I 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1259 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the removal or demotion 

of employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs based on performance or misconduct, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

FEBRUARY 28, 2017 

Mr. ROE of Tennessee (for himself, Mr. BILIRAKIS, Mr. ARRINGTON, Mr. 

COFFMAN, Mr. WENSTRUP, Mrs. RADEWAGEN, Mr. BOST, Mr. BERGMAN, 

Mr. POLIQUIN, Mr. BANKS of Indiana, and Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of 

Puerto Rico) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 

Committee on Veterans’ Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 

Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions 

as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned 

A BILL 

To amend title 38, United States Code, to provide for the 

removal or demotion of employees of the Department 

of Veterans Affairs based on performance or misconduct, 

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 ‘‘VA Accountability First Act of 2017’’. 


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

2 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

Sec. 2. References to title 38, United States Code. 

Sec. 3. Removal, demotion, and suspension of employees based on performance 

or misconduct. 

Sec. 4. Reduction of benefits for Department of Veterans Affairs employees 

convicted of certain crimes. 

Sec. 5. Authority to recoup bonuses or awards paid to employees of Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 6. Authority to recoup relocation expenses paid to or on behalf of employees of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 7. Time period for response to notice of adverse actions against supervisory employees who commit prohibited personnel actions. 

Sec. 8. Direct hiring authority for medical center directors and VISN directors. 

Sec. 9. Time periods for review of adverse actions with respect to certain employees. 

3 SEC. 2. REFERENCES TO TITLE 38, UNITED STATES CODE. 

4 Except as otherwise expressly provided, whenever in 

5 this Act an amendment or repeal is expressed in terms 

6 of an amendment to, or repeal of, a section or other provi7 sion, the reference shall be considered to be made to a 

8 section or other provision of title 38, United States Code. 

9 SEC. 3. REMOVAL, DEMOTION, AND SUSPENSION OF EM10 PLOYEES BASED ON PERFORMANCE OR MIS11 CONDUCT. 

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

13 amended by adding at the end the following new section: 

14 ‘‘§ 719. Employees: removal, demotion, or suspension 

15 based on performance or misconduct 

16 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary may remove, de17 mote, or suspend an individual who is an employee of the 

18 Department if the Secretary determines the performance 


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1 or misconduct of the individual warrants such removal, de2 motion, or suspension. If the Secretary so removes, de3 motes, or suspends such an individual, the Secretary 

4 may— 

5 ‘‘(1) remove the individual from the civil service 

6 (as defined in section 2101 of title 5); 

7 ‘‘(2) demote the individual by means of a reduc8 tion in grade for which the individual is qualified, 

9 that the Secretary determines is appropriate, and 

10 that reduces the annual rate of pay of the individual; 

11 or 

12 ‘‘(3) suspend the individual. 

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

14 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, any individual 

15 subject to a demotion under subsection (a)(2) shall, begin16 ning on the date of such demotion, receive the annual rate 

17 of pay applicable to such grade. 

18 ‘‘(2) An individual so demoted may not be placed on 

19 administrative leave during the period during which an ap20 peal (if any) under this section is ongoing, and may only 

21 receive pay if the individual reports for duty or is approved 

22 to use accrued unused annual, sick, family medical, mili23 tary, or court leave. If an individual so demoted does not 

24 report for duty or receive approval to use accrued unused 


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1 leave, such individual shall not receive pay or other bene2 fits pursuant to subsection (e)(5). 

3 ‘‘(c) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—(1) Not later than 30 

4 days after removing, demoting, or suspending an indi5 vidual employed in a senior executive position under sub6 section (a) or after removing, demoting, or suspending an 

7 individual under chapter 74 of this title, the Secretary 

8 shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 

9 the Senate and House of Representatives and to each 

10 Member of Congress representing a district in the State 

11 or territory where the facility where the individual was em12 ployed immediately before being removed, demoted, or sus13 pended is located notice in writing of such removal, demo14 tion, or suspension. Such notice shall include the job title 

15 of the individual, the location where the individual was em16 ployed immediately before being removed, demoted, or sus17 pended, the proposed action, and the reason for such re18 moval, demotion, or suspension. 

19 ‘‘(2) Not later than 30 days after the last day of a 

20 fiscal year, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 

21 on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep22 resentatives a report listing all removals, demotions, and 

23 suspensions under this section or under chapter 74 of this 

24 title during such fiscal year. Each such report shall in25 clude the job title of each individual removed, demoted, 


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1 or suspended, the location where the individual was em2 ployed immediately before being so removed, demoted or 

3 suspended, the proposed action, and the reason for such 

4 removal, demotion, or suspension. 

5 ‘‘(3) In this subsection, the term ‘senior executive po6 sition’ means, with respect to a career appointee (as that 

7 term is defined in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5), a Senior 

8 Executive Service position (as such term is defined in sec9 tion 3132(a)(2) of title 5). 

10 ‘‘(d) PROCEDURE.—(1) Subsection (b) of section 

11 7513 of title 5 shall apply with respect to a removal, demo12 tion, or suspension under this section, except that the pe13 riod for notice and response, which includes the advance 

14 notice period required by paragraph (1) of such subsection 

15 and the response period required by paragraph (2) of such 

16 subsection, shall not exceed a total of 10 business days. 

17 Subsection (c) of such section and section 7121 of such 

18 title shall not apply with respect to such a removal, demo19 tion, or suspension. 

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

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

22 section— 

23 ‘‘(A) in the case of a proposed removal, demo24 tion, or suspension to which an individual responds 

25 under paragraph (1), not later than five business 


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1 days after receiving the response of the individual; 

2 or 

3 ‘‘(B) in the case of a proposed removal, demo4 tion, or suspension to which an individual does not 

5 respond, not later than 15 business days after the 

6 Secretary provides notice to the individual under 

7 paragraph (1). 

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

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

10 section. 

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

12 (e), any removal, demotion, or suspension under sub13 section (a) may be appealed to the Merit Systems Protec14 tion Board, which shall refer such appeal to an adminis15 trative judge pursuant to section 7701(b)(1) of title 5. 

16 ‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a re17 moval, demotion, or suspension may only be made if such 

18 appeal is made not later than 7 days after the date of 

19 such removal, demotion, or suspension. 

20 ‘‘(e) EXPEDITED REVIEW.—(1) Upon receipt of an 

21 appeal under subsection (d)(4)(A), the administrative 

22 judge shall expedite any such appeal under such section 

23 and, in any such case, shall issue a final and complete 

24 decision not later than 45 business days after the date 

25 of the appeal. 


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1 ‘‘(2) Notwithstanding section 7701(c)(1)(B) of title 

2 5, the administrative judge shall uphold the decision of 

3 the Secretary to remove, demote, or suspend an employee 

4 under subsection (a) if the decision is supported by sub5 stantial evidence. If the decision of the Secretary is sup6 ported by substantial evidence, the administrative judge 

7 shall not mitigate the penalty prescribed by the Secretary. 

8 ‘‘(3)(A) The decision of the administrative judge 

9 under paragraph (1) may be appealed to the Merit Sys10 tems Protection Board. 

11 ‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a decision 

12 of an administrative judge may only be made if such ap13 peal is made not later than 7 business days after the date 

14 of the decision of the administrative judge. 

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

16 cannot issue a decision in accordance with the 45-day re17 quirement under paragraph (1), the Merit Systems Pro18 tection Board shall, not later than 14 business days after 

19 the expiration of the 45-day period, submit to the Commit20 tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House of Rep21 resentatives a report that explains the reasons why a deci22 sion was not issued in accordance with such requirement. 

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

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


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1 States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit pursuant 

2 to section 7703 of title 5. 

3 ‘‘(B) An appeal under subparagraph (A) of a decision 

4 of the Merit Systems Protection Board may only be made 

5 if such appeal is made not later than 7 business days after 

6 the date of the decision of the Board. 

7 ‘‘(C) Any decision by such Court shall be in compli8 ance with section 7462(f)(2) of this title. 

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

10 stay any removal, demotion, under this section. 

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

12 which an individual appeals a removal from the civil serv13 ice under subsection (d) and ending on the date that the 

14 United States Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit 

15 issues a final decision on such appeal, such individual may 

16 not receive any pay, awards, bonuses, incentives, allow17 ances, differentials, student loan repayments, special pay18 ments, or benefits related to the employment of the indi19 vidual by the Department. 

20 ‘‘(8) To the maximum extent practicable, the Sec21 retary shall provide to the Merit Systems Protection 

22 Board such information and assistance as may be nec23 essary to ensure an appeal under this subsection is expe24 dited. 


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1 ‘‘(9) If an employee prevails on appeal under this sec2 tion, the employee shall be entitled to backpay (as pro3 vided in section 5596 of title 5). 

4 ‘‘(10) This subsection shall supercede any collective 

5 bargaining agreement to the extent that such an agree6 ment conflicts with this subsection. 

7 ‘‘(f) WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—(1) In the 

8 case of an individual seeking corrective action (or on be9 half of whom corrective action is sought) from the Office 

10 of Special Counsel based on an alleged prohibited per11 sonnel practice described in section 2302(b) of title 5, the 

12 Secretary may not remove, demote, or suspend such indi13 vidual under subsection (a) without the approval of the 

14 Special Counsel under section 1214(f) of title 5. 

15 ‘‘(2) In the case of an individual who has filed a whis16 tleblower complaint, as such term is defined in section 731 

17 of this title, the Secretary may not remove, demote, or 

18 suspend such individual under subsection (a) until a final 

19 decision with respect to the whistleblower complaint has 

20 been made. 

21 ‘‘(g) TERMINATION OF INVESTIGATIONS BY OFFICE

22 OF SPECIAL COUNSEL.—Notwithstanding any other provi23 sion of law, the Special Counsel (established by section 

24 1211 of title 5) may terminate an investigation of a pro25 hibited personnel practice alleged by an employee or 


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1 former employee of the Department after the Special 

2 Counsel provides to the employee or former employee a 

3 written statement of the reasons for the termination of 

4 the investigation. Such statement may not be admissible 

5 as evidence in any judicial or administrative proceeding 

6 without the consent of such employee or former employee. 

7 ‘‘(h) VACANCIES.—In the case of an individual who 

8 is removed or demoted under subsection (a), to the max9 imum extent feasible, the Secretary shall fill the vacancy 

10 arising as a result of such removal or demotion. 

11 ‘‘(i) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

12 ‘‘(1) The term ‘individual’ means an individual 

13 occupying a position at the Department but does not 

14 include— 

15 ‘‘(A) an individual appointed pursuant to 

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

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

18 a probationary or trial period; or 

19 ‘‘(C) a political appointee. 

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

21 an employee, for disciplinary reasons, in a temporary 

22 status without duties and pay for a period in excess 

23 of 14 days. 

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

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


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

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

4 of function. 

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

7 ‘‘(A) employed in a position described 

8 under sections 5312 through 5316 of title 5 

9 (relating to the Executive Schedule); 

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

11 emergency appointee, or noncareer appointee in 

12 the Senior Executive Service, as defined under 

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

14 section 3132(a) of title 5; or 

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

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

18 of the Code of Federal Regulations.’’. 

19 (b) REPEAL OF SUPERCEDED PROVISION OF LAW.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 713 of title 38, 

21 United States Code, is hereby repealed. 

22 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec23 tions at the beginning of chapter 7 is amended by 

24 striking the item relating to section 713. 

25 (c) CLERICAL AND CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.— 


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1 (1) CLERICAL.—The table of sections at the be2 ginning of chapter 7 is amended by inserting after 

3 the item relating to section 717 the following new 

4 item: 

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

misconduct.’’. 

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

6 United States Code, is amended— 

7 (A) by striking ‘‘or’’ at the end of para8 graph (2); 

9 (B) by striking the period at the end of 

10 paragraph (3) and inserting ‘‘, or’’; and 

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

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

13 719 of title 38.’’. 

14 (d) TEMPORARY EXEMPTION FROM CERTAIN LIMI15 TATION ON INITIATION FROM REMOVAL FROM SENIOR

16 EXECUTIVE SERVICE.—During the 120-day period begin17 ning on the date of enactment of this Act, an action to 

18 remove an individual from the Senior Executive Service 

19 at the Department of Veterans Affairs pursuant to this 

20 section may be initiated, notwithstanding section 3592(b) 

21 of title 5, United States Code, or any other provision of 

22 law. 


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1 SEC. 4. REDUCTION OF BENEFITS FOR DEPARTMENT OF 

2 VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES CONVICTED 

3 OF CERTAIN CRIMES. 

4 (a) REDUCTION OF BENEFITS.— 

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

6 further amended by inserting after section 719, as 

7 added by section 3, the following new section: 

8 ‘‘§ 721. Reduction of benefits of employees convicted 

9 of certain crimes 

10 ‘‘(a) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR REMOVED EM11 PLOYEE.—(1) The Secretary shall order that the covered 

12 service of an employee of the Department removed from 

13 a position for performance or misconduct under section 

14 719 or 7461 of this title or any other provision of law 

15 shall not be taken into account for purposes of calculating 

16 an annuity with respect to such individual under chapter 

17 83 or chapter 84 of title 5, if— 

18 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that the indi19 vidual is convicted of a felony that influenced the in20 dividual’s performance while employed in the posi21 tion; 

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

23 is afforded— 

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


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1 ‘‘(ii) an opportunity to respond to the pro2 posed order by not later than ten business days 

3 following receipt of such notice; and 

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

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

6 which an individual responds under subpara7 graph (B)(ii), not later than five business days 

8 after receiving the response of the individual; or 

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

10 which an individual does not respond, not later 

11 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro12 vides notice to the individual under subpara13 graph (B)(i). 

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

15 under paragraph (1), the individual shall have an oppor16 tunity to appeal the order to the Director of the Office 

17 of Personnel Management before the date that is seven 

18 business days after the date of such issuance. 

19 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage20 ment shall make a final decision with respect to an appeal 

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

22 the appeal. 

23 ‘‘(b) REDUCTION OF ANNUITY FOR RETIRED EM24 PLOYEE.—(1) The Secretary may order that the covered 

25 service of an individual who is removed for performance 


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

2 any other provision of law but who leaves employment at 

3 the Department prior to the issuance of a final decision 

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

5 for purposes of calculating an annuity with respect to such 

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

7 ‘‘(A) the Secretary determines that the indi8 vidual is convicted of a felony that influenced the in9 dividual’s performance while employed in the posi10 tion; 

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

12 is afforded— 

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

14 ‘‘(ii) opportunity to respond to the pro15 posed order by not later than ten business days 

16 following receipt of such notice; and 

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

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

19 which an individual responds under subpara20 graph (B)(ii), not later than five business days 

21 after receiving the response of the individual; or 

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

23 which an individual does not respond, not later 

24 than 15 business days after the Secretary proVerDate Sep 11 2014 22:13 Mar 03, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00015 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1259.IH H1259

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1 vides notice to the individual under subpara2 graph (B)(i). 

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

4 under paragraph (1), the individual shall have an oppor5 tunity to appeal the order to the Director of the Office 

6 of Personnel Management before the date that is seven 

7 business days after the date of such issuance. 

8 ‘‘(3) The Director of the Office of Personnel Manage9 ment shall make a final decision with respect to an appeal 

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

11 the appeal. 

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

13 than 37 business days after the Secretary issues a final 

14 order under subsection (a) or (b), the Director of the Of15 fice of Personnel Management shall recalculate the annu16 ity of the individual. 

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

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

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

21 period of covered service. 

22 ‘‘(e) SPOUSE OR CHILDREN EXCEPTION.—The Sec23 retary, in consultation with the Office of Personnel Man24 agement, shall prescribe regulations that may provide for 

25 the payment to the spouse or children of any individual 


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1 referred to in subsection (a) or (b) of any amounts which 

2 (but for this subsection) would otherwise have been non3 payable by reason of such subsections. Any such regula4 tions shall be consistent with the requirements of sections 

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

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

7 ‘‘(1) The term ‘covered service’ means, with re8 spect to an individual subject to a removal for per9 formance or misconduct under section 719 or 7461 

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

11 of service beginning on the date that the Secretary 

12 determines under such applicable provision that the 

13 individual engaged in activity that gave rise to such 

14 action and ending on the date that the individual is 

15 removed from or leaves a position of employment at 

16 the Department prior to the issuance of a final deci17 sion with respect to such action. 

18 ‘‘(2) The term ‘lump-sum credit’ has the mean19 ing given such term in section 8331(8) or section 

20 8401(19) of title 5, as the case may be. 

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

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

23 of title 5, as the case may be.’’. 

24 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec25 tions at the beginning of chapter 7 is amended by 


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1 inserting after the item relating to section 719, as 

2 added by section 3, the following new item: 

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

3 (b) APPLICATION.—Section 721 of title 38, United 

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

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

6 of Veterans Affairs under section 719 or 7461 of this title 

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

8 date of the enactment of this Act. 

9 SEC. 5. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP BONUSES OR AWARDS 

10 PAID TO EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF 

11 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 is fur13 ther amended by inserting after section 721, as added by 

14 section 4, the following new section: 

15 ‘‘§ 723. Recoupment of bonuses or awards paid to em16 ployees of Department 

17 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro18 vision of law, the Secretary may issue an order directing 

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

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

21 the employee under title 5, including under chapter 45 or 

22 53 of such title, or this title if— 

23 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that the indi24 vidual engaged in misconduct or poor performance 

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


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

2 whole or in part, had the misconduct or poor per3 formance been known prior to payment; 

4 ‘‘(2) before such repayment, the employee is af5 forded— 

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

7 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to respond to the pro8 posed order by not later than ten business days 

9 after the receipt of such notice; and 

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

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

12 which an individual responds under paragraph 

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

14 receiving the response of the individual; or 

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

16 which an individual does not respond, not later 

17 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro18 vides notice to the individual under paragraph 

19 (2)(A). 

20 ‘‘(b) APPEALS.—Upon the issuance of an order by 

21 the Secretary under subsection (a), the individual shall 

22 have an opportunity to appeal the order to another depart23 ment or agency of the Federal Government before the date 

24 that is seven business days after the date of such issuance. 


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1 ‘‘(c) FINAL DECISIONS.—The head of the applicable 

2 department or agency of the Federal Government shall 

3 make a final decision with respect to an appeal under sub4 section (b) within 30 business days after receiving such 

5 appeal.’’. 

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

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

8 4, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec9 tion 721, as added by section 4(a)(2), the following new 

10 item: 

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

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

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

13 apply with respect to an award or bonus paid by the Sec14 retary of Veterans Affairs to an employee of the Depart15 ment of Veterans Affairs on or after the date of the enact16 ment of this Act. 

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

18 amendments made by this Act may be construed to modify 

19 the certification issued by the Office of Personnel Manage20 ment and the Office of Management and Budget regarding 

21 the performance appraisal system of the Senior Executive 

22 Service of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 


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1 SEC. 6. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP RELOCATION EXPENSES 

2 PAID TO OR ON BEHALF OF EMPLOYEES OF 

3 DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

4 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 7 is fur5 ther amended by adding at the end the following new sec6 tion: 

7 ‘‘§ 725. Recoupment of relocation expenses paid on 

8 behalf of employees of Department 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro10 vision of law, the Secretary may issue an order directing 

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

12 a portion of the amount, paid to or on behalf of the em13 ployee under title 5 for relocation expenses, including any 

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

15 this title if— 

16 ‘‘(1) the Secretary determines that relocation 

17 expenses were not lawfully authorized or that the 

18 employee committed an act of fraud, waste, or mal19 feasance that influenced the authorization of the re20 location expenses; 

21 ‘‘(2) before such repayment, the employee is af22 forded— 

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

24 ‘‘(B) an opportunity to respond to the pro25 posed order not later than ten business days 

26 following the receipt of such notice; and 


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

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

3 which an individual responds under paragraph 

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

5 receiving the response of the individual; or 

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

7 which an individual does not respond, not later 

8 than 15 business days after the Secretary pro9 vides notice to the individual under paragraph 

10 (2)(A). 

11 ‘‘(b) APPEALS.—Upon the issuance of an order by 

12 the Secretary under subsection (a), the individual shall 

13 have an opportunity to appeal the order to another depart14 ment or agency of the Federal Government before the date 

15 that is seven business days after the date of such issuance. 

16 ‘‘(c) FINAL DECISIONS.—The head of the applicable 

17 department or agency of the Federal Government shall 

18 make a final decision with respect to an appeal under sub19 section (b) within 30 days after receiving such appeal.’’. 

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

21 at the beginning of such chapter is further amended by 

22 inserting after the item relating to section 723, as added 

23 by section 5(b), the following new item: 

‘‘725. Recoupment of relocation expenses paid to or on behalf of employees of 

Department.’’. 


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1 (c) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Section 725 of title 38, 

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

3 apply with respect to an amount paid by the Secretary 

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

5 Department of Veterans Affairs for relocation expenses on 

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

7 SEC. 7. TIME PERIOD FOR RESPONSE TO NOTICE OF AD8 VERSE ACTIONS AGAINST SUPERVISORY EM9 PLOYEES WHO COMMIT PROHIBITED PER10 SONNEL ACTIONS. 

11 Section 733(a)(2)(B) is amended— 

12 (1) in clause (i), by striking ‘‘14 days’’ and in13 serting ‘‘10 days’’; and 

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

15 and inserting ‘‘10-day period’’. 

16 SEC. 8. DIRECT HIRING AUTHORITY FOR MEDICAL CENTER 

17 DIRECTORS AND VISN DIRECTORS. 

18 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7401 is amended by add19 ing at the end the following new paragraph: 

20 ‘‘(4) Medical center directors and directors of 

21 Veterans Integrated Service Networks with dem22 onstrated ability in the medical profession, in health 

23 care administration, or in health care fiscal manage24 ment.’’. 


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

2 is amended by inserting ‘‘and 7401(4)’’ after ‘‘7306’’. 

3 SEC. 9. TIME PERIODS FOR REVIEW OF ADVERSE ACTIONS 

4 WITH RESPECT TO CERTAIN EMPLOYEES. 

5 (a) PHYSICIANS, DENTISTS, PODIATRISTS, CHIRO6 PRACTORS, OPTOMETRISTS, REGISTERED NURSES, PHY7 SICIAN ASSISTANTS, AND EXPANDED-FUNCTION DENTAL

8 AUXILIARIES.—Section 7461(b)(2) is amended to read as 

9 follows: 

10 ‘‘(2) In any case other than a case described in para11 graph (1) that involves or includes a question of profes12 sional conduct or competence in which a major adverse 

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

14 through Department grievance procedures under section 

15 7463 of this title.’’. 

16 (b) MAJOR ADVERSE ACTIONS INVOLVING PROFES17 SIONAL CONDUCT OR COMPETENCE.—Section 7462 is 

18 amended— 

19 (1) in subsection (b)— 

20 (A) in paragraph (1)— 

21 (i) in subparagraph (A), by striking 

22 ‘‘At least 30’’ and inserting ‘‘Ten busi23 ness’’; and 

24 (ii) in subparagraph (B)— 


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1 (I) by striking ‘‘A reasonable 

2 time, but not less than seven days’’ 

3 and inserting ‘‘The opportunity, with4 in the ten-day notice period’’; and 

5 (II) by striking ‘‘orally and’’; 

6 (B) in paragraph (3)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘(A) If a proposed ad8 verse action covered by this section is not 

9 withdrawn’’ and inserting ‘‘After consid10 ering the employee’s answer, if any’’; 

11 (ii) by striking ‘‘21 days’’ and insert12 ing ‘‘5 business days’’; 

13 (iii) by striking ‘‘answer. The decision 

14 shall include a statement of’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘answer stating’’; and 

16 (iv) by striking subparagraph (B); 

17 and 

18 (C) in paragraph (4)— 

19 (i) by striking ‘‘(A) The Secretary’’ 

20 and all that follows through ‘‘(B) The Sec21 retary’’ and inserting ‘‘The Secretary’’; 

22 and 

23 (ii) by striking ‘‘30 days’’ and insert24 ing ‘‘7 business days’’; 

25 (2) in subsection (c)— 


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1 (A) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘the 

2 hearing must be concluded not later than 30 

3 business days after the date on which the ap4 peal is filed, and’’ after ‘‘If such a hearing is 

5 held,’’; and 

6 (B) in paragraph (4)— 

7 (i) by striking ‘‘45 days’’ and insert8 ing ‘‘15 business days’’; and 

9 (ii) by striking ‘‘120 days’’ and insert10 ing ‘‘45 business days’’; and 

11 (3) in subsection (d)(1), by striking ‘‘90 days’’ 

12 and inserting ‘‘15 business days’’. 

13 (c) OTHER ADVERSE ACTIONS.—Section 7463 is 

14 amended— 

15 (1) by striking subsection (b) and redesignating 

16 subsections (c) through (e) as subsections (b) 

17 through (d), respectively; and 

18 (2) in subsection (b)(2), as so redesignated— 

19 (A) in subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘an 

20 advance’’ and inserting ‘‘ten business days’’; 

21 and 

22 (B) in subparagraph (B)— 

23 (i) by striking ‘‘a reasonable time’’ 

24 and inserting ‘‘the opportunity, within the 

25 ten business day notice period,’’; and 


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1 (ii) by striking ‘‘orally and’’. 

Æ 


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