II 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 12 

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 

JANUARY 3, 2017 

Mr. MORAN (for himself, Mr. BLUMENTHAL, and Mr. BENNET) introduced the 

following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on 

Veterans’ Affairs 

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, 

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Increasing the Depart5 ment of Veterans Affairs Accountability to Veterans Act 

6 of 2017’’. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
2 

•S 12 IS

1 SEC. 2. REDUCTION OF BENEFITS FOR SENIOR EXECU2 TIVES AND CERTAIN HEALTH CARE EMPLOY3 EES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

4 CONVICTED OF A FELONY. 

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

6 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 713 the 

7 following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 714. Senior executives and section 7401(1) employ9 ees: reduction of benefits of individuals 

10 convicted of a felony 

11 ‘‘(a) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR REMOVED INDI12 VIDUAL.—The covered service of an individual removed 

13 from a covered position at the Department by the Sec14 retary for performance or misconduct shall not be taken 

15 into account for purposes of calculating an annuity with 

16 respect to such individual under chapter 83 or chapter 84 

17 of title 5, if the individual is convicted of a felony (and 

18 the conviction is final) that was related, as determined by 

19 the Director of the Office of Personnel Management, to 

20 the individual’s conduct or performance while employed in 

21 such covered position. 

22 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR RETIRED INDI23 VIDUAL.—(1) The Secretary may order that the covered 

24 service of an individual who is subject to a removal or 

25 transfer from a covered position at the Department by the 

26 Secretary for performance or misconduct but who leaves 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
3 

•S 12 IS

1 employment at the Department prior to the issuance of 

2 a final decision with respect to such removal or transfer 

3 shall not be taken into account for purposes of calculating 

4 an annuity with respect to such individual under chapter 

5 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, if the individual is convicted 

6 of a felony (and the conviction is final) that was related, 

7 as determined by the Director of the Office of Personnel 

8 Management, to the individual’s performance while em9 ployed in such covered position. 

10 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall make such an order not 

11 later than 7 days after the date on which such individual 

12 is convicted of such felony. 

13 ‘‘(3) Not later than 30 days after the Secretary issues 

14 any order with respect to an individual under paragraph 

15 (1), the Director of the Office of Personnel Management 

16 shall recalculate the annuity of the individual. 

17 ‘‘(c) LUMP-SUM ANNUITY CREDIT.—Any individual 

18 with respect to whom an annuity is reduced under sub19 section (a) or (b) shall be entitled to be paid so much of 

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

21 period of covered service. 

22 ‘‘(d) REVIEW OF REDUCTION OF ANNUITY.—Any in23 dividual whose annuity is reduced under subsection (a) or 

24 (b) may appeal the reduction to the Director of the Office 

25 of Personnel Management. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
4 

•S 12 IS

1 ‘‘(e) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

2 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered position’ is— 

3 ‘‘(A) a senior executive position; or 

4 ‘‘(B) a position listed in section 7401(1) of 

5 this title that is not a senior executive position. 

6 ‘‘(2) The term ‘covered service’ means, with re7 spect to an individual subject to a removal or trans8 fer from a covered position at the Department for 

9 performance or misconduct, the period of service be10 ginning on the date that the Secretary determines 

11 that such individual engaged in activity that gave 

12 rise to such action and ending on the date that such 

13 individual is removed from the civil service or leaves 

14 employment at the Department prior to the issuance 

15 of a final decision with respect to such action, as the 

16 case may be. 

17 ‘‘(3) The term ‘lump-sum credit’ has the mean18 ing given such term in section 8331 or 8401 of title 

19 5, as the case may be. 

20 ‘‘(4) The term ‘senior executive position’ has 

21 the meaning given such term in section 713(g) of 

22 this title. 

23 ‘‘(5) The term ‘service’ has the meaning given 

24 such term in section 8331 or 8401 of title 5, as the 

25 case may be.’’. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
5 

•S 12 IS

1 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 714 of such title, as 

2 added by subsection (a), shall apply to any action of re3 moval or transfer from a covered position (as defined in 

4 subsection (e) of such section) at the Department of Vet5 erans Affairs commencing on or after the date of the en6 actment of this Act. 

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

8 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

9 after section 713 the following new item: 

‘‘714. Senior executives and section 7401(1) employees: reduction of benefits of 

individuals convicted of a felony.’’. 

10 SEC. 3. ACCOUNTABILITY OF LEADERS FOR MANAGING 

11 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

13 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 709 the 

14 following new section: 

15 ‘‘§ 710. Annual performance plan for political ap16 pointees 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall conduct an 

18 annual performance plan for each political appointee of 

19 the Department that is similar to the annual performance 

20 plan conducted for an employee of the Department who 

21 is appointed as a career appointee (as that term is defined 

22 in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5) within the Senior Execu23 tive Service at the Department. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
6 

•S 12 IS

1 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF PLAN.—Each annual perform2 ance plan conducted under subsection (a) with respect to 

3 a political appointee of the Department shall include, to 

4 the extent applicable, an assessment of whether the ap5 pointee is meeting the following goals: 

6 ‘‘(1) Recruiting, selecting, and retaining well7 qualified individuals for employment at the Depart8 ment. 

9 ‘‘(2) Engaging and motivating employees. 

10 ‘‘(3) Training and developing employees and 

11 preparing those employees for future leadership roles 

12 within the Department. 

13 ‘‘(4) Holding each employee of the Department 

14 that is a manager accountable for addressing issues 

15 relating to performance, in particular issues relating 

16 to the performance of employees that report to the 

17 manager.’’. 

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

19 at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title is further 

20 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

21 709 the following new item: 

‘‘710. Annual performance plan for political appointees.’’. 

22 SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY OF SUPERVISORS AT DEPART23 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS FOR HIRING 

24 WELL-QUALIFIED PEOPLE. 

25 (a) ASSESSMENT DURING PROBATIONARY PERIOD.— 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
7 

•S 12 IS

1 (1) DETERMINATION REQUIRED.—With respect 

2 to any employee of the Department of Veterans Af3 fairs who is required to serve a probationary period 

4 in a position in the Department, the Secretary of 

5 Veterans Affairs shall require the supervisor of such 

6 employee to determine, during the 30-day period 

7 ending on the date on which the probationary period 

8 ends, whether the employee— 

9 (A) has demonstrated successful perform10 ance; and 

11 (B) should continue past the probationary 

12 period. 

13 (2) LIMITATION ON EMPLOYMENT AFTER PRO14 BATIONARY PERIOD.— 

15 (A) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in 

16 subparagraph (B), no employee of the Depart17 ment serving a probationary period as described 

18 in paragraph (1) may complete that proba19 tionary period unless and until the supervisor of 

20 the employee, or another supervisor capable of 

21 making the requisite determination, has made 

22 an affirmative determination under such para23 graph. 

24 (B) PROBATIONARY PERIOD DEEMED COM25 PLETED.— 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
8 

•S 12 IS

1 (i) NO DETERMINATION.—If no deter2 mination under paragraph (1) is made 

3 with respect to an employee before the end 

4 of the 60-day period following the end of 

5 the 30-day period specified in such para6 graph, the employee shall be deemed to 

7 have completed the probationary period of 

8 the employee effective as of the end of that 

9 60-day period. 

10 (ii) RETROACTIVE EFFECT OF DETER11 MINATION.—If an affirmative determina12 tion under paragraph (1) is made with re13 spect to an employee after the end of the 

14 30-day period specified in such paragraph, 

15 the employee shall be deemed to have com16 pleted the probationary period of the em17 ployee effective as of the end of that 30- 

18 day period. 

19 (3) NOTIFICATION TO CONGRESS REGARDING

20 DETERMINATIONS.—Not less frequently than month21 ly, the Secretary shall notify the Committee on Vet22 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

23 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 

24 regarding— 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
9 

•S 12 IS

1 (A) each instance during such month in 

2 which a supervisor did not make a determina3 tion required under paragraph (1) during the 

4 period required in such paragraph; and 

5 (B) each such instance included in a pre6 vious notification under this paragraph for 

7 which the supervisor still has not made such a 

8 determination. 

9 (b) SUPERVISORS.—With respect to any employee of 

10 the Department who is serving a probationary period in 

11 a supervisory position at the Department, successful per12 formance under subsection (a) shall include demonstrating 

13 management competencies in addition to the technical 

14 skills required for such position. 

15 (c) PERFORMANCE PLAN.—Each annual perform16 ance plan conducted for a supervisor of an employee serv17 ing a probationary period shall hold the supervisor ac18 countable for— 

19 (1) providing regular feedback to such employee 

20 during such period before making a determination 

21 under subsection (a) regarding the probationary sta22 tus of such employee; and 

23 (2) making a timely determination under sub24 section (a) regarding the probationary status of such 

25 employee. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
10 

•S 12 IS

1 (d) SUPERVISOR DEFINED.—In this section, the term 

2 ‘‘supervisor’’ has the meaning given such term in section 

3 7103(a) of title 5, United States Code. 

4 SEC. 5. ACCOUNTABILITY OF MANAGERS FOR ADDRESSING 

5 PERFORMANCE OF EMPLOYEES. 

6 The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that, 

7 as a part of the annual performance plan of an employee 

8 of the Department of Veterans Affairs who is a manager, 

9 the manager is evaluated on the following: 

10 (1) Taking action to address poor performance 

11 and misconduct among the employees that report to 

12 the manager. 

13 (2) Taking steps to improve or sustain high lev14 els of employee engagement. 

15 SEC. 6. WRITTEN OPINION ON CERTAIN EMPLOYMENT RE16 STRICTIONS AFTER TERMINATING EMPLOY17 MENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

18 AFFAIRS. 

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

20 38, United States Code, is further amended by adding at 

21 the end the following new section: 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
11 

•S 12 IS

1 ‘‘§ 717. Written opinion on certain employment re2 strictions after terminating employment 

3 with the Department 

4 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Before terminating employment 

5 with the Department, any official of the Department who 

6 has participated personally and substantially during the 

7 one-year period ending on the date of the termination in 

8 an acquisition by the Department that exceeds 

9 $10,000,000 shall obtain a written opinion from an appro10 priate ethics counselor at the Department regarding any 

11 restrictions on activities that the official may undertake 

12 on behalf of a covered contractor during the two-year pe13 riod beginning on the date on which the official terminates 

14 such employment. 

15 ‘‘(b) COVERED CONTRACTOR DEFINED.—In this sec16 tion, the term ‘covered contractor’ means a contractor car17 rying out a contract entered into with the Department, 

18 including pursuant to a subcontract.’’. 

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

20 at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title is further 

21 amended by inserting after the item relating to section 

22 715 the following new item: 

‘‘717. Written opinion on certain employment restrictions after leaving the Department.’’. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
12 

•S 12 IS

1 SEC. 7. REQUIREMENT FOR CONTRACTORS OF THE DE2 PARTMENT EMPLOYING CERTAIN RECENTLY 

3 SEPARATED DEPARTMENT EMPLOYEES. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter II of chapter 81 of 

5 title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 

6 end the following new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 8129. Requirement for contractors employing cer8 tain recently separated Department em9 ployees 

10 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—A covered contractor may not 

11 knowingly provide compensation to an individual described 

12 in subsection (b) during the two-year period beginning on 

13 the date on which the individual terminates employment 

14 with the Department unless the covered contractor deter15 mines that the individual— 

16 ‘‘(1) has obtained the written opinion required 

17 under section 717(a) of this title; or 

18 ‘‘(2) has requested such written opinion not 

19 later than 30 days before receiving compensation 

20 from the covered contractor. 

21 ‘‘(b) INDIVIDUAL DESCRIBED.—An individual de22 scribed in this subsection is any official of the Department 

23 who participated personally and substantially during the 

24 one-year period ending on the date of the termination indi25 vidual’s employment with the Department in an acquisi26 tion by the Department that exceeds $10,000,000. 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS
13 

•S 12 IS

1 ‘‘(c) COVERED CONTRACTOR DEFINED.—In this sec2 tion, the term ‘covered contractor’ means a contractor car3 rying out a contract entered into with the Department, 

4 including pursuant to a subcontract.’’. 

5 (b) APPLICATION.—The requirement under section 

6 8129(a) of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub7 section (a), shall apply with respect to any entity that en8 ters into a contract with the Department on or after the 

9 date of the enactment of this Act. 

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

11 at the beginning of chapter 81 of such title is amended 

12 by inserting after the item relating to section 8128 the 

13 following new item: 

‘‘8129. Requirement for contractors employing certain recently separated Department employees.’’. 

Æ 


sradovich on DSK3GMQ082PROD with BILLS