II 

118TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION S. 2679 

To strengthen accountability and oversight at the Department of Veterans 

Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JULY 27, 2023 

Mr. TESTER (for himself, Mr. MORAN, and Mr. ROUNDS) introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To strengthen accountability and oversight at the 

Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘Leadership, Engagement, Accountability, and Develop6 ment Act of 2023’’ or the ‘‘LEAD Act of 2023’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADVERSE ACTIONS 


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Sec. 101. Establishment of system and standards for accountability and adverse 

actions. 

Sec. 102. Establishment of Office of Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, and Management in Veterans Health Administration. 

Sec. 103. Department of Veterans Affairs accountability, management, and 

leadership survey. 

Sec. 104. Establishment of administrative investigation board and other accountability actions database. 

Sec. 105. Report on accountability actions of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 106. Report on views of Secretary of Veterans Affairs on need for additional legislative action to improve accountability, due process, 

and whistleblower protection at Department of Veterans Affairs. 

TITLE II—OVERSIGHT OF HEALTH CARE 

Sec. 201. Oversight visit requirements for medical facilities of Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 202. Establishment of Office of the Medical Inspector of Department of 

Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 203. Inclusion of officials within Office of the Under Secretary for Health. 

Sec. 204. Mobile temporary health staffing program to ensure access and continuity of care. 

TITLE III—WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS AND EMPLOYEE 

ACCOUNTABILITY 

Sec. 301. Strengthening whistleblower protections at Department of Veterans 

Affairs. 

Sec. 302. Report on implementation of provisions of law relating to accountability and whistleblower protections at Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 303. Peer review of investigations by Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 304. Reports on improvements to adherence to recommendations of Office 

of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. 

Sec. 305. Report on Department of Veterans Affairs actions in response to preliminary observations in Comptroller General of the United 

States report on Department whistleblower retaliation. 

Sec. 306. Modification to responsibilities and authorities of Assistant Secretary 

for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection. 

TITLE IV—IMPROVING SECURITY, OVERSIGHT, ACCOUNTABILITY, 

AND MANAGEMENT OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS 

Sec. 401. Plan to consolidate and centralize security operations of Department 

of Veterans Affairs to improve management, clarify accountability, and strengthen effectiveness. 

Sec. 402. Report on enterprise risk management efforts of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 403. Modification of reporting requirement for Secretary of Veterans Affairs annual report on implementation of recommendations of 

Comptroller General of the United States pertaining to Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 404. Annual Hatch Act training program at Department of Veterans Affairs. 


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Sec. 405. Independent study regarding management structures of Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

1 TITLE I—ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

2 ADVERSE ACTIONS 

3 SEC. 101. ESTABLISHMENT OF SYSTEM AND STANDARDS 

4 FOR ACCOUNTABILITY AND ADVERSE AC5 TIONS. 

6 Subchapter I of chapter 7 of title 38, United States 

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

8 section: 

9 ‘‘§ 729. Accountability and adverse action system and 

10 standards 

11 ‘‘(a) SYSTEM AND STANDARDS.—Not later than one 

12 year after the date of the enactment of the Leadership, 

13 Engagement, Accountability, and Development Act of 

14 2023, the Secretary shall establish a system and standards 

15 for accountability and adverse action preparation and pro16 posal (hereafter referred to as ‘standards’). 

17 ‘‘(b) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out subsection 

18 (a), the Secretary shall— 

19 ‘‘(1) determine distinct steps and processes 

20 whereby any adverse action is investigated, prepared, 

21 and proposed for an employee of the Department; 

22 ‘‘(2) develop and distribute training on the 

23 processes determined pursuant to paragraph (1), 

24 which shall be a required annual training across the 


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1 enterprise and may differ for each employee based 

2 on the seniority, role, and Administration within the 

3 Department of the employee; 

4 ‘‘(3) collect and distribute best practices and re5 sources on accountability reporting and investiga6 tions, preparation, and proposal of adverse actions 

7 for human resources offices of the Department, the 

8 Office of General Counsel, and heads of facilities 

9 and offices of the Department, including relevant re10 gional offices, to distribute to their relevant staff 

11 across the enterprise; and 

12 ‘‘(4) monitor the implementation of the stand13 ards at facilities of the Department, including moni14 toring— 

15 ‘‘(A) the number of adverse actions issued 

16 versus number overturned in the three fiscal 

17 years prior; 

18 ‘‘(B) metrics for the time taken from alle19 gation of improper conduct or performance 

20 raised to an official proposal being issued; 

21 ‘‘(C) quality, frequency, and comprehen22 sion of training, information, and education 

23 provided to employees regarding accountability 

24 and adverse actions; 


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1 ‘‘(D) percentage of staff that completed 

2 the training developed and distributed pursuant 

3 to paragraph (2) over the past three fiscal 

4 years; 

5 ‘‘(E) number of external and internal in6 vestigations that resulted in at least one sub7 stantiated claim of a prohibited personnel ac8 tion set forth under section 731(c) of this title; 

9 ‘‘(F) responses to relevant surveys con10 ducted by the Department, including those es11 tablished by section 103 of the LEAD Act of 

12 2023; 

13 ‘‘(G) grievances filed by labor organiza14 tions relative to the number of collective bar15 gaining unit employees and whether or not they 

16 were adjudicated in favor of the labor organiza17 tion; and 

18 ‘‘(H) such other factors as the Secretary 

19 considers appropriate to monitor the account20 ability and due process culture of facilities, of21 fices, Administrations, and other relevant ele22 ments of the Department; and 

23 ‘‘(c) CONSULTATION.—In carrying out this section, 

24 the Secretary shall consult with the following: 

25 ‘‘(1) Representatives of labor organizations. 


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1 ‘‘(2) The Inspector General of the Department. 

2 ‘‘(3) The Assistant Secretary for Accountability 

3 and Whistleblower Protection. 

4 ‘‘(4) The Assistant Under Secretary for Health 

5 for Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, and 

6 Management. 

7 ‘‘(5) Employees of the Department across the 

8 enterprise. 

9 ‘‘(6) The Comptroller General of the United 

10 States. 

11 ‘‘(7) The Special Counsel. 

12 ‘‘(8) Such others as the Secretary considers ap13 propriate. 

14 ‘‘(d) DEFINITION OF ADVERSE ACTION.—(1) In this 

15 section, the term ‘adverse action’ means a personnel action 

16 taken by the Department against an employee of the De17 partment. 

18 ‘‘(2) Term ‘adverse action’ includes a removal, demo19 tion, suspension, and any other relevant significant per20 sonnel action taken by the Department against an em21 ployee of the Department.’’. 

22 (a) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 

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

24 inserting after the item relating to section 728 the fol25 lowing new item: 

‘‘729. Accountability and adverse action system and standards.’’. 


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1 SEC. 102. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF TRANSPARENCY, 

2 ENGAGEMENT, ACCOUNTABILITY, AND MAN3 AGEMENT IN VETERANS HEALTH ADMINIS4 TRATION. 

5 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 73 

7 of title 38, United States, Code, is amended by in8 serting after section 7306 the following new section: 

9 ‘‘§ 7306A. Office of Transparency, Engagement, Ac10 countability, and Management 

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

12 Veterans Health Administration an office to be known as 

13 the ‘Office of Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, 

14 and Management’ or the ‘TEAM Office’ (in this section 

15 referred to as the ‘Office’). 

16 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.— 

17 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The head of the Office 

18 shall be responsible for the functions of the Office 

19 and shall be appointed by the Under Secretary for 

20 Health from among individuals qualified to perform 

21 the duties of the position. 

22 ‘‘(2) DIRECTOR.—The head of the Office shall 

23 be known as the ‘Director of the Office of Trans24 parency, Engagement, Accountability, and Manage25 ment’ or the ‘Director of the TEAM Office’ and 


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1 shall report directly to the Under Secretary for 

2 Health. 

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

4 include the following: 

5 ‘‘(1) Tracking recommendations related to the 

6 Veterans Health Administration, and other relevant 

7 recommendations, made by the Office of the Medical 

8 Inspector (established under section 7306B of this 

9 title), the Inspector General of the Department, the 

10 Comptroller General of the United States, the Office 

11 of Special Counsel, the Joint Commission, and other 

12 relevant internal and external investigative and over13 sight bodies, to ensure individual and relevant sys14 tem-wide compliance with and adoption of those rec15 ommendations. 

16 ‘‘(2) To ensure compliance with those rec17 ommendations, the following: 

18 ‘‘(A) Following up with relevant depart19 ments and program offices of the Veterans 

20 Health Administration, Veterans Integrated 

21 Service Networks, medical centers, and other 

22 facilities to which those recommendations were 

23 made. 

24 ‘‘(B) Sharing knowledge of those rec25 ommendations and directing corrective policy 


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1 actions across the Veterans Health Administra2 tion so as to aid other offices, facilities, and 

3 other entities in avoiding repetition of the 

4 issues that required those recommendations. 

5 ‘‘(3) Ensuring consistency and reducing vari6 ation in delivery of health care and related services 

7 by the Veterans Health Administration (whether di8 rect care or through any contract or agreement) and 

9 adherence to national policies across the country. 

10 ‘‘(4) Conducting regular proactive and reactive 

11 in-person and virtual oversight visits to check adher12 ence to all applicable policies, regulations, and guid13 ance of the Department. 

14 ‘‘(5) Using internal and external data related to 

15 health quality, safety, access, satisfaction, staffing, 

16 and other areas with respect to health care from the 

17 Department to monitor and discover risks and chal18 lenges before they become larger issues and 

19 proactively direct changes, including by providing di20 rection and recommendations to the central office of 

21 the Veterans Health Administration, Veterans Inte22 grated Service Networks, medical centers, and other 

23 facilities and sub-units to address quality, safety, ac24 cess, satisfaction, staffing, and other health care de25 livery performance priorities. 


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1 ‘‘(6) Soliciting feedback to seek areas of im2 provement of delivery of health care to veterans, in3 cluding from individual veterans and their families, 

4 veterans service organizations, labor organizations, 

5 and employees across all levels of the Department. 

6 ‘‘(7) Proactive sharing of best practices and 

7 challenges identified across the Veterans Health Ad8 ministration with the appropriate leadership at every 

9 level of the Veterans Health Administration. 

10 ‘‘(8) Monitoring for, and incorporating best 

11 practices in, health quality, safety, access, satisfac12 tion, staffing, compliance, and risk management in 

13 public, private, and non-profit health settings and 

14 providing guidance for the Veterans Health Admin15 istration to incorporate those relevant best practices. 

16 ‘‘(9) Instilling a proactive approach to leader17 ship at every level of the Veterans Health Adminis18 tration, including the central office, Veterans Inte19 grated Service Networks, medical centers, and other 

20 facilities and sub-units. 

21 ‘‘(d) CONSULTATION.—In establishing the Office and 

22 carrying out the functions of the Office, the Under Sec23 retary shall consult with the Comptroller General of the 

24 United States and the Inspector General of the Depart25 ment to ensure the Office draws upon best practices idenVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00010 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 tified across the Federal Government and recommenda2 tions of the Comptroller General and the Inspector Gen3 eral. 

4 ‘‘(e) REORGANIZATION.—The Under Secretary may 

5 reorganize other offices within the Veterans Health Ad6 ministration to operate under the purview of the Office 

7 if the Under Secretary notifies Congress in advance of 

8 such reorganization.’’. 

9 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec10 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

11 by inserting after the item relating to section 7306 

12 the following new item: 

‘‘7306A. Office of Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, and Management.’’. 

13 (b) COORDINATION WITH STAKEHOLDERS.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—In establishing the Office of 

15 Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, and 

16 Management under section 7306A of title 38, 

17 United States Code, as added by subsection (a)(1), 

18 the Under Secretary for Health of the Department 

19 of Veterans Affairs shall solicit formal written feed20 back from labor organizations, veterans service orga21 nizations, and other appropriate entities. 

22 (2) REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

23 soliciting formal written feedback under paragraph 

24 (1), the Under Secretary shall submit to the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00011 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the 

2 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

3 Representatives a report containing any rec4 ommendations obtained under such paragraph, in5 cluding feedback on whether or not the Under Sec6 retary intends to follow any such recommendations 

7 and explanations for why the Under Secretary does 

8 not intend to follow any such recommendations. 

9 (c) REORGANIZATION.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the establishment 

11 of the Office of Transparency, Engagement, Ac12 countability, and Management under section 7306A 

13 of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub14 section (a)(1), not later than two years after the 

15 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

16 Veterans Affairs and the Under Secretary for 

17 Health of the Department of Veterans Affairs, in 

18 consultation with the Comptroller General of the 

19 United States and the Inspector General of the De20 partment of Veterans Affairs, shall reorganize into a 

21 cohesive office with relevant sub-offices consistent 

22 with best practices of the Comptroller General for 

23 internal controls and management the various rel24 evant disparate oversight functions within the VetVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00012 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 erans Health Administration that have some portion 

2 of responsibility for— 

3 (A) health care quality, safety, and risk; 

4 (B) proactive safety and quality improve5 ments; 

6 (C) reactive safety and quality improve7 ments; 

8 (D) access to care; 

9 (E) consistency of care delivery and qual10 ity; 

11 (F) adherence to national standards, pol12 icy, protocols, laws, and regulations; 

13 (G) quality and safety data collection and 

14 monitoring; and 

15 (H) such other matters as the Secretary 

16 determines appropriate. 

17 (2) REDUCTION OF DUPLICATION.—In carrying 

18 out the reorganization required under paragraph (1), 

19 the Under Secretary for Health of the Department 

20 of Veterans Affairs shall— 

21 (A) reduce duplication of functions in the 

22 various offices reorganized under such para23 graph; 

24 (B) clarify reporting structures and re25 sponsibilities; and 


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1 (C) ensure the establishment of a central2 ized, proactive, and accountable office dedicated 

3 to the functions outlined in section 7306A(c) of 

4 title 38, United States Code, as added by sub5 section (a)(1). 

6 (3) OFFICES INCLUDED.—At a minimum, the 

7 offices that shall be subsumed and restructured 

8 under the Office of Transparency, Engagement, Ac9 countability, and Management under section 7306A 

10 of title 38, United States Code, as added by sub11 section (a)(1), as part of the reorganization required 

12 under paragraph (1) shall include, from within the 

13 Veterans Health Administration— 

14 (A) the Office of Oversight, Risk, and Eth15 ics; 

16 (B) relevant portions or full offices from— 

17 (i) the Office of Risk Management; 

18 (ii) the Office of Clinical Services; 

19 (iii) the Office of Patient Care Serv20 ices; 

21 (iv) the Office of Operations; and 

22 (v) the Office of Quality and Patient 

23 Safety; and 

24 (C) the Office of the Medical Inspector 

25 under section 7306B of title 38, United States 


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1 Code, as added by section 202(a), solely for 

2 purposes of organizational efficiency and econo3 mies of scale. 

4 (4) REPORT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than two 

6 years after the date of the enactment of this 

7 Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

8 submit to the appropriate committees of Con9 gress a report on the completion of the reorga10 nization required under paragraph (1). 

11 (B) ELEMENTS.—The report required by 

12 subparagraph (A) shall include— 

13 (i) a description of the reorganization 

14 required under paragraph (1) that the 

15 Under Secretary for Health of the Depart16 ment of Veterans Affairs has carried out 

17 and the reasoning for the various struc18 tures established and how those structures 

19 will improve accountability, efficiency, 

20 management, leadership, care delivery, and 

21 oversight; 

22 (ii) a description of any challenges, 

23 and a response to those challenges, en24 countered in conducting such reorganiza25 tion; 


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1 (iii) recommendations for such legisla2 tive or administrative action as the Sec3 retary considers appropriate to fully imple4 ment such reorganization, including addi5 tional authorities or resources; and 

6 (iv) a description of any reasons why 

7 offices listed under paragraph (2) were not 

8 consolidated and how that decision will not 

9 affect accountability, efficiency, care deliv10 ery, and oversight. 

11 (C) APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF CON12 GRESS DEFINED.—In this paragraph, the term 

13 ‘‘appropriate committees of Congress’’ means— 

14 (i) the Committee on Veterans’ Af15 fairs and the Committee on Appropriations 

16 of the Senate; and 

17 (ii) the Committee on Veterans’ Af18 fairs and the Committee on Appropriations 

19 of the House of Representatives. 

20 SEC. 103. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS ACCOUNT21 ABILITY, MANAGEMENT, AND LEADERSHIP 

22 SURVEY. 

23 (a) BIENNIAL SURVEY REQUIRED.—Starting not less 

24 than 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act 

25 and not less than once every two years thereafter, the SecVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 retary of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a voluntary anon2 ymous accountability, management, and leadership survey 

3 open to all employees of the Department of Veterans Af4 fairs. 

5 (b) ANONYMITY.—The Secretary shall ensure the fol6 lowing: 

7 (1) Feedback collected and data compiled under 

8 this section is only to be disaggregated by— 

9 (A) whether an employee is in a Senior Ex10 ecutive Service position (as such term is defined 

11 in section 3132(a) of title 5, United States 

12 Code) or other equivalent position or not; and 

13 (B) Administration (namely Veterans 

14 Health Administration, National Cemetery Ad15 ministration, Veterans Benefits Administration, 

16 and Central Office of the Department) or staff 

17 office or other entity where a survey participant 

18 is employed. 

19 (2) In carrying out paragraph (1), the granu20 larity of data collected is not recorded or collected 

21 in a manner to allow the identification of employees 

22 within any unit of the Department which contains a 

23 relatively smaller number of employees and whose 

24 identities could potentially be ascertained. 


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1 (3) Feedback collected and data compiled under 

2 this section does not include any personally identifi3 able information. 

4 (4) The protections for participants provided 

5 under this subsection are clearly made known within 

6 the survey and in educational and training material 

7 informing employees of the Department about the 

8 survey. 

9 (c) ELEMENTS.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—As part of the voluntary 

11 anonymous survey required by subsection (a), the 

12 Secretary shall inquire about the following: 

13 (A) The knowledge level and under14 standing of employees regarding reporting and 

15 accountability structures within and outside of 

16 the Department regarding employment con17 cerns, issues of waste, fraud, and abuse and 

18 other related matters. 

19 (B) The knowledge level and under20 standing of employees regarding whistleblower 

21 protections including protections against pro22 hibited personnel actions described in section 

23 731(c) of title 38, United States Code. 

24 (C) The knowledge level and under25 standing of employees regarding where to seek 


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1 assistance with equal employment opportunity, 

2 harassment, and other related matters. 

3 (D) The knowledge level and under4 standing of how to report information to the 

5 Office of Inspector General of the Department, 

6 the Office of the Medical Inspector established 

7 by section 7306B of title 38, United States 

8 Code, as added by section 202, the Office of Ac9 countability and Whistleblower Protection, the 

10 Office of Special Counsel, the Comptroller Gen11 eral of the United States, and related entities. 

12 (E) To what extent employees feel com13 fortable reporting areas of concern to an indi14 vidual in the supervisory chain of the employee. 

15 (F) If the employee has reported areas of 

16 concern within their supervisor chain in the 

17 past, to what extent the employee feels the re18 port was taken seriously and addressed. 

19 (G) If the employee has reported areas of 

20 concern to a representative of a labor organiza21 tion, to what extent the employee feels the labor 

22 organization was able to address it. 

23 (H) The opinions and comments of survey 

24 participants on any topic the participants con25 sider appropriate. 


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1 (I) Such other matters the Secretary con2 siders appropriate. 

3 (2) INFORMATION AND RESOURCES.—At the 

4 end of each survey required by subsection (a), the 

5 Department shall provide employees with informa6 tion and resources regarding the following: 

7 (A) How to reach out to their appropriate 

8 labor representatives, where applicable. 

9 (B) Resources and information on the legal 

10 protections for whistleblowers. 

11 (C) Reporting information to the Office of 

12 Inspector General of the Department, the Office 

13 of the Medical Inspector established by section 

14 301, the Office of Accountability and Whistle15 blower Protection, the Office of Special Coun16 sel, the Comptroller General of the United 

17 States, and related entities. 

18 (3) RESPONSES NOT REQUIRED.—The Sec19 retary shall not require an employee who chooses to 

20 participate in the survey to respond to every ques21 tion of the survey required by subsection (a). 

22 (d) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

23 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

24 after the date of the completion of the initial survey 

25 conducted pursuant to subsection (a) and each surVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00020 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 vey conducted thereafter, the Department shall sub2 mit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

3 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of 

4 the House of Representatives a report on the survey. 

5 (2) ELEMENTS.—Each report submitted pursu6 ant to paragraph (1) regarding a survey shall in7 clude the following, disaggregated as described in 

8 subsection (b)(1): 

9 (A) A copy of the survey as it was pre10 sented, including any variations depending on 

11 employee status and Administration, staff of12 fice, or related element of the Department. 

13 (B) The survey response rate. 

14 (C) A description of outreach the Depart15 ment conducted to notify employees of the sur16 vey and solicit responses. 

17 (D) A description of incentives provided to 

18 employees for responding to the survey or work19 place accommodations made for employees to 

20 respond to the survey during working hours. 

21 (E) A description of safeguards instituted 

22 to ensure employee anonymity. 

23 (F) Conclusions, recommendations, and 

24 plans of action based on survey responses to 

25 improve accountability, due process, employee 


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1 retention and development, and leadership and 

2 management at the Department. 

3 (e) COORDINATION WITH THIRD PARTIES.—The 

4 Secretary may enlist a reputable non-Department entity 

5 to develop, conduct, and analyze the surveys. 

6 (f) COORDINATION WITH COMMUNITY AND LABOR

7 ORGANIZATIONS.—The Secretary shall solicit formal writ8 ten feedback from labor organization partners and other 

9 appropriate entities regarding the contents of the surveys 

10 conducted pursuant to subsection (a) and the data anal11 ysis of each survey. The Secretary shall share these rec12 ommendations with the committees described in sub13 section (d)(1) and include feedback on whether or not the 

14 Secretary intends to follow the recommendations and ex15 planations for any recommendations the Secretary does 

16 not follow. 

17 (g) TERMINATION.—The requirements of this section 

18 shall terminate on the date that is five years after the date 

19 of the enactment of this Act, but the Secretary may con20 tinue conducting surveys under this section as the Sec21 retary considers appropriate. 

22 (h) DEFINITION OF WHISTLEBLOWER.—In this sec23 tion, the term ‘‘whistleblower’’ has the meaning given such 

24 term in section 323 of title 38, United States Code, as 

25 amended by this Act. 


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1 SEC. 104. ESTABLISHMENT OF ADMINISTRATIVE INVES2 TIGATION BOARD AND OTHER ACCOUNT3 ABILITY ACTIONS DATABASE. 

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

5 38, United States Code, as amended by section 101, is 

6 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

7 section: 

8 ‘‘§ 729A. Administrative investigation board and 

9 other accountability actions database 

10 ‘‘(a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary shall estab11 lish a central, access-controlled, and secure database to 

12 make administrative investigation board information, and 

13 other official investigatory process information, accessible 

14 for relevant officials of the Department for the purposes 

15 of— 

16 ‘‘(1) reviewing an employee who is under con17 sideration for promotion or rehire and who was the 

18 subject of an administrative investigation board or 

19 other official investigatory process; 

20 ‘‘(2) monitoring trends and challenges, includ21 ing with respect to management and accountability; 

22 and 

23 ‘‘(3) enabling relevant authorized officials of— 

24 ‘‘(A) the Office of the Secretary and the 

25 Deputy Secretary and non-Administration of26 fices of the Central Office of the Department to 


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1 attain visibility and insight into the account2 ability actions and investigations of the head3 quarters of the Department for purposes of 

4 management and oversight; 

5 ‘‘(B) Veterans Integrated Service Net6 works and the central office of the Veterans 

7 Health Administration to attain visibility and 

8 insight into the accountability actions and in9 vestigations of the Department medical centers 

10 and other relevant sub-facilities for the pur11 poses of management and oversight; 

12 ‘‘(C) the central office of the Veterans 

13 Benefits Administration to attain visibility and 

14 insight into the accountability actions and in15 vestigations of regional offices of the Adminis16 tration for the purposes of management and 

17 oversight; 

18 ‘‘(D) the central office of the National 

19 Cemetery Administration to attain visibility and 

20 insight into the accountability actions and in21 vestigations of regional offices of the Adminis22 tration for the purposes of management and 

23 oversight; and 

24 ‘‘(E) all other relevant offices and adminis25 trations of the Department to attain visibility 


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1 and insight into the accountability actions and 

2 investigations of regional or sub-offices of a rel3 evant organization for the purposes of manage4 ment and oversight. 

5 ‘‘(b) MANNER OF IMPLEMENTATION.—The database 

6 established pursuant to subsection (a) may be imple7 mented through— 

8 ‘‘(1) the creation of a standalone information 

9 technology service or system; or 

10 ‘‘(2) incorporated into an existing or planned 

11 information technology solution for human re12 sources, accountability, or other similar functions, 

13 but only if such system complies with the require14 ments of subsection (c). 

15 ‘‘(c) PRIVACY AND SECURITY.— 

16 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The database established 

17 pursuant to subsection (a) shall have privacy, user18 based, time-limitation, and access controls to ensure 

19 only those with a need to know can access the infor20 mation. 

21 ‘‘(2) PROTOCOLS.— 

22 ‘‘(A) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall, 

23 in consultation with the General Counsel of the 

24 Department, the Assistant Secretary for Infor25 mation and Technology, the Chief Human CapVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 itol Officer, and the Assistant Secretary for Ac2 countability and Whistleblower Protection, and 

3 the heads of such other relevant offices of the 

4 Department, develop protocols for who can have 

5 access to the database established pursuant to 

6 subsection (a) and when, so as to preserve pri7 vacy, preserve due process, and strengthen ac8 countability and whistleblower protection. 

9 ‘‘(B) ANNUAL REVIEWS.—The Secretary 

10 shall review the protocols developed pursuant to 

11 subparagraph (A) not less frequently than once 

12 each year. 

13 ‘‘(d) FEATURES.—The database established pursuant 

14 to subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the ability 

15 to filter data in the database and search such data by the 

16 following: 

17 ‘‘(1) Outcome of an administrative investigation 

18 board or other official investigatory process. 

19 ‘‘(2) The implementation status of the rec20 ommendations or other actions included in a final 

21 administrative investigation board or other official 

22 investigatory process. 

23 ‘‘(3) Summary of facts of a case. 

24 ‘‘(4) Relevant final documents and interviews, 

25 findings, and adjudication. 


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1 ‘‘(5) Grade of employee. 

2 ‘‘(6) Status of administrative investigation 

3 board review or other official investigatory process. 

4 ‘‘(7) Date of initiation and whether a case is 

5 open but not concluded or other such status. 

6 ‘‘(8) Date of closure of an administrative inves7 tigation board or other official investigatory process. 

8 ‘‘(9) Employee name. 

9 ‘‘(10) Administration, staff office, or other De10 partment entity. 

11 ‘‘(11) Location, such as the following: 

12 ‘‘(A) Station code. 

13 ‘‘(B) Regional office. 

14 ‘‘(C) Department medical center or med15 ical facility of the Department. 

16 ‘‘(D) Cemetery. 

17 ‘‘(E) Such other relevant subcategories as 

18 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

19 ‘‘(e) EXPANSION OF SCOPE.—The Secretary may ex20 pand the scope of the database established pursuant to 

21 subsection (a) to include such other accountability reviews 

22 and adverse employment outcomes as the Secretary con23 siders appropriate. 

24 ‘‘(f) MONITORING OF DATABASE.—The Secretary 

25 shall ensure that the Veterans Integrated Service NetVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00027 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 works, the central office of the Department, the Office of 

2 Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, the district 

3 offices of the National Cemetery Administration, the cen4 tral office of the National Cemetery Administration, the 

5 regional districts of the Veterans Benefits Administration, 

6 the central office of the Veterans Benefits Administration, 

7 and such senior leaders of the Department as the Sec8 retary considers appropriate monitor the database estab9 lished pursuant to subsection (a) for activity and trends 

10 within their organizations down to the lowest level so as 

11 to ensure awareness of administrative investigation boards 

12 and other official investigatory processes open and con13 cluded within their organization so as to determine poten14 tial trends and challenges within the various levels and 

15 sub-levels of each organization. 

16 ‘‘(g) POLICIES ON UPLOADING, ENTERING, OR OTH17 ERWISE SUBMITTING INFORMATION.—The Secretary shall 

18 develop and implement policy to require all parts of the 

19 Department to upload, enter, or otherwise submit infor20 mation to the database established pursuant to subsection 

21 (a) in real-time so as to ensure the database has the most 

22 current available information at all times. 

23 ‘‘(h) ADMINISTRATION.—The General Counsel 

24 shall— 


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1 ‘‘(1) administer the database established pursu2 ant to subsection (a); 

3 ‘‘(2) maintain the database in coordination with 

4 the Chief Human Capital Officer of the Department, 

5 the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whis6 tleblower Protection, and the Assistant Secretary for 

7 Information and Technology, especially with respect 

8 to ensuring security, access control, due process, and 

9 whistleblower protection; 

10 ‘‘(3) monitor the database for trends; and 

11 ‘‘(4) develop recommendations, based on the 

12 findings of the General Counsel with respect to the 

13 monitoring carried out pursuant to paragraph (3), 

14 for the Secretary to improve accountability, over15 sight, leadership, and management at the Depart16 ment. 

17 ‘‘(i) DEFINITION OF VET CENTER.—In this section, 

18 the term ‘Vet Center’ has the meaning given that term 

19 in section 1712A(h) of this title.’’. 

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

21 at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title, as amended 

22 by section 101, is further amended by inserting after the 

23 item relating to section 729 the following new item: 

‘‘729A. Administrative investigation board and other accountability actions database.’’. 


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1 SEC. 105. REPORT ON ACCOUNTABILITY ACTIONS OF DE2 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

3 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than one year 

4 after the date of the enactment of this Act and not later 

5 than 60 days after the commencement of each fiscal year 

6 thereafter until the date that is five years after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans 

8 Affairs shall submit to the appropriate committees of Con9 gress a report on adverse actions relating to employees 

10 of the Department of Veterans Affairs occurring during 

11 the previous fiscal year. 

12 (b) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted pursuant to 

13 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

14 (1) Information for all terminations, removals, 

15 demotions, or other adverse actions, during the 10 

16 fiscal years ending before the date of the submittal 

17 of the report, disaggregated by fiscal year. 

18 (2) The authority used to terminate an em19 ployee, disaggregated by type of adverse action and 

20 seniority level of employee. 

21 (c) DEFINITION OF APPROPRIATE COMMITTEES OF

22 CONGRESS.—In this section, the term ‘‘appropriate com23 mittees of Congress’’ means— 

24 (1) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

25 Committee on Appropriations of the Senate; and 


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1 (2) the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs and the 

2 Committee on Appropriations of the House of Rep3 resentatives. 

4 SEC. 106. REPORT ON VIEWS OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS 

5 AFFAIRS ON NEED FOR ADDITIONAL LEGIS6 LATIVE ACTION TO IMPROVE ACCOUNT7 ABILITY, DUE PROCESS, AND WHISTLE8 BLOWER PROTECTION AT DEPARTMENT OF 

9 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after the 

11 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet12 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

13 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af14 fairs of the House of Representatives a report indicating— 

15 (1) whether the Secretary has determined that 

16 additional legislative action is required to ensure ac17 countability, due process, and whistleblower protec18 tion for employees of the Department; 

19 (2) if the Secretary has determined that addi20 tional legislative action is required, the recommended 

21 action and a justification for such recommendation; 

22 and 

23 (3) if the Secretary determines that additional 

24 legislative action is not required, the reasoning for 

25 such determination. 


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1 (b) DEFINITION OF WHISTLEBLOWER.—In this sec2 tion, the term ‘‘whistleblower’’ has the meaning given such 

3 term in section 323(h) of title 38, United States Code, 

4 as redesignated by section 201(d). 

5 TITLE II—OVERSIGHT OF 

6 HEALTH CARE 

7 SEC. 201. OVERSIGHT VISIT REQUIREMENTS FOR MEDICAL 

8 FACILITIES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

9 AFFAIRS. 

10 (a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary of Veterans Af11 fairs, in coordination with the Under Secretary for Health, 

12 shall establish requirements for in-person oversight visits 

13 by officials of the Department of Veterans Affairs to med14 ical facilities of the Department as follows: 

15 (1) Not less frequently than once each fiscal 

16 year, the director of each medical center of the De17 partment shall make an announced or unannounced 

18 oversight visit to each medical facility that is within 

19 the jurisdiction of such director or the catchment 

20 area of such medical center. 

21 (2) Not less frequently than once every two fis22 cal years, each member of the executive leadership 

23 team, except for the director, of each medical center 

24 of the Department shall make an announced or un25 announced oversight visit to each medical facility 


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1 that is within the jurisdiction of such team or the 

2 catchment area of such medical center. 

3 (3) Not less frequently than once every two fis4 cal years, the director of each Veterans Integrated 

5 Service Network of the Department shall make an 

6 announced or unannounced oversight visit to each 

7 medical center of the Department that falls within 

8 such network. 

9 (b) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than October 1 

10 following the end of the second fiscal year beginning after 

11 the date of the enactment of this Act, and every fiscal 

12 year thereafter for five years, the Secretary of Veterans 

13 Affairs, acting through the Under Secretary for Health, 

14 shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

15 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

16 House of Representatives a report on— 

17 (1) any observations regarding the impact of in18 person visits required under subsection (a) in im19 proving oversight of, and leadership engagement in, 

20 facilities of the Department of Veterans Affairs, ac21 countability of employees, to include leadership, at 

22 such facilities, and care delivery and quality to vet23 erans; 

24 (2) the number of individuals, their job title, 

25 and the facility of the Department at which they 


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1 serve, who have not met the requirements set forth 

2 in subsection (a) and steps taken to improve compli3 ance with such requirements, including an expla4 nation as to why those requirements were not met; 

5 and 

6 (3) any other observations the Secretary or the 

7 Under Secretary for Health may have regarding the 

8 impact of visits required under subsection (a) on im9 proving health care delivery, quality, safety, leader10 ship, and accountability. 

11 SEC. 202. ESTABLISHMENT OF OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL IN12 SPECTOR OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF13 FAIRS. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Subchapter I of chapter 73 of 

15 title 38, United States Code, is amended by inserting after 

16 section 7306A, as added by section 102(a)(1) of this Act, 

17 the following new section: 

18 ‘‘§ 7306B. Office of the Medical Inspector 

19 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—There is established in the Vet20 erans Health Administration within the Office of Trans21 parency, Engagement, Accountability, and Management 

22 under section 7306A of this title, or subsequent office of 

23 similar function, an office to be known as the ‘Office of 

24 the Medical Inspector’ (in this section referred to as the 

25 ‘Office’). 


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1 ‘‘(b) HEAD OF OFFICE.— 

2 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Medical Inspector 

3 shall be the head of the Office. 

4 ‘‘(2) APPOINTMENT.—The Medical Inspector 

5 shall be appointed by the Secretary from among in6 dividuals qualified to perform the duties of the posi7 tion. 

8 ‘‘(3) REPORTING.—The Medical Inspector shall 

9 report directly to the Under Secretary for Health. 

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

11 include the following: 

12 ‘‘(1) To review, including proactively, the qual13 ity, safety, outcomes, and delivery of, and access to, 

14 health care provided to veterans by the Department. 

15 ‘‘(2) To proactively review offices and facilities 

16 of the Veterans Health Administration that have an 

17 impact on the quality, safety, and delivery of, and 

18 access to, such care and the performance of the De19 partment in providing such care. 

20 ‘‘(3) To proactively review offices and facilities 

21 of the Veterans Health Administration to ensure 

22 that policies and procedures of the Department and 

23 the Veterans Health Administration are applied con24 sistently at all such offices and facilities. 


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1 ‘‘(4) To investigate, including proactively, the 

2 existence of any systemic health delivery, quality, 

3 safety, access, or related issues, as determined by 

4 the Medical Inspector, that arise within the Veterans 

5 Health Administration or through health care pro6 vided by the Department. 

7 ‘‘(5) To establish temporary investigative teams 

8 to carry out reviews or investigations described in 

9 paragraphs (1), (2), (3), and (4) in response to spe10 cific incidents or inquiries, including the following: 

11 ‘‘(A) Investigations of complaints by a vet12 eran, a family member of a veteran, an em13 ployee of the Department, or another individual 

14 that may require a visit to a facility or facilities 

15 of the Department. 

16 ‘‘(B) Reviews or investigations upon re17 quest by the Secretary or the Under Secretary 

18 for Health. 

19 ‘‘(C) Reviews or investigations in response 

20 to information or requests by the Inspector 

21 General of the Department, the Office of Ac22 countability and Whistleblower Protection of 

23 the Department, the Special Counsel, the 

24 Comptroller General of the United States, a 


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1 Member of Congress, and other related entities, 

2 as determined by the Secretary. 

3 ‘‘(D) Assessments to examine potential 

4 systemic health quality, safety, access, satisfac5 tion, staffing, performance, and other issues 

6 within the Veterans Health Administration, in7 cluding through the conduct of surveys, the col8 lection and examination of data, and the anal9 ysis of databases. 

10 ‘‘(6) To recommend policies to promote effi11 ciency in the administration of, and to prevent 

12 waste, abuse, and mismanagement in, programs and 

13 operations of the Veterans Health Administration. 

14 ‘‘(7) To carry out other related duties required 

15 of the Office by the Secretary or the Under Sec16 retary for Health before, on, or after the date of the 

17 enactment of this section. 

18 ‘‘(8) To conduct coordination and open commu19 nication with the Inspector General of the Depart20 ment, the Special Counsel, and the Comptroller Gen21 eral and to ensure those entities have the informa22 tion required to perform their independent oversight 

23 functions. 

24 ‘‘(d) CAPABILITIES AND INTERNAL CONTROLS.—The 

25 Under Secretary and the Medical Inspector shall ensure 


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1 that the Office has the following capabilities and internal 

2 controls to achieve effective operations of the Office: 

3 ‘‘(1) A modern electronic information tech4 nology database, system, or systems with a min5 imum of the following functions or capabilities: 

6 ‘‘(A) To perform modern case management 

7 activities, including tracking open cases, closed 

8 cases, trends, time to process, open rec9 ommendations, to whom a recommendation is 

10 directed (such as a facility or individual), and 

11 other similar activities of the Office. 

12 ‘‘(B) To track referrals of issues the Office 

13 declines to review but refers to other entities to 

14 review. 

15 ‘‘(C) To review all report recommendations 

16 of the Office for trends and issues throughout 

17 the Veterans Health Administration and alert 

18 leadership of the Veterans Health Administra19 tion for corrective and preventative action. 

20 ‘‘(D) Such other functions or capabilities 

21 as determined by the Under Secretary and the 

22 Medical Inspector. 

23 ‘‘(2) Consistent guidelines for how long facili24 ties that have an open recommendation from the Of25 fice have to close such recommendation. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Best practice guidelines on what set of 

2 management officials and processes are to be used 

3 to approve the closure of recommendations from the 

4 Office consistent with internal controls best practices 

5 of the Government Accountability Office. 

6 ‘‘(4) A staffing model and budget for the Office 

7 that is consistent with those of a health care system 

8 with a patient workload the size of that served by 

9 the Department. 

10 ‘‘(5) An organizational performance plan. 

11 ‘‘(e) INFORMATION ON SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE

12 APPLICANTS.— 

13 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—In conducting a review 

14 under this section with respect to an individual serv15 ing in a Senior Executive Service position (as de16 fined in section 3132(a) of title 5) or equivalent po17 sition in the Department, the Medical Inspector, and 

18 a limited number of personnel delegated by the Med19 ical Inspector from within the Office, may request 

20 and receive from other relevant offices of the De21 partment the complete hiring packet, package, or as22 sembled paperwork and other information, including 

23 electronically stored information, that was submitted 

24 by a Federal agency on behalf of the individual when 

25 the individual was a candidate for such position. 


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1 ‘‘(2) LIMITATION.—Access to information au2 thorized under paragraph (1) shall be secure, on a 

3 need to know basis, and provided with appropriate 

4 controls to protect privacy, whistleblower retaliation, 

5 and related matters. 

6 ‘‘(f) PRIVACY MATTERS.—Any medical or other per7 sonal information obtained by the Office shall be protected 

8 from disclosure or misuse in accordance with the laws on 

9 privacy and whistleblower protection applicable to such in10 formation.’’. 

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

12 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by inserting 

13 after the item relating to section 7306A, as added by sec14 tion 102(a)(2) of this Act, the following new item: 

‘‘7306B. Office of the Medical Inspector.’’. 

15 (c) GUIDANCE ON PROVISION OF FEEDBACK.—Not 

16 later than 180 days after the date of the enactment of 

17 this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs and the Under 

18 Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Af19 fairs shall determine and publish guidance requiring all 

20 internal offices, sub-offices, and other entities of the De21 partment of Veterans Affairs reviewing a draft report by 

22 the Office of the Medical Inspector under section 7306B 

23 of title 38, United States Code, as added by subsection 

24 (a), for the purpose of concurrence by the Department 

25 with that report to provide feedback on that report to the 


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1 Office not later than 15 business days after assignment 

2 for review of that report by the Office or another entity 

3 controlling or administering the concurrence process. 

4 (d) CAPABILITIES AND INTERNAL CONTROLS.—Not 

5 later than one year after the date of the enactment of this 

6 Act, the Under Secretary for Health of the Department 

7 of Veterans Affairs and the Medical Inspector shall ensure 

8 that the Office of the Medical Inspector established under 

9 section 7306B of title 38, United States Code, as added 

10 by subsection (a), has the capabilities and internal con11 trols specified in subsection (d) of such section. 

12 (e) CONTINUATION IN OFFICE.—The individual serv13 ing as the Medical Inspector of the Department of Vet14 erans Affairs on the day before the date of the enactment 

15 of this Act may serve as the Medical Inspector of the De16 partment of Veterans Affairs after that date until the date 

17 on which the Secretary of Veterans Affairs appoints an 

18 individual to be the Medical Inspector pursuant to section 

19 7306B(b)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

20 subsection (a), which may include the appointment of the 

21 same individual. 

22 (f) REPORT ON ACTIONS TO RESPOND TO COMP23 TROLLER GENERAL REPORT ON OFFICE OF MEDICAL IN24 SPECTOR.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 60 days after 

2 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

3 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee 

4 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com5 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep6 resentatives a report on the action plan of the Sec7 retary to implement relevant recommendations of the 

8 Comptroller General of the United States contained 

9 in any review published by the Comptroller General 

10 in the previous three calendar years regarding the 

11 Office of the Medical Inspector of the Department of 

12 Veterans Affairs, including recommended short, me13 dium, and long-term plans to establish the Office of 

14 the Medical Inspector pursuant to this section. 

15 (2) ELEMENTS.—The report required by para16 graph (1) shall include— 

17 (A) specific plans, timelines, and status as 

18 of the date of the report of the actions of the 

19 Secretary to implement the recommendations 

20 contained in the report of the Comptroller Gen21 eral in 2023 regarding the Office of the Medical 

22 Inspector of the Department of Veterans Af23 fairs; 

24 (B) any requests for legislative action and 

25 resources to implement the provisions of this 


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1 Act that relate to the Office of the Medical In2 spector to ensure the effectiveness of the Office 

3 to handle the workload and caseload for an in4 tegrated health system with a veteran patient 

5 volume and medical workforce the size of that 

6 served by the Department; and 

7 (C) such other matters as the Secretary 

8 considers necessary. 

9 (g) RULE OF CONSTRUCTION ON INDEPENDENCE OF

10 OFFICE OF THE MEDICAL INSPECTOR.—The establish11 ment of the Office of the Medical Inspector of the Depart12 ment of Veterans Affairs under section 7306B of title 38, 

13 United States Code, as added by subsection (a), within 

14 the Office of Transparency, Engagement, Accountability, 

15 and Management under section 7306A of such title, as 

16 added by section 102(a)(1), is done for organizational effi17 ciency and economies of scale but shall not be construed 

18 to indicate that the Office of the Medical Inspector or the 

19 Medical Inspector should report to any individual or entity 

20 other than the Under Secretary for Health of the Depart21 ment of Veterans Affairs. 

22 SEC. 203. INCLUSION OF OFFICIALS WITHIN OFFICE OF 

23 THE UNDER SECRETARY FOR HEALTH. 

24 Section 7306(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

25 amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating paragraph (12) as para2 graph (14); and 

3 (2) inserting after paragraph (11) the following 

4 new paragraphs: 

5 ‘‘(12) The Director of the Office of Trans6 parency, Engagement, Accountability, and Manage7 ment under section 7306A of this title. 

8 ‘‘(13) The Medical Inspector, who shall be the 

9 head of the Office of the Medical Inspector under 

10 section 7306B of this title.’’. 

11 SEC. 204. MOBILE TEMPORARY HEALTH STAFFING PRO12 GRAM TO ENSURE ACCESS AND CONTINUITY 

13 OF CARE. 

14 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—Not later than two years 

15 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Under 

16 Secretary for Health of the Department of Veterans Af17 fairs shall establish a mobile temporary staffing program 

18 (in this section referred to as the ‘‘Program’’) to tempo19 rarily fill vacancies and employee absences for certain po20 sitions within the Veterans Health Administration, includ21 ing by combining any existing similar programs of the Vet22 erans Health Administration within the Program. 

23 (b) ELEMENTS.—At a minimum, the Program shall 

24 include— 


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1 (1) a team of individuals representing each 

2 shortage occupation or high-turnover occupation 

3 within the Veterans Health Administration; and 

4 (2) a request mechanism for facilities of the 

5 Veterans Health Administration to request those in6 dividuals to be temporarily assigned to fill vacancies 

7 and employee absences. 

8 (c) PRIORITY ASSIGNMENTS.—A facility of the Vet9 erans Health Administration shall obtain priority assign10 ment for staffing of an occupancy type under the Program 

11 if the facility has only one position of that occupancy type 

12 and that position is vacant or functionally vacant due to 

13 the employee in question being under administrative inves14 tigation, detailed out of such position, or otherwise not 

15 performing their regular care delivery duties. 

16 (d) NOT PERMANENT POSITIONS.—An individual 

17 temporarily assigned to a position at a facility of the Vet18 erans Health Administration under the Program— 

19 (1) shall not be permitted to permanently oc20 cupy the position; and 

21 (2) shall not be permitted to fill a non-tem22 porary employment vacancy. 

23 (e) REPORTS TO CONGRESS.— 

24 (1) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

25 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 


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1 Under Secretary for Health shall submit to Congress 

2 a report detailing the plans of the Under Secretary 

3 to establish the Program. 

4 (2) ANNUAL REPORT.— 

5 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

6 after the establishment of the Program, and an7 nually thereafter, the Under Secretary for 

8 Health shall submit to Congress— 

9 (i) data on staffing under the Pro10 gram, including— 

11 (I) where temporary assignments 

12 occurred under the Program and for 

13 what length of time; 

14 (II) the top three positions with 

15 respect to which temporary assign16 ments are requested; and 

17 (III) any other data and analysis 

18 the Secretary considers appropriate; 

19 (ii) an assessment of any additional 

20 incentives, including any legislative action 

21 to carry out those incentives, to incentivize 

22 employees of the Veterans Health Adminis23 tration to participate in the Program; and 

24 (iii) any other matters the Secretary 

25 considers appropriate. 


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1 (B) COMBINATION OF REPORT WITH EX2 ISTING REPORTS.—The report required under 

3 subparagraph (A) may be submitted as part of 

4 another workforce-related report submitted by 

5 the Department of Veterans Affairs to Con6 gress. 

7 TITLE III—WHISTLEBLOWER 

8 PROTECTIONS AND EM9 PLOYEE ACCOUNTABILITY 

10 SEC. 301. STRENGTHENING WHISTLEBLOWER PROTEC11 TIONS AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF12 FAIRS. 

13 (a) GENERAL COUNSEL OF OFFICE OF ACCOUNT14 ABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—Sub15 section (e) of section 323 of title 38, United States Code, 

16 is amended to read as follows: 

17 ‘‘(e) GENERAL COUNSEL.—(1) There is in the Office 

18 a General Counsel who shall be the chief legal officer of 

19 the Office and provides legal assistance to the Assistant 

20 Secretary concerning the programs and policies of the Of21 fice. 

22 ‘‘(2) The Assistant Secretary shall appoint the Gen23 eral Counsel of the Office, who shall be a career appointee 

24 in the Senior Executive Service and shall report to the 

25 Assistant Secretary. 


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1 ‘‘(3) In accordance with subsection (d), the Assistant 

2 Secretary may hire staff for the General Counsel of the 

3 Office to provide such legal assistance pursuant to para4 graph (1). 

5 ‘‘(4) The Office shall not be established as an element 

6 of the Office of the General Counsel of the Department 

7 and the Assistant Secretary may not report to the General 

8 Counsel of the Department.’’. 

9 (b) MODIFICATIONS AND ADDITIONAL FUNCTIONS

10 OF OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER

11 PROTECTION.—Subsection (c)(1) of such section is 

12 amended— 

13 (1) in subparagraph (C), by inserting ‘‘and alle14 gations of whistleblower retaliation’’ after ‘‘disclo15 sures’’; and 

16 (2) by striking subparagraphs (F) and (G), and 

17 inserting the following new subparagraphs: 

18 ‘‘(F) Recording, tracking, reviewing, and con19 firming implementation of relevant accountability 

20 and disciplinary recommendations from audits and 

21 investigations carried out by the Inspector General 

22 of the Department, the Medical Inspector of the De23 partment, the Special Counsel, the Comptroller Gen24 eral of the United States, and such others as the As25 sistant Secretary considers appropriate, including 


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1 the imposition of disciplinary actions and other re2 lated personnel actions contained in such rec3 ommendations. 

4 ‘‘(G) Analyzing data available to the Office of 

5 Accountability and Whistleblower Protection from 

6 internal and external data sources, disaggregated by 

7 facility, region, network, and area of health care, 

8 benefits, memorial services, or such other services of 

9 the Department as the Assistant Secretary deter10 mines relevant, and other pertinent audits and inves11 tigations to identify trends relating to accountability 

12 matters, whistleblower retaliation and protection, re13 occurring management shortcomings, and issue re14 ports and recommendations to the Secretary on 

15 these matters based on analysis conducted under 

16 this subparagraph.’’. 

17 (c) TRACKING AND ENFORCEMENT OF REC18 OMMENDATIONS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS RE19 GARDING WHISTLEBLOWERS.—Subsection (c) of such sec20 tion, as amended by subsection (b), is further amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 

22 following new subparagraphs: 

23 ‘‘(J) Tracking the negotiation, implementation, 

24 and enforcement of settlement agreements entered 

25 into by the Secretary regarding claims of retaliation, 


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1 including with respect to the work of the General 

2 Counsel of the Department regarding such settle3 ments. 

4 ‘‘(K) In conducting tracking pursuant to sub5 paragraph (J), examining factors, including volume, 

6 size of monetary value, and other matters, so as to 

7 determine and identify— 

8 ‘‘(i) any underlying causes of such settle9 ment agreements relating to management, lead10 ership, accountability, prohibited personnel ac11 tions described in section 731(c) of this title, 

12 and other similar matters at a facility, office, or 

13 organization of the Department; and 

14 ‘‘(ii) the need for corrective action. 

15 ‘‘(L) Tracking determinations made by the Spe16 cial Counsel regarding claims of committal of a pro17 hibited personnel action described in section 731(c) 

18 of this title, including— 

19 ‘‘(i) any disciplinary action for the indi20 vidual who engaged in such prohibited per21 sonnel action; and 

22 ‘‘(ii) determinations regarding the need for 

23 corrective action under section 1214 of title 5, 

24 as identified by the Special Counsel, and any 

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1 tleblower retaliation entered into by the Sec2 retary with the whistleblower.’’; and 

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

4 paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(4)(A) In carrying out subparagraph (J) of para6 graph (1), the Assistant Secretary shall, in consultation 

7 with the General Counsel of the Department, establish 

8 metrics and standards regarding— 

9 ‘‘(i) the timely negotiation and implementation 

10 of settlement agreements entered into by the Sec11 retary regarding retaliation; and 

12 ‘‘(ii) reasonable restitution and restoration of 

13 employment, and other relief for whistleblowers. 

14 ‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary shall establish a secure 

15 electronic system to carry out subparagraphs (J) and (K) 

16 of paragraph (1) in a manner that ensures the confiden17 tiality of the identity of a whistleblower or a party to a 

18 settlement agreement described in either of such subpara19 graphs.’’. 

20 (d) TRAINING AND INFORMATION.—Section 323 of 

21 such title is further amended— 

22 (1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘receive 

23 anonymous whistleblower disclosures’’ and inserting 

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1 ment regarding the rights of and procedures for 

2 whistleblowers’’; 

3 (2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub4 section (h); and 

5 (3) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol6 lowing new subsection (g): 

7 ‘‘(g) TRAINING.—The Assistant Secretary shall— 

8 ‘‘(1) in consultation with the Special Counsel, 

9 develop annual training on whistleblower protection 

10 and related issues; 

11 ‘‘(2) provide and make such training available 

12 to employees of the Department; and 

13 ‘‘(3) disseminate training materials and infor14 mation to employees on whistleblower rights, whistle15 blower disclosures, and allegations of whistleblower 

16 retaliation, including any materials created pursuant 

17 to section 733 of this title.’’. 

18 (e) IMPROVEMENTS TO ANNUAL REPORTS.—Sub19 section (f) of such section is amended— 

20 (1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘sub21 section (C)(1)(G)’’ and inserting ‘‘subsection 

22 (c)(1)(E)’’; 

23 (2) by amending paragraph (2) to read as fol24 lows: 


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1 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary, or other relevant management 

2 or supervisory official as the case may be, receives a rec3 ommendation for disciplinary action under subsection 

4 (c)(1)(I) and does not take or initiate, or modifies, miti5 gates, or delays, the recommended disciplinary action be6 fore the date that is 60 days after the date on which the 

7 Secretary or other relevant management or supervisory of8 ficial as the case may be, received the recommendation, 

9 not later than 60 days after such date, the Secretary shall 

10 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen11 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

12 of Representatives a detailed justification for the relevant 

13 official not taking, modifying, or mitigating, or delaying 

14 or initiating such disciplinary action.’’; and 

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

16 paragraph: 

17 ‘‘(3) Not later than June 30, 2024, and semiannually 

18 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

19 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

20 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

21 on settlements described in paragraph (1)(J) of subsection 

22 (c), including, with respect to the period covered by the 

23 report— 

24 ‘‘(A) the number of settlements initiated, the 

25 disposition of each settlement that was resolved, and 


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1 the number of settlements that are pending or have 

2 not been implemented; 

3 ‘‘(B) the status of each such pending settle4 ment, including any progress or lack of progress to5 ward settlement and the implementation of such a 

6 settlement; 

7 ‘‘(C) a description of the metrics described in 

8 paragraph (4)(A) of such subsection; and 

9 ‘‘(D) identification of settlement agreements 

10 that are not meeting such metrics and standards, or 

11 for which there has been any breach of the agree12 ment.’’. 

13 SEC. 302. REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF PROVISIONS 

14 OF LAW RELATING TO ACCOUNTABILITY AND 

15 WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS AT DEPART16 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

17 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 270 days 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 

19 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Vet20 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet21 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

22 detailing the implementation of Executive Order 13793 

23 (38 U.S.C. 301 note; relating to improving accountability 

24 and whistleblower protection at the Department of Vet25 erans Affairs) and the provisions of, and amendments 


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1 made by, the Department of Veterans Affairs Account2 ability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (Public 

3 Law 115–41), the effect of such implementation, and les4 sons learned— 

5 (1) to improve accountability and sustain ac6 countability actions; 

7 (2) to improve oversight; 

8 (3) to follow due process; 

9 (4) to reduce future financial expenditures and 

10 legal risk due to incomplete personnel actions, insuf11 ficient documentation and due diligence, and poor 

12 compliance; 

13 (5) to support recruitment and retention of 

14 high quality employees to serve at the Department 

15 of Veterans Affairs; and 

16 (6) to ensure accountability actions withstands 

17 external judicial or other quasi-judicial or adminis18 trative review. 

19 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted pursuant to 

20 subsection (a) shall include, at a minimum, the following: 

21 (1) A description and a timeline of pre-plan22 ning, reasoning of the policy steps made to imple23 ment, and staffing decisions and selections made to 

24 carry out Executive Order 13793. 


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1 (2) A description and a timeline of pre-plan2 ning, reasoning of the policy steps made to imple3 ment, and staffing decisions and selections for the 

4 Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protec5 tion to carry out the provisions of, and amendments 

6 made by, the Department of Veterans Affairs Ac7 countability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 

8 2017 (Public Law 115–41). 

9 (3) A description of the actual implementation 

10 and staffing decisions made to carry out such Exec11 utive Order and the provisions of, and amendments 

12 made by, such Act and how the implementation dif13 fered from what was planned. 

14 (4) A discussion of the legal consequences of 

15 not bargaining or notifying the relevant labor orga16 nization partners before implementation of section 

17 714 of title 38, United States Code. 

18 (5) A discussion of how and why the Depart19 ment was brought into legal proceedings pursuant to 

20 actions in Federal courts, administrative pro21 ceedings, or quasi-judicial bodies, relating to the im22 plementation of the provisions of law and amend23 ments described in paragraph (2) and the Executive 

24 Order 13793, including descriptions of— 


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1 (A) each legal proceeding, including the 

2 issues presented; and 

3 (B) the current or final status of litigation, 

4 judicial review, quasi-judicial review, or admin5 istrative proceeding as of the date of the report. 

6 (6) A detailed explanation of the staffing, pol7 icy, and other decisions made that led to the chal8 lenges and recommendations contained in Office of 

9 Inspector General of the Department of Veterans 

10 Affairs report 18–04968–249, dated October 24, 

11 2019, and titled ‘‘Office of Accountability and Whis12 tleblower Protection: Failures Implementing Aspects 

13 of the VA Accountability and Whistleblower Protec14 tion Act of 2017’’, which contained 22 recommenda15 tions for corrective action. 

16 (7) A count of the employees terminated or oth17 erwise removed from service, including their senior18 ity level and date of removal, pursuant to authority 

19 provided by the Department of Veterans Affairs Ac20 countability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 

21 2017 (Public Law 115–41) during the period begin22 ning on June 23, 2017, and ending on the date of 

23 the enactment of this Act, including which authority 

24 was utilized and which of those were required to be 

25 rehired or financially made whole, or received some 


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1 other form of compensation or corrective action, be2 cause their termination was subsequently found to 

3 be in violation of a provision of law, regulation, or 

4 related matters, or was so directed by judicial, quasi5 judicial, or other administrative order or ruling. 

6 (8) Information on the establishment of the Of7 fice of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection 

8 pursuant to Executive Order 13793 and then by the 

9 Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability and 

10 Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 (Public Law 

11 115–41), including a description of the following: 

12 (A) How the office was initially staffed and 

13 how many of the people hired to staff the office 

14 were hired using noncompetitive practices. 

15 (B) How the office handled cases in the 

16 period between April 27, 2017, and ending on 

17 October 31, 2019, where an apparent conflict of 

18 interest existed, such as in which one senior of19 ficial had to carry out or direct a review of an20 other senior official or of equal rank and what 

21 firewalls or other procedures were established to 

22 prevent potential conflicts of interest. 

23 (C) Any leaders who had multiple roles 

24 within the office and in other elements of the 

25 Department simultaneously and any conflicts of 


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1 interest or apparent conflicts of interest in 

2 those roles. 

3 (D) Who was held accountable, and in 

4 what manner, as a result of the failures identi5 fied in the report described in paragraph (6) 

6 and thereafter, including— 

7 (i) how many employees of the office 

8 were terminated, demoted, or suspended 

9 during the period beginning on April 27, 

10 2017, and ending on October 31, 2019; 

11 (ii) what authority was used for the 

12 terminations, demotions, or suspensions, 

13 described in clause (i) and the reasons for 

14 such terminations; and 

15 (iii) how many employees of the office 

16 retired or resigned during the period de17 scribed in clause (i). 

18 (9) What lessons were learned by the Depart19 ment regarding how to better implement account20 ability actions in the future to avoid or reduce po21 tential litigation, reduce financial costs incurred, re22 duce lost accountability actions, increase efficiency, 

23 and ensure sustained accountability. 

24 (10) The total final, or estimated final, finan25 cial cost and employment outcome, such as the reVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00059 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 hiring or compensation of employees, of orders, rul2 ings, or other actions by Federal courts, administra3 tive judges, quasi-judicial entities, or final Collective 

4 Bargaining Agreement settlement or renegotiation 

5 relating to the implementation of the provisions of, 

6 and amendments made by, the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs Accountability and Whistleblower Pro8 tection Act of 2017 (Public Law 115–41) from June 

9 23, 2017, to the date of the report. 

10 (11) For each of the outcomes under paragraph 

11 (10), an indication of whether the Department could 

12 have achieved the same outcome, namely of holding 

13 relevant employees accountable in a sustained man14 ner, while avoiding litigation and costs incurred and 

15 accountability actions rejected. 

16 (12) Such other matters as the Secretary con17 siders appropriate to describe lessons learned on im18 plementing and sustaining accountability actions and 

19 culture. 

20 SEC. 303. PEER REVIEW OF INVESTIGATIONS BY OFFICE OF 

21 ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER 

22 PROTECTION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 

23 AFFAIRS. 

24 Section 323 of title 38, United States Code, as 

25 amended by section 301(d), is further amended— 


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1 (1) by redesignating subsection (h) as sub2 section (i); 

3 (2) by inserting after subsection (g) the fol4 lowing new subsection (h): 

5 ‘‘(h) PEER REVIEW.—(1) Not later than 180 days 

6 after the date of the enactment of the Leadership, En7 gagement, Accountability, and Development Act of 2023, 

8 the Assistant Secretary shall seek to enter into an ar9 rangement with the Council of the Inspectors General on 

10 Integrity and Efficiency (in this subsection the ‘Council’) 

11 to provide ongoing peer review in accordance with para12 graph (2). 

13 ‘‘(2) Pursuant to an arrangement entered into by the 

14 Assistant Secretary and the Council pursuant to para15 graph (1), the Council shall arrange for the conduct of 

16 ongoing peer reviews by members of the Council at regular 

17 intervals, but not less frequently than once each year, of 

18 investigations, reports, and related matters of the Office 

19 selected by the Council. 

20 ‘‘(3) The arrangement entered into by the Assistant 

21 Secretary and the Council pursuant to paragraph (1) shall 

22 ensure that there is a regular rotation of the members of 

23 the Council that conducts peer reviews pursuant to para24 graph (2). 


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1 ‘‘(4) In developing protocols to carry out an arrange2 ment entered into under paragraph (1), the Council shall 

3 exclude the Inspector General of the Department from 

4 carrying out any peer reviews under the arrangement. 

5 ‘‘(5) Nothing in this subsection shall be construed to 

6 curtail or limit the authority of the Inspector General of 

7 the Department to conduct a review, investigation, or 

8 other fact finding with respect to the Office or any other 

9 element of the Department.’’; and 

10 (3) in subsection (f)(1)(B)— 

11 (A) by redesignating clause (v) as clause 

12 (vi); and 

13 (B) by inserting after clause (iv) the fol14 lowing new clause (v): 

15 ‘‘(v) The findings of the Council of the Inspec16 tors General on Integrity and Efficiency with respect 

17 to the peer reviews carried out under subsection (h) 

18 and the response of the Assistant Secretary to such 

19 findings.’’. 


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1 SEC. 304. REPORTS ON IMPROVEMENTS TO ADHERENCE TO 

2 RECOMMENDATIONS OF OFFICE OF AC3 COUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER PRO4 TECTION. 

5 (a) REPORT ON IMPROVEMENTS TO ADHERENCE TO

6 RECOMMENDATIONS OF OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY

7 AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.— 

8 (1) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 

9 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

10 Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistle11 blower Protection shall submit to the Committee on 

12 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee 

13 on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives 

14 a report on recommendations and actions taken by 

15 the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Pro16 tection to improve the percentage of recommenda17 tions issued by the Office to elements of the Depart18 ment of Veterans Affairs that are adhered to by 

19 such elements. 

20 (2) CONTENTS.—The report submitted pursu21 ant to paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

22 (A) A comprehensive review of the reasons 

23 that recommendations issued by the Office to 

24 elements of the Department are not taken, initi25 ated, or significantly modified by management. 


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1 (B) Recommendations for administrative 

2 action to enable the Department to better— 

3 (i) meet the goals of the Department 

4 of Veterans Affairs Accountability and 

5 Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 

6 (Public Law 115–41); 

7 (ii) foster a culture of accountability 

8 in the Department; and 

9 (iii) protect whistleblowers. 

10 (C) Recommendations for such legislative 

11 action as may be necessary to assist the Office 

12 in accomplishing Departmental adherence to 

13 recommendations of the Office and other statu14 tory functions of the Office. 

15 (b) REVIEW OF INTERNAL CHALLENGES RELATING

16 TO PROPER PROCESSING OF ACCOUNTABILITY PRO17 POSALS.— 

18 (1) REVIEW.— 

19 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

20 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

21 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall complete a 

22 review of internal challenges within the Depart23 ment relating to the proper preparation and 

24 processing of accountability proposals within 

25 the Department. 


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1 (B) FOCUS.—The review completed under 

2 subparagraph (A) shall focus, at a minimum, 

3 on— 

4 (i) improving the completeness and 

5 thoroughness of proposed accountability 

6 actions and evidence for adverse actions re7 lating to employees of the Department, at 

8 all levels and of a representative range of 

9 senior levels, so as to sustain the action as 

10 it goes through Departmental review by a 

11 Departmental deciding official, relevant in12 ternal legal counsel review, or external ju13 dicial or other external administrative or 

14 legal review, while protecting due process; 

15 and 

16 (ii) improving the timeliness of the ac17 countability process from the period of the 

18 concern being raised to formal issuance of 

19 an action, while protecting due process 

20 through a variety of efforts to include De21 partmental reorganization, improved policy 

22 and process guidance, improved training, 

23 and enhanced or additional information 

24 technology systems. 

25 (2) REPORT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—Not later than one year 

2 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 

3 Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on 

4 the review completed under paragraph (1). 

5 (B) CONTENTS.—The report submitted 

6 pursuant to subparagraph (A) shall include the 

7 following: 

8 (i) The findings of the Secretary with 

9 respect to the review completed under 

10 paragraph (1). 

11 (ii) A description of the following: 

12 (I) The current average length of 

13 Departmental accountability proc14 esses. 

15 (II) Recommendations for im16 provements to process, human re17 sources, legal, organizational struc18 ture, and employee training. 

19 (III) Information technology in20 cluding those that move processes 

21 from paper-based to digital or elec22 tronic-based systems. 

23 (iii) A timeline to achieve the improve24 ments recommended under clause (ii)(II). 


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1 (iv) Recommendations for such legis2 lative or administrative action as the Sec3 retary considers necessary to implement 

4 the improvements recommended under 

5 clause (ii)(II). 

6 (v) Such other matters as the Sec7 retary considers appropriate. 

8 SEC. 305. REPORT ON DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF9 FAIRS ACTIONS IN RESPONSE TO PRELIMI10 NARY OBSERVATIONS IN COMPTROLLER 

11 GENERAL OF THE UNITED STATES REPORT 

12 ON DEPARTMENT WHISTLEBLOWER RETALIA13 TION. 

14 (a) INITIAL REPORT.—Not later than 180 days after 

15 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

16 Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Vet17 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet18 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

19 on steps the Department of Veterans Affairs has taken 

20 or will take in response to Government Accountability Of21 fice report 23–106111 (relating to Department of Vet22 erans Affairs resolution process for whistleblower retalia23 tion claims). 

24 (b) SUBSEQUENT REPORTS.—Not later than 180 

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1 leases a report subsequent to report 23–106111 described 

2 in subsection (a) that pertains to the same topic as such 

3 report 23–106111 and relates to the Department in cal4 endar year 2023 or 2024, the Secretary shall submit to 

5 the committees described in such subsection a report on 

6 the steps the Department has taken or will taken in re7 sponse to such newly released report. 

8 SEC. 306. MODIFICATION TO RESPONSIBILITIES AND AU9 THORITIES OF ASSISTANT SECRETARY FOR 

10 ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER 

11 PROTECTION. 

12 (a) MOVEMENT OF RESPONSIBILITIES FOR TRACK13 ING POLICY AND GOVERNANCE RECOMMENDATIONS

14 FROM OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND WHISTLE15 BLOWER PROTECTION TO THE OFFICE OF ENTERPRISE

16 INTEGRATION.— 

17 (1) IN GENERAL.—The responsibilities of the 

18 Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs assigned by 

19 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the function 

20 specified in section 308(b)(3) of title 38, United 

21 States Code, shall include the following: 

22 (A) Recording, tracking, reviewing, and 

23 confirming implementation of policy, govern24 ance, and all related recommendations from au25 dits and investigations carried out by the InVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00068 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 spector General of the Department, the Medical 

2 Inspector of the Department, the Special Coun3 sel, and the Comptroller General of the United 

4 States, except for such portions of such policy 

5 governance and recommendations as pertain to 

6 the imposition of disciplinary actions and other 

7 corrective actions relating to employees of the 

8 Department. 

9 (B) After reviewing such recommendations 

10 and confirming such implementation, providing 

11 the Secretary, the Deputy Secretary, the Under 

12 Secretary for Health, the Under Secretary for 

13 Benefits, the Under Secretary for Memorial Af14 fairs, each of the other Assistant Secretaries 

15 appointed under section 308 of title 38, United 

16 States Code, and such other officials of the De17 partment as the Secretary considers appropriate 

18 with information, advice, and proposed improve19 ments for individual administration, office, and 

20 Departmental correction of deficiencies and 

21 challenges identified in recommendations de22 scribed in subparagraph (A). 

23 (2) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Paragraph (1) shall 

24 take effect on the date that is 270 days after the 

25 date of the enactment of this Act. 


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1 (b) MODIFIED DISCRETION FOR ASSISTANT SEC2 RETARY TO ALLOW RELEVANT DISCIPLINARY ACTIONS

3 TO PROCEED.— 

4 (1) IN GENERAL.—Paragraph (2) of section 

5 714(e) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

6 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘; 

7 or’’ and inserting a semicolon; 

8 (B) in subparagraph (B), by striking the 

9 period at the end and inserting ‘‘; or’’; and 

10 (C) by adding at the end the following new 

11 subparagraph: 

12 ‘‘(C) the Assistant Secretary otherwise finds 

13 that the removal, demotion, or suspension under 

14 subsection (a) is consistent with— 

15 ‘‘(i) protecting and preserving the ability of 

16 the Department to deliver services to veterans 

17 and other related beneficiaries under the laws 

18 administered by the Secretary in an efficient 

19 and effective manner; 

20 ‘‘(ii) maintaining a safe environment for 

21 veterans, employees of the Department, and 

22 visitors; 

23 ‘‘(iii) eliminating future occurrences of 

24 waste, fraud, or abuse; and 


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1 ‘‘(iv) ensuring a culture of accountability, 

2 whistleblower protection, and due process.’’. 

3 (2) NOTICE.—Such section is amended by add4 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

5 ‘‘(3) Not later than 60 days after the Assistant Sec6 retary makes a finding under paragraph (2)(C) that a re7 moval, demotion, or suspension is consistent, the Assistant 

8 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af9 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af10 fairs notice of such finding along with a justification for 

11 the finding.’’. 

12 TITLE IV—IMPROVING SECU13 RITY, OVERSIGHT, ACCOUNT14 ABILITY, AND MANAGEMENT 

15 OF DEPARTMENT OF VET16 ERANS AFFAIRS 

17 SEC. 401. PLAN TO CONSOLIDATE AND CENTRALIZE SECU18 RITY OPERATIONS OF DEPARTMENT OF VET19 ERANS AFFAIRS TO IMPROVE MANAGEMENT, 

20 CLARIFY ACCOUNTABILITY, AND STRENGTH21 EN EFFECTIVENESS. 

22 (a) PLAN REQUIRED.—Not later than 270 days after 

23 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of 

24 Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Vet25 erans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on VetVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00071 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a plan to 

2 reorganize and consolidate all security functions of the De3 partment of Veterans Affairs under a single Under Sec4 retary or Assistant Secretary to— 

5 (1) improve security for veterans, employees of 

6 the Department, and visitors to facilities of the De7 partment; 

8 (2) strengthen management; 

9 (3) clearly define roles and responsibilities; and 

10 (4) strengthen accountability and effectiveness. 

11 (b) SECURITY FUNCTIONS.—The security functions 

12 described in subsection (a) shall include operational, budg13 etary, and hiring and management control for the fol14 lowing: 

15 (1) The police officers of the Department, in16 cluding all levels of seniority. 

17 (2) Department perimeter security. 

18 (3) Department building security, including 

19 doors, locks, and common access card (CAC) access. 

20 (4) Cameras. 

21 (5) Veteran security. 

22 (6) Visitor security. 

23 (7) Unauthorized intruder security. 

24 (8) Coordination with relevant local, State, and 

25 Federal law enforcement entities. 


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1 (9) Coordination of Department security with 

2 physical security aspects of applicable facilities man3 aged by the General Services Administration. 

4 (10) Security inspections or standards for pri5 vately leased commercial property which the Depart6 ment leases. 

7 (11) Construction specifications for security, se8 curity system contracts, security services contracts, 

9 including for guards. 

10 (12) Such other authorities and matters as the 

11 Secretary determines necessary and appropriate. 

12 (c) CONTENTS.—The plan submitted pursuant to 

13 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

14 (1)(A) A discussion of the view of the Secretary 

15 on the need to recreate the Assistant Secretary for 

16 Operations, Security, and Preparedness or another 

17 office or entity within a part of the Department 

18 rather than have that office combined with the As19 sistant Secretary of Human Resources and Adminis20 tration, which occurred as a result of the enactment 

21 of the Department of Veterans Affairs Account22 ability and Whistleblower Protection Act of 2017 

23 (Public Law 115–41). 

24 (B) The Secretary shall provide the view pursu25 ant to subparagraph (A) notwithstanding the fact 


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1 that section 308(a)(1) of title 38, United States 

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

3 enactment of this Act, limits the number of author4 ized Assistant Secretaries. 

5 (2) Information on the steps taken and planned 

6 to be taken to include those recommendations re7 quired pursuant to this Act and the timeline to im8 plement the open recommendations from the Depart9 ment of Veterans Affairs Office of Inspector General 

10 report 17–01007–01 (relating to inadequate govern11 ance of the Department police program at medical 

12 facilities). 

13 (3) Steps taken or planned to be taken to im14 prove the recruitment, retention, and equipping of 

15 all security related personnel of the Department, in16 cluding any legislative action required to implement 

17 such changes. 

18 (4) The opinion of the Secretary, including with 

19 respect to support or lack of support, and reasoning 

20 therein for consolidating under one office and chain 

21 of command the following offices and entities of the 

22 Department, which currently perform some security 

23 function, including how a lack of consolidation will 

24 lead to increased effectiveness, efficiency, and secu25 rity: 


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1 (A) Department of Veterans Affairs Inte2 grated Operations Center. 

3 (B) Office of Security and Law Enforce4 ment. 

5 (C) Department of Veterans Affairs Police 

6 Operations and Oversight. 

7 (D) Infrastructure Protection, Policy. 

8 (E) Office of the Chief of Police and all 

9 Regional Directors of Police. 

10 (F) Office of Identity, Credential and Ac11 cess Management. 

12 (G) Access and Identity Management. 

13 (H) Access Management. 

14 (I) Information Technology Safety and 

15 Physical Security-Business Relations. 

16 (J) Facilities Planning. 

17 (K) Facilities Standards Service. 

18 (L) Human Resource Operations. 

19 (M) National Personnel Security. 

20 (N) Mission Support. 

21 (O) Office of Security and Preparedness 

22 personnel security and suitability functions. 


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1 SEC. 402. REPORT ON ENTERPRISE RISK MANAGEMENT EF2 FORTS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF3 FAIRS. 

4 (a) REPORT REQUIRED.—Not later than 90 days 

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

6 of Veterans Affairs shall submit to Congress a report on 

7 the enterprise risk management offices, strategies, and ac8 tivities of the Department. 

9 (b) CONTENTS.—The report submitted pursuant to 

10 subsection (a) shall include the following: 

11 (1) Where the various enterprise risk manage12 ment offices currently reside within the Department. 

13 (2) Which office and official position is the lead 

14 responsible and accountable official for all enterprise 

15 risk management activities of the Department and 

16 to whom the heads of the offices described in para17 graph (1) report. 

18 (3) The duties of the heads of the offices de19 scribed in paragraph (1). 

20 (4) The number of employees who conduct work 

21 relating to enterprise risk management, 

22 disaggregated by authorized, funded, and vacant. 

23 (5) Information about the various budgets to 

24 support the work described in paragraph (4). 


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1 (6) The current metrics, goals, and perform2 ance of the enterprise risk management activities of 

3 the Department. 

4 (7) The plans of the Secretary to improve— 

5 (A) the risk management activities of the 

6 Department, including through following rec7 ommendations of the Inspector General of the 

8 Department, the Comptroller General of the 

9 United States, and other such relevant privacy 

10 and public sector organizations who conduct 

11 strong risk management activities; 

12 (B) the management and performance of 

13 such work; and 

14 (C) such other matters the Secretary con15 siders relevant and appropriate to improve the 

16 enterprise risk management work of the De17 partment. 

18 (8) Such recommendations as the Secretary 

19 may have for legislative or administrative action to 

20 support the efforts of the Department relating to en21 terprise risk management. 


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1 SEC. 403. MODIFICATION OF REPORTING REQUIREMENT 

2 FOR SECRETARY OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AN3 NUAL REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION OF REC4 OMMENDATIONS OF COMPTROLLER GEN5 ERAL OF THE UNITED STATES PERTAINING 

6 TO DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7008 of the Johnny Isak8 son and David P. Roe, M.D. Veterans Health Care and 

9 Benefits Improvement Act of 2020 (Public Law 116–315) 

10 is amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ‘‘, high risk 

12 recommendations, and duplication and cost-savings 

13 recommendations’’ after ‘‘priority recommenda14 tions’’; 

15 (2) in subsection (b)— 

16 (A) by striking ‘‘open priority rec17 ommendations of the Comptroller General’’ 

18 each place it appears and inserting ‘‘open rec19 ommendations described in subsection (a)’’; and 

20 (B) in paragraph (2), by striking ‘‘open 

21 priority recommendation of the Comptroller 

22 General’’ and inserting ‘‘open recommendation 

23 described in subsection (a)’’; and 

24 (3) in the section heading, by striking ‘‘PRI25 ORITY’’. 


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1 (b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of contents 

2 in section 1(b) of such Act is amended by striking the 

3 item relating to section 7008 and inserting the following 

4 new item: 

‘‘Sec. 7008. Annual report by Secretary of Veterans Affairs on implementation 

of recommendations of Comptroller General of the United 

States pertaining to Department of Veterans Affairs.’’. 

5 SEC. 404. ANNUAL HATCH ACT TRAINING PROGRAM AT DE6 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

8 38, United States Code, as amended by section 104, is 

9 further amended by adding at the end the following new 

10 section: 

11 ‘‘SEC. 729B. ANNUAL TRAINING FOR SENIOR LEADERS ON 

12 POLITICAL ACTIVITIES. 

13 ‘‘(a) REQUIRED PARTICIPATION IN TRAINING PRO14 GRAM.— 

15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall require 

16 each covered employee to participate each year in 

17 the training program developed pursuant to sub18 section (b). 

19 ‘‘(2) COVERED EMPLOYEES.—For purposes of 

20 paragraph (1), a covered employee is an employee of 

21 the Department who is— 

22 ‘‘(A) a political appointee; 

23 ‘‘(B) a senior executive; 

24 ‘‘(C) a senior manager; or 


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1 ‘‘(D) such other category of employee as 

2 the Secretary considers appropriate. 

3 ‘‘(b) DEVELOPMENT OF TRAINING PROGRAM RE4 QUIRED.—Not later than 180 days after the date of the 

5 enactment of the Leadership, Engagement, Account6 ability, and Development Act of 2023, the Secretary shall, 

7 acting through the General Counsel of the Department 

8 and in coordination with the Special Counsel, complete de9 velopment of a standardized training program for covered 

10 employees described in subsection (a)(2) regarding the re11 quirements of subchapter III of chapter 73 of title 5 (often 

12 referred to as the ‘Hatch Act’). 

13 ‘‘(c) COMPLIANCE FOR POLITICAL APPOINTEES.— 

14 The training program developed pursuant to subsection 

15 (b) shall cover compliance matters for all political ap16 pointees of the Department, regardless of level of senior17 ity. 

18 ‘‘(d) UPDATES.—Not less frequently than once every 

19 two years, the Secretary shall, in consultation with the 

20 Special Counsel, update the training program developed 

21 pursuant to subsection (b). 

22 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORTS.—Not later than June 30 of 

23 each calendar year, beginning with the first June 30 that 

24 occurs more than one year after the date of the enactment 

25 of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 


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1 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on 

2 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives, in con3 junction with each report submitted pursuant to section 

4 323(f)(1)(A) of this title a report on the training program 

5 developed under subsection (b). Each such report such in6 clude an indication of the following: 

7 ‘‘(1) The percentage of all covered employees 

8 described in subsection (a)(2) that received training 

9 as part of the program developed pursuant to sub10 section (b). 

11 ‘‘(2) The actions the Secretary is taking to in12 crease the percentage indicated pursuant to para13 graph (1). 

14 ‘‘(f) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL APPOINTEE.—In this 

15 section, the term ‘political appointee’ has the meaning 

16 given such term in section 106(f) of title 49, United States 

17 Code.’’. 

18 (b) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 

19 after the date of completion of the training program devel20 oped pursuant to subsection (b) of section 729B of such 

21 title, as added by subsection (a), and delivery of the first 

22 training pursuant to subsection (a) of such section, the 

23 Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the Com24 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the ComVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:30 Aug 19, 2023 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00081 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2679.IS S2679

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1 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa2 tives— 

3 (1) notice that the development of the program 

4 pursuant to such subsection (b) has been completed 

5 and that the first training has been delivered pursu6 ant to such subsection (a); 

7 (2) the percentage of individuals compliant or 

8 not compliant with the requirements of the Sec9 retary under such subsection (a); and 

10 (3) copies of any materials being developed for 

11 the program, including training documents used in 

12 training sessions conducted under such subsection 

13 (a). 

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

15 at the beginning of chapter 7 of such title, as amended 

16 by section 104, is further amended by inserting after the 

17 item relating to section 729A the following new item: 

‘‘729B. Annual training for senior leaders on political activities.’’. 

18 SEC. 405. INDEPENDENT STUDY REGARDING MANAGEMENT 

19 STRUCTURES OF DEPARTMENT OF VET20 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

21 (a) AGREEMENT.— 

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

23 Affairs shall seek to enter into an agreement with 

24 the National Academy of Public Administration (in 

25 this section referred to as the ‘‘National Academy’’) 


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1 for the National Academy to conduct the study and 

2 review under subsection (b) and submit the report 

3 under subsection (c). 

4 (2) TIMING.—The Secretary shall seek to enter 

5 into the agreement described in paragraph (1) by 

6 not later than 90 days after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act. 

8 (b) STUDY AND REVIEW.— 

9 (1) IN GENERAL.—Under an agreement be10 tween the Secretary and the National Academy en11 tered into pursuant to subsection (a), the National 

12 Academy shall conduct a study and review of the 

13 management structures within the Department. 

14 (2) REQUIREMENTS.—In carrying out the study 

15 and review pursuant to paragraph (1), the National 

16 Academy shall— 

17 (A) examine alternatives and develop rec18 ommendations for improving the management 

19 of the Department; 

20 (B) develop recommendations relating to 

21 office creation, restructuring, movement, or 

22 consolidation to improve the management of the 

23 Department, including with respect to perform24 ance and accountability; 


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1 (C) review previous management reports 

2 and recommendations; and 

3 (D) review best practices of other Federal 

4 agencies and State governments and ascertain 

5 if such best practices may be applicable to the 

6 Department. 

7 (3) CONSULTATION.—In conducting the study 

8 and review pursuant to paragraph (1), the National 

9 Academy shall consult with the Secretary, relevant 

10 employees of the Department, and such persons out11 side of the Department as the National Academy 

12 considers appropriate and have an interest in the af13 fairs of the Department. 

14 (c) REPORT.—Not later than 540 days after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act, the National Academy shall 

16 submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Sen17 ate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House 

18 of Representatives a report that contains— 

19 (1) the findings of the National Academy with 

20 respect to the study and review conducted under 

21 subsection (b), including the recommendations devel22 oped under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of paragraph 

23 (2) of such subsection; and 


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1 (2) such other recommendations as the Na2 tional Academy believes are necessary and relevant 

3 to the study and review. 

4 (d) VIEWS OF THE SECRETARY.—Not later than 90 

5 days after the National Academy submits the report re6 quired by subsection (c), the Secretary shall submit to the 

7 committees described in such subsection the views of the 

8 Secretary regarding the following: 

9 (1) The study and review conducted under sub10 section (b). 

11 (2) The findings of the National Academy re12 ported pursuant to subsection (c)(1). 

13 (3) Each of the recommendations made by the 

14 National Academy in the report. 

15 (4) The intent of the Secretary to implement 

16 such recommendations. 

17 (5) A timeline for such implementation. 

18 (6) Whether implementing such recommenda19 tions would require legislative action. 

20 (7) Not implementing the recommendations de21 scribed in paragraph (3) and the reason for such de22 cision. 

Æ 


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