 15 busi20 ness days after notice of the action is provided to the cov21 ered individual under paragraph (1)(A). The decision shall 

22 be in writing, and shall include the specific reasons there23 for and a file containing all evidence in support of the pro24 posed action. 


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1 ‘‘(3)(A) The Secretary shall ensure that the grievance 

2 process established under paragraph (1)(C) takes fewer 

3 than 21 days. 

4 ‘‘(B) The Secretary shall ensure that grievances 

5 under this subsection are reviewed only by employees of 

6 the Department. 

7 ‘‘(4) A decision under paragraph (2) that is not 

8 grieved, and a grievance decision under paragraph (3), 

9 shall be final and conclusive. 

10 ‘‘(5) A covered individual adversely affected by a deci11 sion under paragraph (2) that is not grieved, or by a griev12 ance decision under paragraph (3), may obtain judicial re13 view of such decision. 

14 ‘‘(6) In any case in which judicial review is sought 

15 under paragraph (5), the court shall review the record and 

16 may set aside any Department action found to be— 

17 ‘‘(A) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discre18 tion, or otherwise not in accordance with a provision 

19 of law; 

20 ‘‘(B) obtained without procedures required by a 

21 provision of law having been followed; or 

22 ‘‘(C) unsupported by substantial evidence. 

23 ‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.— 

24 Section 3592(b)(1) of title 5 and the procedures under 


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1 section 7543(b) of such title do not apply to an action 

2 under subsection (a). 

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

4 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means— 

5 ‘‘(A) a career appointee (as that term is 

6 defined in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5); or 

7 ‘‘(B) any individual who occupies an ad8 ministrative or executive position and who was 

9 appointed under section 7306(a) or section 

10 7401(1) of this title. 

11 ‘‘(2) The term ‘misconduct’ includes neglect of 

12 duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed re13 assignment or to accompany a position in a transfer 

14 of function. 

15 ‘‘(3) The term ‘senior executive position’ 

16 means— 

17 ‘‘(A) with respect to a career appointee (as 

18 that term is defined in section 3132(a) of title 

19 5), a Senior Executive Service position (as such 

20 term is defined in such section); and 

21 ‘‘(B) with respect to a covered individual 

22 appointed under section 7306(a) or section 

23 7401(1) of this title, an administrative or exec24 utive position.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7461(c)(1) 

2 of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘employees in senior 

3 executive positions (as defined in section 713(d) of this 

4 title) and’’ before ‘‘interns’’. 

5 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

6 at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title is amended by 

7 striking the item relating to section 713 and inserting the 

8 following new item: 

‘‘713. Senior executives: removal, demotion, or suspension based on performance 

or misconduct.’’. 

9 SEC. 202. IMPROVED AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF VET10 ERANS AFFAIRS TO IMPROVE ACCOUNT11 ABILITY OF EMPLOYEES. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 

13 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec14 tion 713 the following new section: 

15 ‘‘§ 714. Employees: removal, demotion, or suspension 

16 based on performance or misconduct 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary may remove, 

18 demote, or suspend a covered individual who is an em19 ployee of the Department if the Secretary determines the 

20 performance or misconduct of the covered individual war21 rants such removal, demotion, or suspension. 

22 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary so removes, demotes, or sus23 pends such a covered individual, the Secretary may— 


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1 ‘‘(A) remove the covered individual from the 

2 civil service (as defined in section 2101 of title 5); 

3 ‘‘(B) demote the covered individual by means of 

4 a reduction in grade for which the covered individual 

5 is qualified, that the Secretary determines is appro6 priate, and that reduces the annual rate of pay of 

7 the covered individual; or 

8 ‘‘(C) suspend the covered individual. 

9 ‘‘(b) PAY OF CERTAIN DEMOTED INDIVIDUALS.—(1) 

10 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any covered 

11 individual subject to a demotion under subsection (a)(2) 

12 shall, beginning on the date of such demotion, receive the 

13 annual rate of pay applicable to such grade. 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) A covered individual so demoted may not be 

15 placed on administrative leave during the period during 

16 which an appeal (if any) under this section is ongoing, 

17 and may only receive pay if the covered individual reports 

18 for duty or is approved to use accrued unused annual, 

19 sick, family medical, military, or court leave. 

20 ‘‘(B) If a covered individual so demoted does not re21 port for duty or receive approval to use accrued unused 

22 leave, such covered individual shall not receive pay or 

23 other benefits pursuant to subsection (d)(5). 

24 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURE.—(1)(A) The aggregate period for 

25 notice, response, and final decision in a removal, demotion, 


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1 or suspension under this section may not exceed 15 busi2 ness days. 

3 ‘‘(B) The period for the response of a covered indi4 vidual to a notice of a proposed removal, demotion, or sus5 pension under this section shall be 7 business days. 

6 ‘‘(C) Paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of section 7513 

7 of title 5 shall apply with respect to a removal, demotion, 

8 or suspension under this section. 

9 ‘‘(D) The procedures in this subsection shall super10 sede any collective bargaining agreement to the extent that 

11 such agreement is inconsistent with such procedures. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall issue a final decision with 

13 respect to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this 

14 section not later than 15 business days after the Secretary 

15 provides notice, including a file containing all the evidence 

16 in support of the proposed action, to the covered individual 

17 of the removal, demotion, or suspension. The decision shall 

18 be in writing and shall include the specific reasons there19 for. 

20 ‘‘(3) The procedures under chapter 43 of title 5 shall 

21 not apply to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this 

22 section. 

23 ‘‘(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B) and subsection 

24 (d), any removal or demotion under this section, and any 

25 suspension of more than 14 days under this section, may 


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1 be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which 

2 shall refer such appeal to an administrative judge pursu3 ant to section 7701(b)(1) of title 5. 

4 ‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a re5 moval, demotion, or suspension may only be made if such 

6 appeal is made not later than 10 business days after the 

7 date of such removal, demotion, or suspension. 

8 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of an 

9 appeal under subsection (c)(4)(A), the administrative 

10 judge shall expedite any such appeal under section 

11 7701(b)(1) of title 5 and, in any such case, shall issue 

12 a final and complete decision not later than 180 days after 

13 the date of the appeal. 

14 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding section 7701(c)(1)(B) of 

15 title 5, the administrative judge shall uphold the decision 

16 of the Secretary to remove, demote, or suspend an em17 ployee under subsection (a) if the decision is supported 

18 by substantial evidence. 

19 ‘‘(B) If the decision of the Secretary is supported by 

20 substantial evidence, the administrative judge shall not 

21 mitigate the penalty prescribed by the Secretary. 

22 ‘‘(3) The decision of the administrative judge under 

23 paragraph (1) may be appealed to the Merit Systems Pro24 tection Board. 


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1 ‘‘(4) In any case in which the administrative judge 

2 cannot issue a decision in accordance with the 180-day 

3 requirement under paragraph (1), the Merit Systems Pro4 tection Board shall, not later than 14 business days after 

5 the expiration of the 180-day period, submit to the Com6 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com7 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa8 tives a report that explains the reasons why a decision was 

9 not issued in accordance with such requirement. 

10 ‘‘(5)(A) A decision of the Merit Systems Protection 

11 Board under paragraph (3) may be appealed to the United 

12 States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant 

13 to section 7703 of title 5. 

14 ‘‘(B) Any decision by such Court shall be in compli15 ance with section 7462(f)(2) of this title. 

16 ‘‘(6) The Merit Systems Protection Board may not 

17 stay any removal or demotion under this section, except 

18 as provided in section 1214(b) of title 5. 

19 ‘‘(7) During the period beginning on the date on 

20 which a covered individual appeals a removal from the civil 

21 service under subsection (c) and ending on the date that 

22 the United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 

23 issues a final decision on such appeal, such covered indi24 vidual may not receive any pay, awards, bonuses, incen25 tives, allowances, differentials, student loan repayments, 


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1 special payments, or benefits related to the employment 

2 of the individual by the Department. 

3 ‘‘(8) To the maximum extent practicable, the Sec4 retary shall provide to the Merit Systems Protection 

5 Board such information and assistance as may be nec6 essary to ensure an appeal under this subsection is expe7 dited. 

8 ‘‘(9) If an employee prevails on appeal under this sec9 tion, the employee shall be entitled to backpay (as pro10 vided in section 5596 of title 5). 

11 ‘‘(10) If an employee who is subject to a collective 

12 bargaining agreement chooses to grieve an action taken 

13 under this section through a grievance procedure provided 

14 under the collective bargaining agreement, the timelines 

15 and procedures set forth in subsection (c) and this sub16 section shall apply. 

17 ‘‘(e) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—(1) In the 

18 case of a covered individual seeking corrective action (or 

19 on behalf of whom corrective action is sought) from the 

20 Office of Special Counsel based on an alleged prohibited 

21 personnel practice described in section 2302(b) of title 5, 

22 the Secretary may not remove, demote, or suspend such 

23 covered individual under subsection (a) without the ap24 proval of the Special Counsel under section 1214(f) of title 

25 5. 


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1 ‘‘(2) In the case of a covered individual who has made 

2 a whistleblower disclosure to the Assistant Secretary for 

3 Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, the Sec4 retary may not remove, demote, or suspend such covered 

5 individual under subsection (a) until— 

6 ‘‘(A) in the case in which the Assistant Sec7 retary determines to refer the whistleblower disclo8 sure under section 323(c)(1)(D) of this title to an 

9 office or other investigative entity, a final decision 

10 with respect to the whistleblower disclosure has been 

11 made by such office or other investigative entity; or 

12 ‘‘(B) in the case in which the Assistant Sec13 retary determines not to the refer the whistleblower 

14 disclosure under such section, the Assistant Sec15 retary makes such determination. 

16 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION OF INVESTIGATIONS BY OFFICE

17 OF SPECIAL COUNSEL.—(1) Notwithstanding any other 

18 provision of law, the Special Counsel (established by sec19 tion 1211 of title 5) may terminate an investigation of 

20 a prohibited personnel practice alleged by an employee or 

21 former employee of the Department after the Special 

22 Counsel provides to the employee or former employee a 

23 written statement of the reasons for the termination of 

24 the investigation. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Such statement may not be admissible as evi2 dence in any judicial or administrative proceeding without 

3 the consent of such employee or former employee. 

4 ‘‘(g) VACANCIES.—In the case of a covered individual 

5 who is removed or demoted under subsection (a), to the 

6 maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall fill the va7 cancy arising as a result of such removal or demotion. 

8 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

9 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means an in10 dividual occupying a position at the Department, but 

11 does not include— 

12 ‘‘(A) an individual occupying a senior exec13 utive position (as defined in section 713(d) of 

14 this title); 

15 ‘‘(B) an individual appointed pursuant to 

16 sections 7306, 7401(1), or 7405 of this title; 

17 ‘‘(C) an individual who has not completed 

18 a probationary or trial period; or 

19 ‘‘(D) a political appointee. 

20 ‘‘(2) The term ‘suspend’ means the placing of 

21 an employee, for disciplinary reasons, in a temporary 

22 status without duties and pay for a period in excess 

23 of 14 days. 

24 ‘‘(3) The term ‘grade’ has the meaning given 

25 such term in section 7511(a) of title 5. 


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1 ‘‘(4) The term ‘misconduct’ includes neglect of 

2 duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed re3 assignment or to accompany a position in a transfer 

4 of function. 

5 ‘‘(5) The term ‘political appointee’ means an in6 dividual who is— 

7 ‘‘(A) employed in a position described 

8 under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5 

9 (relating to the Executive Schedule); 

10 ‘‘(B) a limited term appointee, limited 

11 emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in 

12 the Senior Executive Service, as defined under 

13 paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of 

14 section 3132(a) of title 5; or 

15 ‘‘(C) employed in a position of a confiden16 tial or policy-determining character under 

17 schedule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, 

18 Code of Federal Regulations, or successor regu19 lation. 

20 ‘‘(6) The term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ has the 

21 meaning given such term in section 323(g) of this 

22 title.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

24 (1) CLERICAL.—The table of sections at the be25 ginning of chapter 7 of such title is amended by inVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:46 May 24, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00028 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6401 E:\BILLS\S1094.RS S1094

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1 serting after the item relating to section 713 the fol2 lowing new item: 

‘‘714. Employees: removal, demotion, or suspension based on performance or 

misconduct.’’. 

3 (2) CONFORMING.—Section 4303(f) of title 5, 

4 United States Code, is amended— 

5 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

6 the end; 

7 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the pe8 riod at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

9 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

10 ‘‘(4) any removal or demotion under section 

11 714 of title 38.’’. 

12 SEC. 203. REDUCTION OF BENEFITS FOR DEPARTMENT OF 

13 VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES CONVICTED 

14 OF CERTAIN CRIMES. 

15 (a) REDUCTION OF BENEFITS.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of 

17 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 

18 at the end the following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 719. Reduction of benefits of employees convicted 

20 of certain crimes 

21 ‘‘(a) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR REMOVED EM22 PLOYEE.—(1) The Secretary shall order that the covered 

23 service of an employee of the Department removed from 

24 a position for performance or misconduct under section 


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1 719 or 7461 of this title or any other provision of law 

2 shall not be taken into account for purposes of calculating 

3 an annuity with respect to such individual under chapter 

4 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, if— 

5 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that the indi6 vidual is convicted of a felony (and the conviction is 

7 final) that influenced the individual’s performance 

8 while employed in the position; and 

9 ‘‘(B) before such order is made, the individual 

10 is afforded— 

11 ‘‘(i) notice of the proposed order; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to respond to the pro13 posed order by not later than ten business days 

14 following receipt of such notice; and 

15 ‘‘(C) the Secretary issues the order— 

16 ‘‘(i) in the case of a proposed order to 

17 which an individual responds under subpara18 graph (B)(ii), not later than five business days 

19 after receiving the response of the individual; or 

20 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a proposed order to 

21 which an individual does not respond, not later 

22 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro23 vides notice to the individual under subpara24 graph (B)(i). 


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1 ‘‘(2) Any individual with respect to whom an annuity 

2 is reduced under this subsection may appeal the reduction 

3 to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management 

4 pursuant to such regulations as the Director may pre5 scribe for purposes of this subsection. 

6 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR RETIRED EM7 PLOYEE.—(1) The Secretary may order that the covered 

8 service of an individual who is removed for performance 

9 or misconduct under section 719 or 7461 of this title or 

10 any other provision of law but who leaves employment at 

11 the Department prior to the issuance of a final decision 

12 with respect to such action shall not be taken into account 

13 for purposes of calculating an annuity with respect to such 

14 individual under chapter 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, if— 

15 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that individual is 

16 convicted of a felony (and the conviction is final) 

17 that influenced the individual’s performance while 

18 employed in the position; and 

19 ‘‘(B) before such order is made, the individual 

20 is afforded— 

21 ‘‘(i) notice of the proposed order; 

22 ‘‘(ii) opportunity to respond to the pro23 posed order by not later than ten business days 

24 following receipt of such notice; and 

25 ‘‘(C) the Secretary issues the order— 


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1 ‘‘(i) in the case of a proposed order to 

2 which an individual responds under subpara3 graph (B)(ii), not later than five business days 

4 after receiving the response of the individual; or 

5 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a proposed order to 

6 which an individual does not respond, not later 

7 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro8 vides notice to the individual under subpara9 graph (B)(i). 

10 ‘‘(2) Upon the issuance of an order by the Secretary 

11 under paragraph (1), the individual shall have an oppor12 tunity to appeal the order to the Director of the Office 

13 of Personnel Management before the date that is seven 

14 business days after the date of such issuance. 

15 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage16 ment shall make a final decision with respect to an appeal 

17 under paragraph (2) within 30 business days of receiving 

18 the appeal. 

19 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

20 than 37 business days after the Secretary issues a final 

21 order under subsection (a) or (b) with respect to an indi22 vidual, the Director of the Office of Personnel Manage23 ment shall recalculate the annuity of the individual. 

24 ‘‘(d) LUMP-SUM ANNUITY CREDIT.—Any individual 

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1 section (a) or (b) shall be entitled to be paid so much of 

2 such individual’s lump-sum credit as is attributable to the 

3 period of covered service. 

4 ‘‘(e) SPOUSE OR CHILDREN EXCEPTION.—(1) The 

5 Secretary, in consultation with the Director of the Office 

6 of Personnel Management, shall prescribe regulations that 

7 may provide for the payment to the spouse or children 

8 of any individual referred to in subsection (a) or (b) of 

9 any amounts which (but for this subsection) would other10 wise have been nonpayable by reason of such subsections. 

11 ‘‘(2) Regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) 

12 shall be consistent with the requirements of section 

13 8332(o)(5) and 8411(l)(5) of title 5, as the case may be. 

14 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

15 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered service’ means, with re16 spect to an individual subject to a removal for per17 formance or misconduct under section 719 or 7461 

18 of this title or any other provision of law, the period 

19 of service beginning on the date that the Secretary 

20 determines under such applicable provision that the 

21 individual engaged in activity that gave rise to such 

22 action and ending on the date that the individual is 

23 removed from or leaves a position of employment at 

24 the Department prior to the issuance of a final deci25 sion with respect to such action. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The term ‘lump-sum credit’ has the mean2 ing given such term in section 8331(8) or section 

3 8401(19) of title 5, as the case may be. 

4 ‘‘(3) The term ‘service’ has the meaning given 

5 such term in section 8331(12) or section 8401(26) 

6 of title 5, as the case may be.’’. 

7 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec8 tions at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title is 

9 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec10 tion 717 the following new item: 

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

11 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 719 of title 38, United 

12 States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), shall apply 

13 to any action of removal of an employee of the Department 

14 of Veterans Affairs under section 719 or 7461 of such title 

15 or any other provision of law, commencing on or after the 

16 date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 SEC. 204. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP BONUSES OR AWARDS 

18 PAID TO EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF 

19 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

20 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 

21 38, United States Code, as amended by section 203, is 

22 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

23 section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 721. Recoupment of bonuses or awards paid to em2 ployees of Department 

3 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro4 vision of law, the Secretary may issue an order directing 

5 an employee of the Department to repay the amount, or 

6 a portion of the amount, of any award or bonus paid to 

7 the employee under title 5, including under chapters 45 

8 or 53 of such title, or this title if— 

9 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that the indi10 vidual engaged in misconduct or poor performance 

11 prior to payment of the award or bonus, and that 

12 such award or bonus would not have been paid, in 

13 whole or in part, had the misconduct or poor per14 formance been known prior to payment; and 

15 ‘‘(2) before such repayment, the employee is af16 forded— 

17 ‘‘(A) notice of the proposed order; and 

18 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to respond to the pro19 posed order by not later than 10 business days 

20 after the receipt of such notice; and 

21 ‘‘(3) the Secretary issues the order— 

22 ‘‘(A) in the case of a proposed order to 

23 which an individual responds under paragraph 

24 (2)(B), not later than five business days after 

25 receiving the response of the individual; or 


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1 ‘‘(B) in the case of a proposed order to 

2 which an individual does not respond, not later 

3 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro4 vides notice to the individual under paragraph 

5 (2)(A). 

6 ‘‘(b) APPEAL OF ORDER OF SECRETARY.—(1) Upon 

7 the issuance of an order by the Secretary under subsection 

8 (a) with respect to an individual, the individual shall have 

9 an opportunity to appeal the order to the Director of the 

10 Office of Personnel Management before the date that is 

11 seven business days after the date of such issuance. 

12 ‘‘(2) The Director shall make a final decision with 

13 respect to an appeal under paragraph (1) within 30 busi14 ness days after receiving such appeal. 

15 ‘‘(c) APPEAL OF FINAL DECISION ON APPEAL OF

16 ORDER.—An individual may appeal a final decision on an 

17 appeal under subsection (b) to the Merit Systems Protec18 tion Board under section 7701 of title 5.’’. 

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

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

21 203(a)(2), is further amended by inserting after the item 

22 relating to section 719 the following new item: 

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

23 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 721 of title 38, 

24 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 

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1 retary of Veterans Affairs to an employee of the Depart2 ment of Veterans Affairs on or after the date of the enact3 ment of this Act. 

4 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act or the 

5 amendments made by this Act may be construed to modify 

6 the certification issued by the Office of Personnel Manage7 ment and the Office of Management and Budget regarding 

8 the performance appraisal system of the Senior Executive 

9 Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

10 SEC. 205. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP RELOCATION EXPENSES 

11 PAID TO OR ON BEHALF OF EMPLOYEES OF 

12 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 

14 38, United States Code, as amended by section 204, is 

15 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

16 section: 

17 ‘‘§ 723. Recoupment of relocation expenses paid on 

18 behalf of employees of Department 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro20 vision of law, the Secretary may issue an order directing 

21 an employee of the Department to repay the amount, or 

22 a portion of the amount, paid to or on behalf of the em23 ployee under title 5 for relocation expenses, including any 

24 expenses under section 5724 or 5724a of such title, or 

25 this title if— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that relocation 

2 expenses were paid following an act of fraud or mal3 feasance that influenced the authorization of the re4 location expenses; 

5 ‘‘(2) before such repayment, the employee is af6 forded— 

7 ‘‘(A) notice of the proposed order; and 

8 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to respond to the pro9 posed order not later than ten business days 

10 following the receipt of such notice; and 

11 ‘‘(3) the Secretary issues the order— 

12 ‘‘(A) in the case of a proposed order to 

13 which an individual responds under paragraph 

14 (2)(B), not later than five business days after 

15 receiving the response of the individual; or 

16 ‘‘(B) in the case of a proposed order to 

17 which an individual does not respond, not later 

18 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro19 vides notice to the individual under paragraph 

20 (2)(A). 

21 ‘‘(b) APPEAL OF ORDER OF SECRETARY.—(1) Upon 

22 the issuance of an order by the Secretary under subsection 

23 (a) with respect to an individual, the individual shall have 

24 an opportunity to appeal the order to the Director of the 


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1 Office of Personnel Management before the date that is 

2 seven business days after the date of such issuance. 

3 ‘‘(2) The Director shall make a final decision with 

4 respect to an appeal under paragraph (1) within 30 days 

5 after receiving such appeal. 

6 ‘‘(c) APPEAL OF FINAL DECISION ON APPEAL OF

7 ORDER.—An individual may appeal a final decision on an 

8 appeal under subsection (b) to the Merit Systems Protec9 tion Board under section 7701 of title 5.’’. 

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

11 at the beginning of such chapter is further amended by 

12 inserting after the item relating to section 721, as added 

13 by section 204(b), the following new item: 

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

14 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 723 of title 38, 

15 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall 

16 apply with respect to an amount paid by the Secretary 

17 of Veterans Affairs to or on behalf of an employee of the 

18 Department of Veterans Affairs for relocation expenses on 

19 or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 206. TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF AD2 VERSE ACTIONS AGAINST SUPERVISORY EM3 PLOYEES WHO COMMIT PROHIBITED PER4 SONNEL ACTIONS. 

5 Section 731(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, 

6 as redesignated by section 102(a)(2), is amended— 

7 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘14 days’’ and in8 serting ‘‘10 days’’; and 

9 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘14-day period’’ 

10 and inserting ‘‘10-day period’’. 

11 SEC. 207. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY FOR MEDICAL CEN12 TER DIRECTORS AND VISN DIRECTORS. 

13 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7401 of title 38, United 

14 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol15 lowing new paragraph: 

16 ‘‘(4) Directors of medical centers and directors 

17 of Veterans Integrated Service Networks with dem18 onstrated ability in the medical profession, in health 

19 care administration, or in health care fiscal manage20 ment.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7404(a)(1) 

22 of such title is amended by inserting ‘‘and 7401(4)’’ after 

23 ‘‘7306’’. 


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1 SEC. 208. TIME PERIODS FOR REVIEW OF ADVERSE AC2 TIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN EMPLOY3 EES. 

4 (a) PHYSICIANS, DENTISTS, PODIATRISTS, CHIRO5 PRACTORS, OPTOMETRISTS, REGISTERED NURSES, PHY6 SICIAN ASSISTANTS, AND EXPANDED-FUNCTION DENTAL

7 AUXILIARIES.—Paragraph (2) of section 7461(b) of title 

8 38, United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

9 ‘‘(2) In any case other than a case described in para10 graph (1) that involves or includes a question of profes11 sional conduct or competence in which a major adverse 

12 action was not taken, such an appeal shall be made 

13 through Department grievance procedures under section 

14 7463 of this title.’’. 

15 (b) MAJOR ADVERSE ACTIONS INVOLVING PROFES16 SIONAL CONDUCT OR COMPETENCE.—Section 7462(b) of 

17 such title is amended— 

18 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

19 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

20 (A), by inserting ‘‘, within the aggregate time 

21 period specified in paragraph (5)(A),’’ after ‘‘is 

22 entitled’’; 

23 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 

24 (i) by striking ‘‘At least 30 days ad25 vance written notice’’ and inserting ‘‘Ad26 vance written notice’’; 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘and a statement’’ and 

2 inserting ‘‘a statement’’; and 

3 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and a file con4 taining all the evidence in support of each 

5 charge,’’ after ‘‘with respect to each 

6 charge,’’; and 

7 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘A 

8 reasonable time, but not less than seven days’’ 

9 and inserting ‘‘The opportunity, within the time 

10 period provided for in paragraph (4)(A)’’; 

11 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

12 following new paragraph (3): 

13 ‘‘(3) After considering the employee’s answer, if any, 

14 and within the time period provided for in paragraph 

15 (5)(B), the deciding official shall render a decision on the 

16 charges. The decision shall be in writing and shall include 

17 the specific reasons therefor.’’; 

18 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

19 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in20 serting the following new subparagraph (A): 

21 ‘‘(A) The period for the response of an employee 

22 under paragraph (1)(B) to advance written under para23 graph (1)(A) shall be seven business days.’’; and 

24 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘30 

25 days’’ and inserting ‘‘seven business days’’; and 


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1 (4) by adding at the end the following new 

2 paragraphs: 

3 ‘‘(5)(A) The aggregate period for the resolution of 

4 charges against an employee under this subsection may 

5 not exceed 15 business days. 

6 ‘‘(B) The deciding official shall render a decision 

7 under paragraph (3) on charges under this subsection not 

8 later than 15 business days after the Under Secretary pro9 vides notice on the charges for purposes of paragraph 

10 (1)(A). 

11 ‘‘(6) The procedures in this subsection shall super12 sede any collective bargaining agreement to the extent that 

13 such agreement is inconsistent with such procedures.’’. 

14 (c) OTHER ADVERSE ACTIONS.—Section 7463(c) of 

15 such title is amended— 

16 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the same no17 tice and opportunity to answer with respect to those 

18 charges as provided in subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

19 of section 7462(b)(1) of this title’’ and inserting 

20 ‘‘notice and an opportunity to answer with respect to 

21 those charges in accordance with subparagraphs (A) 

22 and (B) of section 7462(b)(1) of this title, but with23 in the time periods specified in paragraph (3)’’; 

24 (2) in paragraph (2)— 


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1 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

2 (A), by inserting ‘‘, within the aggregate time 

3 period specified in paragraph (3)(A),’’ after ‘‘is 

4 entitled’’; 

5 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘an 

6 advance written notice’’ and inserting ‘‘written 

7 notice’’; and 

8 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘a 

9 reasonable time’’ and inserting ‘‘time to an10 swer’’; and 

11 (3) by adding at the end the following new 

12 paragraph (3): 

13 ‘‘(3)(A) The aggregate period for the resolution of 

14 charges against an employee under paragraph (1) or (2) 

15 may not exceed 15 business days. 

16 ‘‘(B) The period for the response of an employee 

17 under paragraph (1) or (2)(B) to written notice of charges 

18 under paragraph (1) or (2)(A), as applicable, shall be 

19 seven business days. 

20 ‘‘(C) The deciding official shall render a decision on 

21 charges under paragraph (1) or (2) not later than 15 busi22 ness days after notice is provided on the charges for pur23 poses of paragraph (1) or (2)(A), as applicable.’’. 


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1 SEC. 209. IMPROVEMENT OF TRAINING FOR SUPERVISORS. 

2 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

3 shall provide to each employee of the Department of Vet4 erans Affairs who is employed as a supervisor periodic 

5 training on the following: 

6 (1) The rights of whistleblowers and how to ad7 dress a report by an employee of a hostile work envi8 ronment, reprisal, or harassment. 

9 (2) How to effectively motivate, manage, and 

10 reward the employees who report to the supervisor. 

11 (3) How to effectively manage employees who 

12 are performing at an unacceptable level and access 

13 assistance from the human resources office of the 

14 Department and the Office of the General Counsel 

15 of the Department with respect to those employees. 

16 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

17 (1) SUPERVISOR.—The term ‘‘supervisor’’ has 

18 the meaning given such term in section 7103(a) of 

19 title 5, United States Code. 

20 (2) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘‘whistle21 blower’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

22 323(g) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

23 section 101. 


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1 SEC. 210. ASSESSMENT AND REPORT ON EFFECT ON SEN2 IOR EXECUTIVES AT DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet6 erans Affairs shall— 

7 (1) measure and assess the effect of the enact8 ment of this title on the morale, engagement, hiring, 

9 promotion, retention, discipline, and productivity of 

10 individuals in senior executive positions at the De11 partment of Veterans Affairs; and 

12 (2) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af13 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 

14 Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on 

15 the findings of the Secretary with respect to the 

16 measurement and assessment carried out under 

17 paragraph (1). 

18 (b) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by sub19 section (a)(1) shall include the following: 

20 (1) With respect to engagement, trends in mo21 rale of individuals in senior executive positions and 

22 individuals aspiring to senior executive positions. 

23 (2) With respect to promotions— 

24 (A) whether the Department is experi25 encing an increase or decrease in the number of 

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1 ment and candidate development programs with 

2 the intention of becoming candidates for senior 

3 executive positions; and 

4 (B) trends in applications to senior execu5 tive positions within the Department. 

6 (3) With respect to retention— 

7 (A) trends in retirement rates of individ8 uals in senior executive positions at the Depart9 ment; 

10 (B) trends in quit rates of individuals in 

11 senior executive positions at the Department; 

12 (C) rates of transfer of— 

13 (i) individuals from other Federal 

14 agencies into senior executive positions at 

15 the Department; and 

16 (ii) individuals from senior executive 

17 positions at the Department to other Fed18 eral agencies; and 

19 (D) trends in total loss rates by job func20 tion. 

21 (4) With respect to disciplinary processes— 

22 (A) regarding individuals in senior execu23 tive positions at the Department who are the 

24 subject of disciplinary action— 


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1 (i) the length of the disciplinary proc2 ess in days for such individuals both before 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act and 

4 under the provisions of this Act described 

5 in subsection (a)(1); and 

6 (ii) the extent to which appeals by 

7 such individuals are upheld under such 

8 provisions as compared to before the date 

9 of the enactment of this Act; 

10 (B) the components or offices of the De11 partment which experience the greatest number 

12 of proposed adverse actions against individuals 

13 in senior executive positions and components 

14 and offices which experience the least relative to 

15 the size of the components or offices’ total 

16 number of senior executive positions; 

17 (C) the tenure of individuals in senior ex18 ecutive positions who are the subject of discipli19 nary action; 

20 (D) whether the individuals in senior exec21 utive positions who are the subject of discipli22 nary action have previously been disciplined; 

23 and 

24 (E) the number of instances of disciplinary 

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1 uals in senior executive positions at the Depart2 ment as compared to governmentwide discipline 

3 against individuals in Senior Executive Service 

4 positions (as defined in section 3132(a) of title 

5 5, United States Code) as a percentage of the 

6 total number of individuals in senior executive 

7 positions at the Department and Senior Execu8 tive Service positions (as so defined). 

9 (5) With respect to hiring— 

10 (A) the degree to which the skills of newly 

11 hired individuals in senior executive positions at 

12 the Department are appropriate with respect to 

13 the needs of the Department; 

14 (B) the types of senior executive positions 

15 at the Department most commonly filled under 

16 the authorities in the provisions described in 

17 subsection (a)(1); 

18 (C) the number of senior executive posi19 tions at the Department filled by hires outside 

20 of the Department compared to hires from 

21 within the Department; 

22 (D) the length of time to fill a senior exec23 utive position at the Department and for a new 

24 hire to begin working in a new senior executive 

25 position; 


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1 (E) the mission-critical deficiencies filled 

2 by newly hired individuals in senior executive 

3 positions and the connection between mission4 critical deficiencies filled under the provisions 

5 described in subsection (a) and annual perform6 ance of the Department; 

7 (F) the satisfaction of applicants for senior 

8 executive positions at the Department with the 

9 hiring process, including the clarity of job an10 nouncements, reasons for withdrawal of applica11 tions, communication regarding status of appli12 cations, and timeliness of hiring decision; and 

13 (G) the satisfaction of newly hired individ14 uals in senior executive positions at the Depart15 ment with the hiring process and the process of 

16 joining and becoming oriented with the Depart17 ment. 

18 (c) SENIOR EXECUTIVE POSITION DEFINED.—In 

19 this section, the term ‘‘senior executive position’’ has the 

20 meaning given such term in section 713 of title 38, United 

21 States Code. 

22 SEC. 211. MEASUREMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

23 AFFAIRS DISCIPLINARY PROCESS OUTCOMES 

24 AND EFFECTIVENESS. 

25 (a) MEASURING AND COLLECTING.— 


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

2 Affairs shall measure and collect information on the 

3 outcomes of disciplinary actions carried out by the 

4 Department of Veterans Affairs during the three5 year period ending on the date of the enactment of 

6 this Act and the effectiveness of such actions. 

7 (2) ELEMENTS.—In measuring and collecting 

8 pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall meas9 ure and collect information regarding the following: 

10 (A) The average time from the initiation of 

11 an adverse action against an employee at the 

12 Department to the final resolution of that ac13 tion. 

14 (B) The number of distinct steps and lev15 els of review within the Department involved in 

16 the disciplinary process and the average length 

17 of time required to complete these steps. 

18 (C) The rate of use of alternate discipli19 nary procedures compared to traditional dis20 ciplinary procedures and the frequency with 

21 which employees who are subject to alternative 

22 disciplinary procedures commit additional of23 fenses. 

24 (D) The number of appeals from adverse 

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1 ment, the number of appeals upheld, and the 

2 reasons for which the appeals were upheld. 

3 (E) The use of paid administrative leave 

4 during the disciplinary process and the length 

5 of such leave. 

6 (b) REPORT.— 

7 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

8 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

9 committees of Congress a report on the disciplinary 

10 procedures and actions of the Department. 

11 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

12 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

13 (A) The information collected under sub14 section (a). 

15 (B) The findings of the Secretary with re16 spect to the measurement and collection carried 

17 out under subsection (a). 

18 (C) An analysis of the disciplinary proce19 dures and actions of the Department. 

20 (D) Suggestions for improving the discipli21 nary procedures and actions of the Department. 

22 (E) Such other matters as the Secretary 

23 considers appropriate. 


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1 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON2 GRESS.—In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate 

3 committees of Congress’’ means— 

4 (A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

5 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen6 ate; and 

7 (B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

8 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

9 House of Representatives. 

10 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

11 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the ‘‘De12 partment of Veterans Affairs Accountability and Whistle13 blower Protection Act of 2017’’. 

14 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents for 

15 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER 

PROTECTION 

Sec. 101. Establishment of Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. 

Sec. 102. Protection of whistleblowers in Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 103. Report on methods used to investigate employees of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

TITLE II—ACCOUNTABILITY OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES, 

SUPERVISORS, AND OTHER EMPLOYEES 

Sec. 201. Improved authorities of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve accountability of senior executives. 

Sec. 202. Improved authorities of Secretary of Veterans Affairs to improve accountability of employees. 

Sec. 203. Reduction of benefits for Department of Veterans Affairs employees convicted of certain crimes. 

Sec. 204. Authority to recoup bonuses or awards paid to employees of Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 205. Authority to recoup relocation expenses paid to or on behalf of employees of Department of Veterans Affairs. 


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Sec. 206. Time period for response to notice of adverse actions against supervisory employees who commit prohibited personnel actions. 

Sec. 207. Direct hiring authority for medical center directors and VISN directors. 

Sec. 208. Time periods for review of adverse actions with respect to certain employees. 

Sec. 209. Improvement of training for supervisors. 

Sec. 210. Assessment and report on effect on senior executives at Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 211. Measurement of Department of Veterans Affairs disciplinary process 

outcomes and effectiveness. 

1 TITLE I—OFFICE OF ACCOUNT2 ABILITY AND WHISTLE3 BLOWER PROTECTION 

4 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY 

5 AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 

6 (a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 3 of title 38, United States 

7 Code, is amended by adding at the end the following new 

8 section: 

9 ‘‘§ 323. Office of Accountability and Whistleblower 

10 Protection 

11 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—There is established in the De12 partment an office to be known as the ‘Office of Account13 ability and Whistleblower Protection’ (in this section re14 ferred to as the ‘Office’). 

15 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.—(1) The head of the Office 

16 shall be responsible for the functions of the Office and shall 

17 be appointed by the President pursuant to section 308(a) 

18 of this title. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The head of the Office shall be known as the ‘As2 sistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Pro3 tection’. 

4 ‘‘(3) The Assistant Secretary shall report directly to 

5 the Secretary on all matters relating to the Office. 

6 ‘‘(4) Notwithstanding section 308(b) of this title, the 

7 Secretary may only assign to the Assistant Secretary re8 sponsibilities relating to the functions of the Office set forth 

9 in subsection (c). 

10 ‘‘(c) FUNCTIONS.—(1) The functions of the Office are 

11 as follows: 

12 ‘‘(A) Advising the Secretary on all matters of the 

13 Department relating to accountability, including ac14 countability of employees of the Department, retalia15 tion against whistleblowers, and such matters as the 

16 Secretary considers similar and affect public trust in 

17 the Department. 

18 ‘‘(B) Issuing reports and providing recommenda19 tions related to the duties described in subparagraph 

20 (A). 

21 ‘‘(C) Receiving whistleblower disclosures. 

22 ‘‘(D) Referring whistleblower disclosures received 

23 under subparagraph (C) for investigation to the Of24 fice of the Medical Inspector, the Office of Inspector 

25 General, or other investigative entity, as appropriate, 


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1 if the Assistant Secretary has reason to believe the 

2 whistleblower disclosure is evidence of a violation of 

3 a provision of law, mismanagement, gross waste of 

4 funds, abuse of authority, or a substantial and spe5 cific danger to public health or safety. 

6 ‘‘(E) Receiving and referring disclosures from 

7 the Special Counsel for investigation to the Medical 

8 Inspector of the Department, the Inspector General of 

9 the Department, or such other person with investiga10 tory authority, as the Assistant Secretary considers 

11 appropriate. 

12 ‘‘(F) Recording, tracking, reviewing, and con13 firming implementation of recommendations from au14 dits and investigations carried out by the Inspector 

15 General of the Department, the Medical Inspector of 

16 the Department, the Special Counsel, and the Comp17 troller General of the United States, including the im18 position of disciplinary actions and other corrective 

19 actions contained in such recommendations. 

20 ‘‘(G) Analyzing data from the Office and the Of21 fice of Inspector General telephone hotlines, other 

22 whistleblower disclosures, disaggregated by facility 

23 and area of health care if appropriate, and relevant 

24 audits and investigations to identify trends and issue 


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1 reports to the Secretary based on analysis conducted 

2 under this subparagraph. 

3 ‘‘(H) Receiving, reviewing, and investigating al4 legations of misconduct, retaliation, or poor perform5 ance involving— 

6 ‘‘(i) an individual in a senior executive po7 sition (as defined in section 713(d) of this title) 

8 in the Department; 

9 ‘‘(ii) an individual employed in a confiden10 tial, policy-making, policy-determining, or pol11 icy-advocating position in the Department; or 

12 ‘‘(iii) a supervisory employee, if the allega13 tion involves retaliation against an employee for 

14 making a whistleblower disclosure. 

15 ‘‘(I) Making such recommendations to the Sec16 retary for disciplinary action as the Assistant Sec17 retary considers appropriate after substantiating any 

18 allegation of misconduct or poor performance pursu19 ant to an investigation carried out as described in 

20 subparagraph (F) or (H). 

21 ‘‘(2) In carrying out the functions of the Office, the 

22 Assistant Secretary shall ensure that the Office maintains 

23 a toll-free telephone number and Internet website to receive 

24 anonymous whistleblower disclosures. 


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1 ‘‘(3) In any case in which the Assistant Secretary re2 ceives a whistleblower disclosure from an employee of the 

3 Department under paragraph (1)(C), the Assistant Sec4 retary may not disclose the identity of the employee without 

5 the consent of the employee, except in accordance with the 

6 provisions of section 552a of title 5, or as required by any 

7 other applicable provision of Federal law. 

8 ‘‘(d) STAFF AND RESOURCES.—The Secretary shall en9 sure that the Assistant Secretary has such staff, resources, 

10 and access to information as may be necessary to carry out 

11 the functions of the Office. 

12 ‘‘(e) RELATION TO OFFICE OF GENERAL COUNSEL.— 

13 The Office shall not be established as an element of the Of14 fice of the General Counsel and the Assistant Secretary may 

15 not report to the General Counsel. 

16 ‘‘(f) REPORTS.—(1)(A) Not later than June 30 of each 

17 calendar year, beginning with June 30, 2017, the Assistant 

18 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af19 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

20 of the House of Representatives a report on the activities 

21 of the Office during the calendar year in which the report 

22 is submitted. 

23 ‘‘(B) Each report submitted under subparagraph (A) 

24 shall include, for the period covered by the report, the fol25 lowing: 


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1 ‘‘(i) A full and substantive analysis of the activi2 ties of the Office, including such statistical informa3 tion as the Assistant Secretary considers appropriate. 

4 ‘‘(ii) Identification of any issues reported to the 

5 Secretary under subsection (c)(1)(G), including such 

6 data as the Assistant Secretary considers relevant to 

7 such issues and any trends the Assistant Secretary 

8 may have identified with respect to such issues. 

9 ‘‘(iii) Identification of such concerns as the As10 sistant Secretary may have regarding the size, staff11 ing, and resources of the Office and such rec12 ommendations as the Assistant Secretary may have 

13 for legislative or administrative action to address 

14 such concerns. 

15 ‘‘(iv) Such recommendations as the Assistant 

16 Secretary may have for legislative or administrative 

17 action to improve— 

18 ‘‘(I) the process by which concerns are re19 ported to the Office; and 

20 ‘‘(II) the protection of whistleblowers within 

21 the Department. 

22 ‘‘(v) Such other matters as the Assistant Sec23 retary considers appropriate regarding the functions 

24 of the Office or other matters relating to the Office. 


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1 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary receives a recommendation for 

2 disciplinary action under subsection (c)(1)(I) and does not 

3 take or initiate the recommended disciplinary action before 

4 the date that is 60 days after the date on which the Sec5 retary received the recommendation, the Secretary shall 

6 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate 

7 and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep8 resentatives a detailed justification for not taking or initi9 ating such disciplinary action. 

10 ‘‘(g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

11 ‘‘(1) The term ‘supervisory employee’ means an 

12 employee of the Department who is a supervisor as 

13 defined in section 7103(a) of title 5. 

14 ‘‘(2) The term ‘whistleblower’ means one who 

15 makes a whistleblower disclosure. 

16 ‘‘(3) The term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ means 

17 any disclosure of information by an employee of the 

18 Department or individual applying to become an em19 ployee of the Department which the employee or indi20 vidual reasonably believes evidences— 

21 ‘‘(A) a violation of a law, rule, or regula22 tion; or 

23 ‘‘(B) gross mismanagement, a gross waste of 

24 funds, an abuse of authority, or a substantial 

25 and specific danger to public health or safety.’’. 


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1 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 308(b) of 

2 such title is amended by adding at the end the following 

3 new paragraph: 

4 ‘‘(12) The functions set forth in section 323(c) of 

5 this title.’’. 

6 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

7 the beginning of chapter 3 of such title is amended by add8 ing at the end the following new item: 

‘‘323. Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection.’’. 

9 SEC. 102. PROTECTION OF WHISTLEBLOWERS IN DEPART10 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 7 of title 

12 38, United States Code, is amended by— 

13 (1) striking sections 731, 732, 734, 735, and 736; 

14 (2) by redesignating section 733 as section 731; 

15 and 

16 (3) by adding at the end the following new sec17 tions: 

18 ‘‘§ 732. Protection of whistleblowers as criteria in 

19 evaluation of supervisors 

20 ‘‘(a) DEVELOPMENT AND USE OF CRITERIA RE21 QUIRED.—The Secretary, in consultation with the Assistant 

22 Secretary of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, 

23 shall develop criteria that— 


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1 ‘‘(1) the Secretary shall use as a critical element 

2 in any evaluation of the performance of a supervisory 

3 employee; and 

4 ‘‘(2) promotes the protection of whistleblowers. 

5 ‘‘(b) PRINCIPLES FOR PROTECTION OF WHISTLE6 BLOWERS.—The criteria required by subsection (a) shall in7 clude principles for the protection of whistleblowers, such 

8 as the degree to which supervisory employees respond con9 structively when employees of the Department report con10 cerns, take responsible action to resolve such concerns, and 

11 foster an environment in which employees of the Depart12 ment feel comfortable reporting concerns to supervisory em13 ployees or to the appropriate authorities. 

14 ‘‘(c) SUPERVISORY EMPLOYEE AND WHISTLEBLOWER

15 DEFINED.—In this section, the terms ‘supervisory employee’ 

16 and ‘whistleblower’ have the meanings given such terms in 

17 section 323 of this title. 

18 ‘‘§ 733. Training regarding whistleblower disclosures 

19 ‘‘(a) TRAINING.—Not less frequently than once every 

20 two years, the Secretary, in coordination with the Whistle21 blower Protection Ombudsman designated under section 

22 3(d)(1)(C) of the Inspector General Act of 1978 (5 U.S.C. 

23 App.), shall provide to each employee of the Department 

24 training regarding whistleblower disclosures, including— 


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1 ‘‘(1) an explanation of each method established 

2 by law in which an employee may file a whistleblower 

3 disclosure; 

4 ‘‘(2) the right of the employee to petition Con5 gress regarding a whistleblower disclosure in accord6 ance with section 7211 of title 5; 

7 ‘‘(3) an explanation that the employee may not 

8 be prosecuted or reprised against for disclosing infor9 mation to Congress, the Inspector General, or another 

10 investigatory agency in instances where such disclo11 sure is permitted by law, including under sections 

12 5701, 5705, and 7732 of this title, under section 552a 

13 of title 5 (commonly referred to as the Privacy Act), 

14 under chapter 93 of title 18, and pursuant to regula15 tions promulgated under section 264(c) of the Health 

16 Insurance Portability and Accountability Act of 1996 

17 (Public Law 104–191); 

18 ‘‘(4) an explanation of the language that is re19 quired to be included in all nondisclosure policies, 

20 forms, and agreements pursuant to section 115(a)(1) 

21 of the Whistleblower Protection Enhancement Act of 

22 2012 (5 U.S.C. 2302 note); and 

23 ‘‘(5) the right of contractors to be protected from 

24 reprisal for the disclosure of certain information 

25 under section 4705 or 4712 of title 41. 


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1 ‘‘(b) MANNER TRAINING IS PROVIDED.—The Secretary 

2 shall ensure, to the maximum extent practicable, that train3 ing provided under subsection (a) is provided in person. 

4 ‘‘(c) CERTIFICATION.—Not less frequently than once 

5 every two years, the Secretary shall provide training on 

6 merit system protection in a manner that the Special Coun7 sel certifies as being satisfactory. 

8 ‘‘(d) PUBLICATION.—The Secretary shall publish on 

9 the Internet website of the Department, and display promi10 nently at each facility of the Department, the rights of an 

11 employee to make a whistleblower disclosure, including the 

12 information described in paragraphs (1) through (5) of sub13 section (a). 

14 ‘‘(e) WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURE DEFINED.—In 

15 this section, the term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ has the 

16 meaning given such term in section 323 of this title.’’. 

17 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENTS.—The table of sections at 

18 the beginning of such chapter is amended— 

19 (1) by striking the items relating to sections 731 

20 through 736; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new items: 

‘‘731. Adverse actions against supervisory employees who commit prohibited personnel actions relating to whistleblower complaints. 

‘‘732. Protection of whistleblowers as criteria in evaluation of supervisors. 

‘‘733. Training regarding whistleblower disclosures.’’. 

22 (c) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 731 of such 

23 title, as redesignated by subsection (a)(2), is amended— 


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1 (1) in subsection (c)— 

2 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

3 (i) by striking subparagraphs (A) and 

4 (B) and inserting the following: 

5 ‘‘(A) making a whistleblower disclosure to 

6 the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and 

7 Whistleblower Protection, the Inspector General 

8 of the Department, the Special Counsel, or Con9 gress;’’; and 

10 (ii) by redesignating subparagraphs 

11 (C) through (F) as subparagraphs (B) 

12 through (E), respectively; and 

13 (iii) in subparagraph (B), as redesig14 nated by clause (ii), by striking ‘‘complaint 

15 in accordance with section 732 or with’’ 

16 and inserting ‘‘disclosure made to the As17 sistant Secretary for Accountability and 

18 Whistleblower Protection,’’; and 

19 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘through 

20 (F)’’ and inserting ‘‘through (E)’’; and 

21 (2) by adding at the end the following new sub22 section: 

23 ‘‘(d) WHISTLEBLOWER DISCLOSURE DEFINED.—In 

24 this section, the term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ has the 

25 meaning given such term in section 323(g) of this title.’’. 


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1 SEC. 103. REPORT ON METHODS USED TO INVESTIGATE EM2 PLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF3 FAIRS. 

4 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 540 days 

5 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Assistant 

6 Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection 

7 shall submit to the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, the Com8 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate, and the Com9 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 

10 a report on methods used to investigate employees of the 

11 Department of Veterans Affairs and whether such methods 

12 are used to retaliate against whistleblowers. 

13 (b) CONTENTS.—The report required by subsection (a) 

14 shall include the following: 

15 (1) An assessment of the use of administrative 

16 investigation boards, peer review, searches of medical 

17 records, and other methods for investigating employ18 ees of the Department. 

19 (2) A determination of whether and to what de20 gree the methods described in paragraph (1) are being 

21 used to retaliate against whistleblowers. 

22 (3) Recommendations for legislative or adminis23 trative action to implement safeguards to prevent the 

24 retaliation described in paragraph (2). 

25 (c) WHISTLEBLOWER DEFINED.—In this section, the 

26 term ‘‘whistleblower’’ has the meaning given such term in 


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1 section 323 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

2 section 101. 

3 TITLE II—ACCOUNTABILITY OF 

4 SENIOR EXECUTIVES, SUPER5 VISORS, AND OTHER EMPLOY6 EES 

7 SEC. 201. IMPROVED AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF VET8 ERANS AFFAIRS TO IMPROVE ACCOUNT9 ABILITY OF SENIOR EXECUTIVES. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 713 of title 38, United 

11 States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

12 ‘‘§ 713. Senior executives: removal, demotion, or sus13 pension based on performance or mis14 conduct 

15 ‘‘(a) AUTHORITY.—(1) The Secretary may, as pro16 vided in this section, reprimand or suspend, involuntarily 

17 reassign, demote, or remove a covered individual from a 

18 senior executive position at the Department if the Secretary 

19 determines that the misconduct or performance of the cov20 ered individual warrants such action. 

21 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary so removes such an individual, 

22 the Secretary may remove the individual from the civil 

23 service (as defined in section 2101 of title 5). 


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1 ‘‘(b) RIGHTS AND PROCEDURES.—(1) A covered indi2 vidual who is the subject of an action under subsection (a) 

3 is entitled to— 

4 ‘‘(A) advance notice of the action and a file con5 taining all evidence in support of the proposed action; 

6 ‘‘(B) be represented by an attorney or other rep7 resentative of the covered individual’s choice; and 

8 ‘‘(C) grieve the action in accordance with an in9 ternal grievance process that the Secretary, in con10 sultation with the Assistant Secretary for Account11 ability and Whistleblower Protection, shall establish 

12 for purposes of this subsection. 

13 ‘‘(2)(A) The aggregate period for notice, response, and 

14 decision on an action under subsection (a) may not exceed 

15 15 business days. 

16 ‘‘(B) The period for the response of a covered indi17 vidual to a notice under paragraph (1)(A) of an action 

18 under subsection (a) shall be 7 business days. 

19 ‘‘(C) A decision under this paragraph on an action 

20 under subsection (a) shall be issued not later than 15 busi21 ness days after notice of the action is provided to the covered 

22 individual under paragraph (1)(A). The decision shall be 

23 in writing, and shall include the specific reasons therefor. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The Secretary shall ensure that the grievance 

2 process established under paragraph (1)(C) takes fewer than 

3 21 days. 

4 ‘‘(4) A decision under paragraph (2) that is not 

5 grieved, and a grievance decision under paragraph (3), 

6 shall be final and conclusive. 

7 ‘‘(5) A covered individual adversely affected by a deci8 sion under paragraph (2) that is not grieved, or by a griev9 ance decision under paragraph (3), may obtain judicial re10 view of such decision. 

11 ‘‘(6) In any case in which judicial review is sought 

12 under paragraph (5), the court shall review the record and 

13 may set aside any Department action found to be— 

14 ‘‘(A) arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discre15 tion, or otherwise not in accordance with a provision 

16 of law; 

17 ‘‘(B) obtained without procedures required by a 

18 provision of law having been followed; or 

19 ‘‘(C) unsupported by substantial evidence. 

20 ‘‘(c) RELATION TO OTHER PROVISIONS OF LAW.—Sec21 tion 3592(b)(1) of title 5 and the procedures under section 

22 7543(b) of such title do not apply to an action under sub23 section (a). 

24 ‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

25 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means— 


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1 ‘‘(A) a career appointee (as that term is de2 fined in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5); or 

3 ‘‘(B) any individual who occupies an ad4 ministrative or executive position and who was 

5 appointed under section 7306(a), section 

6 7401(1), or section 7401(4) of this title. 

7 ‘‘(2) The term ‘misconduct’ includes neglect of 

8 duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed re9 assignment or to accompany a position in a transfer 

10 of function. 

11 ‘‘(3) The term ‘senior executive position’ 

12 means— 

13 ‘‘(A) with respect to a career appointee (as 

14 that term is defined in section 3132(a) of title 

15 5), a Senior Executive Service position (as such 

16 term is defined in such section); and 

17 ‘‘(B) with respect to a covered individual 

18 appointed under section 7306(a) or section 

19 7401(1) of this title, an administrative or execu20 tive position.’’. 

21 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 7461(c)(1) of 

22 such title is amended by inserting ‘‘employees in senior ex23 ecutive positions (as defined in section 713(d) of this title) 

24 and’’ before ‘‘interns’’. 


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1 (c) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

2 the beginning of chapter 7 of such title is amended by strik3 ing the item relating to section 713 and inserting the fol4 lowing new item: 

‘‘713. Senior executives: removal, demotion, or suspension based on performance 

or misconduct.’’. 

5 SEC. 202. IMPROVED AUTHORITIES OF SECRETARY OF VET6 ERANS AFFAIRS TO IMPROVE ACCOUNT7 ABILITY OF EMPLOYEES. 

8 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 

9 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after sec10 tion 713 the following new section: 

11 ‘‘§ 714. Employees: removal, demotion, or suspension 

12 based on performance or misconduct 

13 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) The Secretary may remove, 

14 demote, or suspend a covered individual who is an employee 

15 of the Department if the Secretary determines the perform16 ance or misconduct of the covered individual warrants such 

17 removal, demotion, or suspension. 

18 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary so removes, demotes, or suspends 

19 such a covered individual, the Secretary may— 

20 ‘‘(A) remove the covered individual from the civil 

21 service (as defined in section 2101 of title 5); 

22 ‘‘(B) demote the covered individual by means of 

23 a reduction in grade for which the covered individual 

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1 priate, and that reduces the annual rate of pay of the 

2 covered individual; or 

3 ‘‘(C) suspend the covered individual. 

4 ‘‘(b) PAY OF CERTAIN DEMOTED INDIVIDUALS.—(1) 

5 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any covered 

6 individual subject to a demotion under subsection (a)(2) 

7 shall, beginning on the date of such demotion, receive the 

8 annual rate of pay applicable to such grade. 

9 ‘‘(2)(A) A covered individual so demoted may not be 

10 placed on administrative leave during the period during 

11 which an appeal (if any) under this section is ongoing, and 

12 may only receive pay if the covered individual reports for 

13 duty or is approved to use accrued unused annual, sick, 

14 family medical, military, or court leave. 

15 ‘‘(B) If a covered individual so demoted does not report 

16 for duty or receive approval to use accrued unused leave, 

17 such covered individual shall not receive pay or other bene18 fits pursuant to subsection (d)(5). 

19 ‘‘(c) PROCEDURE.—(1)(A) The aggregate period for 

20 notice, response, and final decision in a removal, demotion, 

21 or suspension under this section may not exceed 15 business 

22 days. 

23 ‘‘(B) The period for the response of a covered indi24 vidual to a notice of a proposed removal, demotion, or sus25 pension under this section shall be 7 business days. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Paragraph (3) of subsection (b) of section 7513 

2 of title 5 shall apply with respect to a removal, demotion, 

3 or suspension under this section. 

4 ‘‘(D) The procedures in this subsection shall supersede 

5 any collective bargaining agreement to the extent that such 

6 agreement is inconsistent with such procedures. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall issue a final decision with 

8 respect to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this 

9 section not later than 15 business days after the Secretary 

10 provides notice, including a file containing all the evidence 

11 in support of the proposed action, to the covered individual 

12 of the removal, demotion, or suspension. The decision shall 

13 be in writing and shall include the specific reasons therefor. 

14 ‘‘(3) The procedures under chapter 43 of title 5 shall 

15 not apply to a removal, demotion, or suspension under this 

16 section. 

17 ‘‘(4)(A) Subject to subparagraph (B) and subsection 

18 (d), any removal or demotion under this section, and any 

19 suspension of more than 14 days under this section, may 

20 be appealed to the Merit Systems Protection Board, which 

21 shall refer such appeal to an administrative judge pursuant 

22 to section 7701(b)(1) of title 5. 

23 ‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a removal, 

24 demotion, or suspension may only be made if such appeal 


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1 is made not later than 10 business days after the date of 

2 such removal, demotion, or suspension. 

3 ‘‘(d) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of an ap4 peal under subsection (c)(4)(A), the administrative judge 

5 shall expedite any such appeal under section 7701(b)(1) of 

6 title 5 and, in any such case, shall issue a final and com7 plete decision not later than 180 days after the date of the 

8 appeal. 

9 ‘‘(2)(A) Notwithstanding section 7701(c)(1)(B) of title 

10 5, the administrative judge shall uphold the decision of the 

11 Secretary to remove, demote, or suspend an employee under 

12 subsection (a) if the decision is supported by substantial 

13 evidence. 

14 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding title 5 or any other provision 

15 of law, if the decision of the Secretary is supported by sub16 stantial evidence, the administrative judge shall not miti17 gate the penalty prescribed by the Secretary. 

18 ‘‘(3)(A) The decision of the administrative judge under 

19 paragraph (1) may be appealed to the Merit Systems Pro20 tection Board. 

21 ‘‘(B) Notwithstanding section 7701(c)(1)(B) of title 5, 

22 the Merit Systems Protection Board shall uphold the deci23 sion of the Secretary to remove, demote, or suspend an em24 ployee under subsection (a) if the decision is supported by 

25 substantial evidence. 


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1 ‘‘(C) Notwithstanding title 5 or any other provision 

2 of law, if the decision of the Secretary is supported by sub3 stantial evidence, the Merit Systems Protection Board shall 

4 not mitigate the penalty prescribed by the Secretary. 

5 ‘‘(4) In any case in which the administrative judge 

6 cannot issue a decision in accordance with the 180-day re7 quirement under paragraph (1), the Merit Systems Protec8 tion Board shall, not later than 14 business days after the 

9 expiration of the 180-day period, submit to the Committee 

10 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

11 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

12 that explains the reasons why a decision was not issued 

13 in accordance with such requirement. 

14 ‘‘(5)(A) A decision of the Merit Systems Protection 

15 Board under paragraph (3) may be appealed to the United 

16 States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant 

17 to section 7703 of title 5 or to any court of appeals of com18 petent jurisdiction pursuant to subsection (b)(1)(B) of such 

19 section. 

20 ‘‘(B) Any decision by such Court shall be in compli21 ance with section 7462(f)(2) of this title. 

22 ‘‘(6) The Merit Systems Protection Board may not 

23 stay any removal or demotion under this section, except as 

24 provided in section 1214(b) of title 5. 


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1 ‘‘(7) During the period beginning on the date on which 

2 a covered individual appeals a removal from the civil serv3 ice under subsection (c) and ending on the date that the 

4 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 

5 issues a final decision on such appeal, such covered indi6 vidual may not receive any pay, awards, bonuses, incen7 tives, allowances, differentials, student loan repayments, 

8 special payments, or benefits related to the employment of 

9 the individual by the Department. 

10 ‘‘(8) To the maximum extent practicable, the Secretary 

11 shall provide to the Merit Systems Protection Board such 

12 information and assistance as may be necessary to ensure 

13 an appeal under this subsection is expedited. 

14 ‘‘(9) If an employee prevails on appeal under this sec15 tion, the employee shall be entitled to backpay (as provided 

16 in section 5596 of title 5). 

17 ‘‘(10) If an employee who is subject to a collective bar18 gaining agreement chooses to grieve an action taken under 

19 this section through a grievance procedure provided under 

20 the collective bargaining agreement, the timelines and pro21 cedures set forth in subsection (c) and this subsection shall 

22 apply. 

23 ‘‘(e) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—(1) In the case 

24 of a covered individual seeking corrective action (or on be25 half of whom corrective action is sought) from the Office 


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1 of Special Counsel based on an alleged prohibited personnel 

2 practice described in section 2302(b) of title 5, the Secretary 

3 may not remove, demote, or suspend such covered indi4 vidual under subsection (a) without the approval of the 

5 Special Counsel under section 1214(f) of title 5. 

6 ‘‘(2) In the case of a covered individual who has made 

7 a whistleblower disclosure to the Assistant Secretary for Ac8 countability and Whistleblower Protection, the Secretary 

9 may not remove, demote, or suspend such covered indi10 vidual under subsection (a) until— 

11 ‘‘(A) in the case in which the Assistant Secretary 

12 determines to refer the whistleblower disclosure under 

13 section 323(c)(1)(D) of this title to an office or other 

14 investigative entity, a final decision with respect to 

15 the whistleblower disclosure has been made by such of16 fice or other investigative entity; or 

17 ‘‘(B) in the case in which the Assistant Secretary 

18 determines not to the refer the whistleblower disclosure 

19 under such section, the Assistant Secretary makes 

20 such determination. 

21 ‘‘(f) TERMINATION OF INVESTIGATIONS BY OFFICE OF

22 SPECIAL COUNSEL.—(1) Notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, the Special Counsel (established by section 1211 

24 of title 5) may terminate an investigation of a prohibited 

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1 ployee of the Department after the Special Counsel provides 

2 to the employee or former employee a written statement of 

3 the reasons for the termination of the investigation. 

4 ‘‘(2) Such statement may not be admissible as evidence 

5 in any judicial or administrative proceeding without the 

6 consent of such employee or former employee. 

7 ‘‘(g) VACANCIES.—In the case of a covered individual 

8 who is removed or demoted under subsection (a), to the 

9 maximum extent feasible, the Secretary shall fill the va10 cancy arising as a result of such removal or demotion. 

11 ‘‘(h) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered individual’ means an in13 dividual occupying a position at the Department, but 

14 does not include— 

15 ‘‘(A) an individual occupying a senior exec16 utive position (as defined in section 713(d) of 

17 this title); 

18 ‘‘(B) an individual appointed pursuant to 

19 sections 7306, 7401(1), 7401(4), or 7405 of this 

20 title; 

21 ‘‘(C) an individual who has not completed 

22 a probationary or trial period; or 

23 ‘‘(D) a political appointee. 

24 ‘‘(2) The term ‘suspend’ means the placing of an 

25 employee, for disciplinary reasons, in a temporary 


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1 status without duties and pay for a period in excess 

2 of 14 days. 

3 ‘‘(3) The term ‘grade’ has the meaning given 

4 such term in section 7511(a) of title 5. 

5 ‘‘(4) The term ‘misconduct’ includes neglect of 

6 duty, malfeasance, or failure to accept a directed re7 assignment or to accompany a position in a transfer 

8 of function. 

9 ‘‘(5) The term ‘political appointee’ means an in10 dividual who is— 

11 ‘‘(A) employed in a position described 

12 under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5 (re13 lating to the Executive Schedule); 

14 ‘‘(B) a limited term appointee, limited 

15 emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in 

16 the Senior Executive Service, as defined under 

17 paragraphs (5), (6), and (7), respectively, of sec18 tion 3132(a) of title 5; or 

19 ‘‘(C) employed in a position of a confiden20 tial or policy-determining character under sched21 ule C of subpart C of part 213 of title 5, Code 

22 of Federal Regulations, or successor regulation. 

23 ‘‘(6) The term ‘whistleblower disclosure’ has the 

24 meaning given such term in section 323(g) of this 

25 title.’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 

2 (1) CLERICAL.—The table of sections at the be3 ginning of chapter 7 of such title is amended by in4 serting after the item relating to section 713 the fol5 lowing new item: 

‘‘714. Employees: removal, demotion, or suspension based on performance or misconduct.’’. 

6 (2) CONFORMING.—Section 4303(f) of title 5, 

7 United States Code, is amended— 

8 (A) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘or’’ at 

9 the end; 

10 (B) in paragraph (3), by striking the period 

11 at the end and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

12 (C) by adding at the end the following: 

13 ‘‘(4) any removal or demotion under section 714 

14 of title 38.’’. 

15 SEC. 203. REDUCTION OF BENEFITS FOR DEPARTMENT OF 

16 VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES CONVICTED 

17 OF CERTAIN CRIMES. 

18 (a) REDUCTION OF BENEFITS.— 

19 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of 

20 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding 

21 at the end the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 719. Reduction of benefits of employees convicted of 

2 certain crimes 

3 ‘‘(a) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR REMOVED EM4 PLOYEE.—(1) The Secretary shall order that the covered 

5 service of an employee of the Department removed from a 

6 position for performance or misconduct under section 713, 

7 714, or 7461 of this title or any other provision of law shall 

8 not be taken into account for purposes of calculating an 

9 annuity with respect to such individual under chapter 83 

10 or chapter 84 of title 5, if— 

11 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that the indi12 vidual is convicted of a felony (and the conviction is 

13 final) that influenced the individual’s performance 

14 while employed in the position; and 

15 ‘‘(B) before such order is made, the individual is 

16 afforded— 

17 ‘‘(i) notice of the proposed order; and 

18 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to respond to the pro19 posed order by not later than ten business days 

20 following receipt of such notice; and 

21 ‘‘(C) the Secretary issues the order— 

22 ‘‘(i) in the case of a proposed order to which 

23 an individual responds under subparagraph 

24 (B)(ii), not later than five business days after re25 ceiving the response of the individual; or 


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1 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a proposed order to 

2 which an individual does not respond, not later 

3 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro4 vides notice to the individual under subpara5 graph (B)(i). 

6 ‘‘(2) Any individual with respect to whom an annuity 

7 is reduced under this subsection may appeal the reduction 

8 to the Director of the Office of Personnel Management pur9 suant to such regulations as the Director may prescribe for 

10 purposes of this subsection. 

11 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR RETIRED EM12 PLOYEE.—(1) The Secretary may order that the covered 

13 service of an individual who the Secretary proposes to re14 move for performance or misconduct under section 713, 714, 

15 or 7461 of this title or any other provision of law but who 

16 leaves employment at the Department prior to the issuance 

17 of a final decision with respect to such action shall not be 

18 taken into account for purposes of calculating an annuity 

19 with respect to such individual under chapter 83 or chapter 

20 84 of title 5, if— 

21 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that individual is 

22 convicted of a felony (and the conviction is final) that 

23 influenced the individual’s performance while em24 ployed in the position; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) before such order is made, the individual is 

2 afforded— 

3 ‘‘(i) notice of the proposed order; 

4 ‘‘(ii) opportunity to respond to the proposed 

5 order by not later than ten business days fol6 lowing receipt of such notice; and 

7 ‘‘(C) the Secretary issues the order— 

8 ‘‘(i) in the case of a proposed order to which 

9 an individual responds under subparagraph 

10 (B)(ii), not later than five business days after re11 ceiving the response of the individual; or 

12 ‘‘(ii) in the case of a proposed order to 

13 which an individual does not respond, not later 

14 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro15 vides notice to the individual under subpara16 graph (B)(i). 

17 ‘‘(2) Upon the issuance of an order by the Secretary 

18 under paragraph (1), the individual shall have an oppor19 tunity to appeal the order to the Director of the Office of 

20 Personnel Management before the date that is seven business 

21 days after the date of such issuance. 

22 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage23 ment shall make a final decision with respect to an appeal 

24 under paragraph (2) within 30 business days of receiving 

25 the appeal. 


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1 ‘‘(c) ADMINISTRATIVE REQUIREMENTS.—Not later 

2 than 37 business days after the Secretary issues a final 

3 order under subsection (a) or (b) with respect to an indi4 vidual, the Director of the Office of Personnel Management 

5 shall recalculate the annuity of the individual. 

6 ‘‘(d) LUMP-SUM ANNUITY CREDIT.—Any individual 

7 with respect to whom an annuity is reduced under sub8 section (a) or (b) shall be entitled to be paid so much of 

9 such individual’s lump-sum credit as is attributable to the 

10 period of covered service. 

11 ‘‘(e) SPOUSE OR CHILDREN EXCEPTION.—(1) The Sec12 retary, in consultation with the Director of the Office of 

13 Personnel Management, shall prescribe regulations that 

14 may provide for the payment to the spouse or children of 

15 any individual referred to in subsection (a) or (b) of any 

16 amounts which (but for this subsection) would otherwise 

17 have been nonpayable by reason of such subsections. 

18 ‘‘(2) Regulations prescribed under paragraph (1) shall 

19 be consistent with the requirements of section 8332(o)(5) 

20 and 8411(l)(5) of title 5, as the case may be. 

21 ‘‘(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

22 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered service’ means, with re23 spect to an individual subject to a removal for per24 formance or misconduct under section 719 or 7461 of 

25 this title or any other provision of law, the period of 


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1 service beginning on the date that the Secretary deter2 mines under such applicable provision that the indi3 vidual engaged in activity that gave rise to such ac4 tion and ending on the date that the individual is re5 moved from or leaves a position of employment at the 

6 Department prior to the issuance of a final decision 

7 with respect to such action. 

8 ‘‘(2) The term ‘lump-sum credit’ has the mean9 ing given such term in section 8331(8) or section 

10 8401(19) of title 5, as the case may be. 

11 ‘‘(3) The term ‘service’ has the meaning given 

12 such term in section 8331(12) or section 8401(26) of 

13 title 5, as the case may be.’’. 

14 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec15 tions at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title is 

16 amended by inserting after the item relating to sec17 tion 717 the following new item: 

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

18 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 719 of title 38, United 

19 States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), shall apply to 

20 any action of removal of an employee of the Department 

21 of Veterans Affairs under section 719 or 7461 of such title 

22 or any other provision of law, commencing on or after the 

23 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 SEC. 204. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP BONUSES OR AWARDS 

2 PAID TO EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF 

3 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 

5 38, United States Code, as amended by section 203, is fur6 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sec7 tion: 

8 ‘‘§ 721. Recoupment of bonuses or awards paid to em9 ployees of Department 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi11 sion of law, the Secretary may issue an order directing an 

12 employee of the Department to repay the amount, or a por13 tion of the amount, of any award or bonus paid to the em14 ployee under title 5, including under chapters 45 or 53 of 

15 such title, or this title if— 

16 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that the individual 

17 engaged in misconduct or poor performance prior to 

18 payment of the award or bonus, and that such award 

19 or bonus would not have been paid, in whole or in 

20 part, had the misconduct or poor performance been 

21 known prior to payment; and 

22 ‘‘(2) before such repayment, the employee is af23 forded— 

24 ‘‘(A) notice of the proposed order; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to respond to the pro2 posed order by not later than 10 business days 

3 after the receipt of such notice; and 

4 ‘‘(3) the Secretary issues the order— 

5 ‘‘(A) in the case of a proposed order to 

6 which an individual responds under paragraph 

7 (2)(B), not later than five business days after re8 ceiving the response of the individual; or 

9 ‘‘(B) in the case of a proposed order to 

10 which an individual does not respond, not later 

11 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro12 vides notice to the individual under paragraph 

13 (2)(A). 

14 ‘‘(b) APPEAL OF ORDER OF SECRETARY.—(1) Upon 

15 the issuance of an order by the Secretary under subsection 

16 (a) with respect to an individual, the individual shall have 

17 an opportunity to appeal the order to the Director of the 

18 Office of Personnel Management before the date that is seven 

19 business days after the date of such issuance. 

20 ‘‘(2) The Director shall make a final decision with re21 spect to an appeal under paragraph (1) within 30 business 

22 days after receiving such appeal.’’. 

23 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

24 the beginning of such chapter, as amended by section 


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1 203(a)(2), is further amended by inserting after the item 

2 relating to section 719 the following new item: 

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

3 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 721 of title 38, United 

4 States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with 

5 respect to an award or bonus paid by the Secretary of Vet6 erans Affairs to an employee of the Department of Veterans 

7 Affairs on or after the date of the enactment of this Act. 

8 (d) CONSTRUCTION.—Nothing in this Act or the 

9 amendments made by this Act may be construed to modify 

10 the certification issued by the Office of Personnel Manage11 ment and the Office of Management and Budget regarding 

12 the performance appraisal system of the Senior Executive 

13 Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

14 SEC. 205. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP RELOCATION EXPENSES 

15 PAID TO OR ON BEHALF OF EMPLOYEES OF 

16 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 

18 38, United States Code, as amended by section 204, is fur19 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sec20 tion: 

21 ‘‘§ 723. Recoupment of relocation expenses paid on be22 half of employees of Department 

23 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi24 sion of law, the Secretary may issue an order directing an 

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1 tion of the amount, paid to or on behalf of the employee 

2 under title 5 for relocation expenses, including any expenses 

3 under section 5724 or 5724a of such title, or this title if— 

4 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that relocation ex5 penses were paid following an act of fraud or malfea6 sance that influenced the authorization of the reloca7 tion expenses; 

8 ‘‘(2) before such repayment, the employee is af9 forded— 

10 ‘‘(A) notice of the proposed order; and 

11 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to respond to the pro12 posed order not later than ten business days fol13 lowing the receipt of such notice; and 

14 ‘‘(3) the Secretary issues the order— 

15 ‘‘(A) in the case of a proposed order to 

16 which an individual responds under paragraph 

17 (2)(B), not later than five business days after re18 ceiving the response of the individual; or 

19 ‘‘(B) in the case of a proposed order to 

20 which an individual does not respond, not later 

21 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro22 vides notice to the individual under paragraph 

23 (2)(A). 

24 ‘‘(b) APPEAL OF ORDER OF SECRETARY.—(1) Upon 

25 the issuance of an order by the Secretary under subsection 


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1 (a) with respect to an individual, the individual shall have 

2 an opportunity to appeal the order to the Director of the 

3 Office of Personnel Management before the date that is seven 

4 business days after the date of such issuance. 

5 ‘‘(2) The Director shall make a final decision with re6 spect to an appeal under paragraph (1) within 30 days 

7 after receiving such appeal.’’. 

8 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections at 

9 the beginning of such chapter is further amended by insert10 ing after the item relating to section 721, as added by sec11 tion 204(b), the following new item: 

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

12 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 723 of title 38, United 

13 States Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with 

14 respect to an amount paid by the Secretary of Veterans Af15 fairs to or on behalf of an employee of the Department of 

16 Veterans Affairs for relocation expenses on or after the date 

17 of the enactment of this Act. 

18 SEC. 206. TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF AD19 VERSE ACTIONS AGAINST SUPERVISORY EM20 PLOYEES WHO COMMIT PROHIBITED PER21 SONNEL ACTIONS. 

22 Section 731(a)(2)(B) of title 38, United States Code, 

23 as redesignated by section 102(a)(2), is amended— 


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1 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘14 days’’ and in2 serting ‘‘10 days’’; and 

3 (2) in clause (ii), by striking ‘‘14-day period’’ 

4 and inserting ‘‘10-day period’’. 

5 SEC. 207. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY FOR MEDICAL CEN6 TER DIRECTORS AND VISN DIRECTORS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7401 of title 38, United 

8 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the following 

9 new paragraph: 

10 ‘‘(4) Directors of medical centers and directors of 

11 Veterans Integrated Service Networks with dem12 onstrated ability in the medical profession, in health 

13 care administration, or in health care fiscal manage14 ment.’’. 

15 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 7404(a)(1) 

16 of such title is amended— 

17 (1) by inserting ‘‘(A)’’ before ‘‘The annual’’; and 

18 (2) in subparagraph (A), as designated by para19 graph (1)— 

20 (A) by inserting ‘‘and 7401(4)’’ after 

21 ‘‘7306’’; and 

22 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

23 subparagraph: 

24 ‘‘(B) Section 5377 of title 5 shall apply to a position 

25 under section 7401(4) of this title as if such position were 


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1 included in the definition of ‘position’ in section 5377(a) 

2 of title 5.’’. 

3 SEC. 208. TIME PERIODS FOR REVIEW OF ADVERSE AC4 TIONS WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN EMPLOY5 EES. 

6 (a) PHYSICIANS, DENTISTS, PODIATRISTS, CHIRO7 PRACTORS, OPTOMETRISTS, REGISTERED NURSES, PHYSI8 CIAN ASSISTANTS, AND EXPANDED-FUNCTION DENTAL AUX9 ILIARIES.—Paragraph (2) of section 7461(b) of title 38, 

10 United States Code, is amended to read as follows: 

11 ‘‘(2) In any case other than a case described in para12 graph (1) that involves or includes a question of profes13 sional conduct or competence in which a major adverse ac14 tion was not taken, such an appeal shall be made through 

15 Department grievance procedures under section 7463 of this 

16 title.’’. 

17 (b) MAJOR ADVERSE ACTIONS INVOLVING PROFES18 SIONAL CONDUCT OR COMPETENCE.—Section 7462(b) of 

19 such title is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

22 (A), by inserting ‘‘, within the aggregate time 

23 period specified in paragraph (5)(A),’’ after ‘‘is 

24 entitled’’; 

25 (B) in subparagraph (A)— 


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1 (i) by striking ‘‘At least 30 days ad2 vance written notice’’ and inserting ‘‘Ad3 vance written notice’’; 

4 (ii) by striking ‘‘and a statement’’ and 

5 inserting ‘‘a statement’’; and 

6 (iii) by inserting ‘‘and a file con7 taining all the evidence in support of each 

8 charge,’’ after ‘‘with respect to each 

9 charge,’’; and 

10 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘A 

11 reasonable time, but not less than seven days’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘The opportunity, within the time 

13 period provided for in paragraph (4)(A)’’; 

14 (2) by striking paragraph (3) and inserting the 

15 following new paragraph (3): 

16 ‘‘(3) After considering the employee’s answer, if any, 

17 and within the time period provided for in paragraph 

18 (5)(B), the deciding official shall render a decision on the 

19 charges. The decision shall be in writing and shall include 

20 the specific reasons therefor.’’; 

21 (3) in paragraph (4)— 

22 (A) by striking subparagraph (A) and in23 serting the following new subparagraph (A): 


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1 ‘‘(A) The period for the response of an employee under 

2 paragraph (1)(B) to advance written under paragraph 

3 (1)(A) shall be seven business days.’’; and 

4 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘30 

5 days’’ and inserting ‘‘seven business days’’; and 

6 (4) by adding at the end the following new para7 graphs: 

8 ‘‘(5)(A) The aggregate period for the resolution of 

9 charges against an employee under this subsection may not 

10 exceed 15 business days. 

11 ‘‘(B) The deciding official shall render a decision 

12 under paragraph (3) on charges under this subsection not 

13 later than 15 business days after the Under Secretary pro14 vides notice on the charges for purposes of paragraph 

15 (1)(A). 

16 ‘‘(6) The procedures in this subsection shall supersede 

17 any collective bargaining agreement to the extent that such 

18 agreement is inconsistent with such procedures.’’. 

19 (c) OTHER ADVERSE ACTIONS.—Section 7463(c) of 

20 such title is amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘the same no22 tice and opportunity to answer with respect to those 

23 charges as provided in subparagraphs (A) and (B) of 

24 section 7462(b)(1) of this title’’ and inserting ‘‘notice 

25 and an opportunity to answer with respect to those 


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1 charges in accordance with subparagraphs (A) and 

2 (B) of section 7462(b)(1) of this title, but within the 

3 time periods specified in paragraph (3)’’; 

4 (2) in paragraph (2)— 

5 (A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 

6 (A), by inserting ‘‘, within the aggregate time 

7 period specified in paragraph (3)(A),’’ after ‘‘is 

8 entitled’’; 

9 (B) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘an 

10 advance written notice’’ and inserting ‘‘written 

11 notice’’; and 

12 (C) in subparagraph (B), by striking ‘‘a 

13 reasonable time’’ and inserting ‘‘time to an14 swer’’; and 

15 (3) by adding at the end the following new para16 graph (3): 

17 ‘‘(3)(A) The aggregate period for the resolution of 

18 charges against an employee under paragraph (1) or (2) 

19 may not exceed 15 business days. 

20 ‘‘(B) The period for the response of an employee under 

21 paragraph (1) or (2)(B) to written notice of charges under 

22 paragraph (1) or (2)(A), as applicable, shall be seven busi23 ness days. 

24 ‘‘(C) The deciding official shall render a decision on 

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1 ness days after notice is provided on the charges for pur2 poses of paragraph (1) or (2)(A), as applicable.’’. 

3 SEC. 209. IMPROVEMENT OF TRAINING FOR SUPERVISORS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

5 shall provide to each employee of the Department of Vet6 erans Affairs who is employed as a supervisor periodic 

7 training on the following: 

8 (1) The rights of whistleblowers and how to ad9 dress a report by an employee of a hostile work envi10 ronment, reprisal, or harassment. 

11 (2) How to effectively motivate, manage, and re12 ward the employees who report to the supervisor. 

13 (3) How to effectively manage employees who are 

14 performing at an unacceptable level and access assist15 ance from the human resources office of the Depart16 ment and the Office of the General Counsel of the De17 partment with respect to those employees. 

18 (b) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

19 (1) SUPERVISOR.—The term ‘‘supervisor’’ has 

20 the meaning given such term in section 7103(a) of 

21 title 5, United States Code. 

22 (2) WHISTLEBLOWER.—The term ‘‘whistle23 blower’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

24 323(g) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

25 section 101. 


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1 SEC. 210. ASSESSMENT AND REPORT ON EFFECT ON SEN2 IOR EXECUTIVES AT DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two years after the 

5 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

6 Affairs shall— 

7 (1) measure and assess the effect of the enactment 

8 of this title on the morale, engagement, hiring, pro9 motion, retention, discipline, and productivity of in10 dividuals in senior executive positions at the Depart11 ment of Veterans Affairs; and 

12 (2) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

13 of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

14 of the House of Representatives a report on the find15 ings of the Secretary with respect to the measurement 

16 and assessment carried out under paragraph (1). 

17 (b) ELEMENTS.—The assessment required by sub18 section (a)(1) shall include the following: 

19 (1) With respect to engagement, trends in morale 

20 of individuals in senior executive positions and indi21 viduals aspiring to senior executive positions. 

22 (2) With respect to promotions— 

23 (A) whether the Department is experiencing 

24 an increase or decrease in the number of employ25 ees participating in leadership development and 

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1 tion of becoming candidates for senior executive 

2 positions; and 

3 (B) trends in applications to senior execu4 tive positions within the Department. 

5 (3) With respect to retention— 

6 (A) trends in retirement rates of individ7 uals in senior executive positions at the Depart8 ment; 

9 (B) trends in quit rates of individuals in 

10 senior executive positions at the Department; 

11 (C) rates of transfer of— 

12 (i) individuals from other Federal 

13 agencies into senior executive positions at 

14 the Department; and 

15 (ii) individuals from senior executive 

16 positions at the Department to other Fed17 eral agencies; and 

18 (D) trends in total loss rates by job func19 tion. 

20 (4) With respect to disciplinary processes— 

21 (A) regarding individuals in senior execu22 tive positions at the Department who are the 

23 subject of disciplinary action— 

24 (i) the length of the disciplinary proc25 ess in days for such individuals both before 


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1 the date of the enactment of this Act and 

2 under the provisions of this Act described in 

3 subsection (a)(1); and 

4 (ii) the extent to which appeals by such 

5 individuals are upheld under such provi6 sions as compared to before the date of the 

7 enactment of this Act; 

8 (B) the components or offices of the Depart9 ment which experience the greatest number of 

10 proposed adverse actions against individuals in 

11 senior executive positions and components and 

12 offices which experience the least relative to the 

13 size of the components or offices’ total number of 

14 senior executive positions; 

15 (C) the tenure of individuals in senior exec16 utive positions who are the subject of discipli17 nary action; 

18 (D) whether the individuals in senior execu19 tive positions who are the subject of disciplinary 

20 action have previously been disciplined; and 

21 (E) the number of instances of disciplinary 

22 action taken by the Secretary against individ23 uals in senior executive positions at the Depart24 ment as compared to governmentwide discipline 

25 against individuals in Senior Executive Service 


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1 positions (as defined in section 3132(a) of title 

2 5, United States Code) as a percentage of the 

3 total number of individuals in senior executive 

4 positions at the Department and Senior Execu5 tive Service positions (as so defined). 

6 (5) With respect to hiring— 

7 (A) the degree to which the skills of newly 

8 hired individuals in senior executive positions at 

9 the Department are appropriate with respect to 

10 the needs of the Department; 

11 (B) the types of senior executive positions at 

12 the Department most commonly filled under the 

13 authorities in the provisions described in sub14 section (a)(1); 

15 (C) the number of senior executive positions 

16 at the Department filled by hires outside of the 

17 Department compared to hires from within the 

18 Department; 

19 (D) the length of time to fill a senior execu20 tive position at the Department and for a new 

21 hire to begin working in a new senior executive 

22 position; 

23 (E) the mission-critical deficiencies filled by 

24 newly hired individuals in senior executive posi25 tions and the connection between mission-critical 


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1 deficiencies filled under the provisions described 

2 in subsection (a) and annual performance of the 

3 Department; 

4 (F) the satisfaction of applicants for senior 

5 executive positions at the Department with the 

6 hiring process, including the clarity of job an7 nouncements, reasons for withdrawal of applica8 tions, communication regarding status of appli9 cations, and timeliness of hiring decision; and 

10 (G) the satisfaction of newly hired individ11 uals in senior executive positions at the Depart12 ment with the hiring process and the process of 

13 joining and becoming oriented with the Depart14 ment. 

15 (c) SENIOR EXECUTIVE POSITION DEFINED.—In this 

16 section, the term ‘‘senior executive position’’ has the mean17 ing given such term in section 713 of title 38, United States 

18 Code. 

19 SEC. 211. MEASUREMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

20 AFFAIRS DISCIPLINARY PROCESS OUTCOMES 

21 AND EFFECTIVENESS. 

22 (a) MEASURING AND COLLECTING.— 

23 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af24 fairs shall measure and collect information on the 

25 outcomes of disciplinary actions carried out by the 


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1 Department of Veterans Affairs during the three-year 

2 period ending on the date of the enactment of this Act 

3 and the effectiveness of such actions. 

4 (2) ELEMENTS.—In measuring and collecting 

5 pursuant to paragraph (1), the Secretary shall meas6 ure and collect information regarding the following: 

7 (A) The average time from the initiation of 

8 an adverse action against an employee at the 

9 Department to the final resolution of that action. 

10 (B) The number of distinct steps and levels 

11 of review within the Department involved in the 

12 disciplinary process and the average length of 

13 time required to complete these steps. 

14 (C) The rate of use of alternate disciplinary 

15 procedures compared to traditional disciplinary 

16 procedures and the frequency with which employ17 ees who are subject to alternative disciplinary 

18 procedures commit additional offenses. 

19 (D) The number of appeals from adverse ac20 tions filed against employees of the Department, 

21 the number of appeals upheld, and the reasons 

22 for which the appeals were upheld. 

23 (E) The use of paid administrative leave 

24 during the disciplinary process and the length of 

25 such leave. 


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1 (b) REPORT.— 

2 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than December 31, 

3 2017, the Secretary shall submit to the appropriate 

4 committees of Congress a report on the disciplinary 

5 procedures and actions of the Department. 

6 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted under 

7 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

8 (A) The information collected under sub9 section (a). 

10 (B) The findings of the Secretary with re11 spect to the measurement and collection carried 

12 out under subsection (a). 

13 (C) An analysis of the disciplinary proce14 dures and actions of the Department. 

15 (D) Suggestions for improving the discipli16 nary procedures and actions of the Department. 

17 (E) Such other matters as the Secretary 

18 considers appropriate. 

19 (3) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CONGRESS.— 

20 In this subsection, the term ‘‘appropriate committees 

21 of Congress’’ means— 

22 (A) the Committee on Appropriations and 

23 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate; 

24 and 


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1 (B) the Committee on Appropriations and 

2 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

3 of Representatives. 


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Calendar No. 103 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 1094 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve 

ment of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. the accountability of employees of the DepartMAY 24, 2017 

Reported with an amendment 


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