IB 

Union Calendar No. 17 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1367 

[Report No. 115–35, Part I] 

To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire and 

retain physicians and other employees of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs, and for other purposes. 

IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES 

MARCH 6, 2017 

Mr. WENSTRUP 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 

MARCH 10, 2017 

Additional sponsors: Miss GONZA ́LEZ-COLO ́N of Puerto Rico, Mr. DUNN, Mr. 

SESSIONS, and Ms. SINEMA

MARCH 10, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

MARCH 10, 2017 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform discharged; committed 

to the Committee of the Whole House on the State of the Union and ordered to be printed 


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A BILL 

To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

to hire and retain physicians and other employees of 

the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes. 


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

3 SECTION 1. TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

4 The table of contents for this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Table of contents. 

Sec. 2. Modification to annual determination of staffing shortages in Veterans 

Health Administration. 

Sec. 3. Executive management fellowship program. 

Sec. 4. Accountability of leaders for managing the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 5. Modification to veterans preference. 

Sec. 6. Reemployment of former employees. 

Sec. 7. Recruiting database. 

Sec. 8. Human resources academy. 

Sec. 9. Promotional opportunities for technical experts. 

Sec. 10. Comptroller General study on succession planning. 

Sec. 11. Information on hiring effectiveness. 

Sec. 12. Employment of students and recent graduates. 

Sec. 13. Exit surveys. 

5 SEC. 2. MODIFICATION TO ANNUAL DETERMINATION OF 

6 STAFFING SHORTAGES IN VETERANS HEALTH 

7 ADMINISTRATION. 

8 Section 7412(a) of title 38, United States Code, is 

9 amended— 

10 (1) by striking ‘‘the five occupations’’ and in11 serting ‘‘the five clinical occupations and the five 

12 nonclinical occupations’’; and 

13 (2) by striking ‘‘throughout the Department’’ 

14 and inserting ‘‘with respect to each medical center of 

15 the Department,’’. 


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1 SEC. 3. EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

2 (a) FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—Chapter 7 of title 38, 

3 United States Code, is amended by adding at the end the 

4 following new subchapter: 

5 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

6 FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 

7 ‘‘§ 741. Executive Management Fellowship Program 

8 ‘‘(a) FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—There is in the De9 partment an Executive Management Fellowship Program. 

10 The purpose of the program shall be to provide— 

11 ‘‘(1) eligible employees of the Veterans Benefits 

12 Administration and the Veterans Health Administra13 tion with training and experience in the private sec14 tor; and 

15 ‘‘(2) eligible employees of a private-sector entity 

16 with training and experience in the Department of 

17 Veterans Affairs. 

18 ‘‘(b) FELLOWSHIP.—(1) A fellowship provided under 

19 this section is a one-year fellowship during which— 

20 ‘‘(A) with respect to a Department participant, 

21 the participant receives training and experience at a 

22 private-sector entity that is engaged in the adminis23 tration and delivery of health care or other services 

24 similar to the benefits administered by the Sec25 retary; and 


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1 ‘‘(B) with respect to a private-sector partici2 pant, the participant receives training and experi3 ence at the Veterans Benefits Administration or the 

4 Veterans Health Administration. 

5 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall enter into such agreements 

6 with private-sector entities as are necessary to carry out 

7 this section. 

8 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—(1) In August of 

9 each year, the Secretary shall select— 

10 ‘‘(A) not fewer than 18 and not more than 30 

11 eligible employees of the Veterans Benefits Adminis12 tration and the Veterans Health Administration to 

13 receive a fellowship under this section; and 

14 ‘‘(B) not fewer than 18 and not more than 30 

15 eligible employees of private-sector entities to receive 

16 a fellowship under this section. 

17 ‘‘(2) To the extent practicable, the Secretary shall se18 lect eligible employees under subparagraphs (A) and (B) 

19 of paragraph (1) from among eligible employees who are 

20 veterans in a manner that is reflective of the demographics 

21 of the veteran population of the United States. 

22 ‘‘(d) ELIGIBLE EMPLOYEES.—For the purposes of 

23 this section, an eligible employee is— 


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1 ‘‘(1) with respect to an employee of the Vet2 erans Benefits Administration or the Veterans 

3 Health Administration, an employee who— 

4 ‘‘(A) is compensated at a rate of basic pay 

5 not less than the minimum rate of basic pay 

6 payable for grade GS–14 of the General Sched7 ule and not more than either the minimum rate 

8 of basic pay payable to a member of the Senior 

9 Executive Service under section 5382 of title 5, 

10 United States Code, or the minimum rate of 

11 basic pay payable pursuant to chapter 74 of 

12 this title, as the case may be; 

13 ‘‘(B) enters into an agreement with the 

14 Secretary under subsection (e); and 

15 ‘‘(C) submits to the Secretary an applica16 tion containing such information and assur17 ances as the Secretary may require; and 

18 ‘‘(2) with respect to an employee of a private19 sector entity, an employee who— 

20 ‘‘(A) is employed in a position whose du21 ties and responsibilities are commensurate with 

22 an employee of the Department described in 

23 paragraph (1); 

24 ‘‘(B) enters into an agreement with the 

25 Secretary under subsection (e); and 


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1 ‘‘(C) submits to the Secretary an applica2 tion containing such information and assur3 ances as the Secretary may require. 

4 ‘‘(e) AGREEMENTS.—(1) An agreement between the 

5 Secretary and a Department participant shall be in writ6 ing, shall be signed by the participant, and shall include 

7 the following provisions: 

8 ‘‘(A) The Secretary’s agreement to provide the 

9 participant with a fellowship under this section; 

10 ‘‘(B) The participant’s agreement— 

11 ‘‘(i) to accept the fellowship; 

12 ‘‘(ii) after completion of the fellowship, to 

13 serve as a full-time employee in the Veterans 

14 Benefits Administration or the Veterans Health 

15 Administration for at least two years as speci16 fied in the agreement; and 

17 ‘‘(iii) that, during the two-year period be18 ginning on the last day of the fellowship, the 

19 participant will not accept employment in the 

20 same industry as the industry of the private21 sector entity at which the participant accepts 

22 the fellowship. 

23 ‘‘(C) A provision that any financial obligation of 

24 the United States arising out of an agreement en25 tered into under this subchapter, and any obligation 


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1 of the participant which is conditioned on such 

2 agreement, is contingent upon funds being appro3 priated. 

4 ‘‘(D) A statement of the damages to which the 

5 United States is entitled under this subchapter for 

6 the participant’s breach of the agreement. 

7 ‘‘(E) Such other terms as the Secretary deter8 mines are required to be included in the agreement. 

9 ‘‘(2) An agreement between the Secretary and a pri10 vate-sector participant shall be in writing, shall be signed 

11 by the participant, and shall include the following provi12 sions: 

13 ‘‘(A) The Secretary’s agreement to provide the 

14 participant with a fellowship under this section. 

15 ‘‘(B) The participant’s agreement to accept the 

16 fellowship. 

17 ‘‘(C) Such other terms as the Secretary deter18 mines are required to be included in the agreement. 

19 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF RECIPIENTS.—(1) A Depart20 ment participant shall be considered an employee of the 

21 Department for all purposes, including for purposes of re22 ceiving a salary and benefits, and shall remain eligible for 

23 all promotion and incentive programs otherwise available 

24 to such an employee. 


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1 ‘‘(2) A private-sector participant shall be considered 

2 an employee of the private-sector entity that employs the 

3 participant for all purposes, including for purposes of re4 ceiving a salary and benefits, and during the fellowship 

5 shall be treated as a contractor of the Department. 

6 ‘‘(g) REPORTS.—Not later than 60 days after com7 pleting a fellowship under this section, a recipient of the 

8 fellowship shall submit to the Secretary a report on the 

9 fellowship. Each such report shall describe the duties of 

10 the recipient during the fellowship and any recommenda11 tions of the recipient for the application by the Secretary 

12 of industry processes, technologies, and best practices. Not 

13 later than seven days after receiving each such report, the 

14 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af15 fairs of the Senate and House of Representatives such re16 port without change. 

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

18 ‘‘(1) The term ‘Department participant’ means 

19 an employee of the Veterans Benefits Administration 

20 or the Veterans Health Administration who is par21 ticipating in the fellowship under this section. 

22 ‘‘(2) The term ‘private-sector entity’ includes 

23 an entity operating under a public-private partner24 ship. 


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1 ‘‘(3) The term ‘private-sector participant’ 

2 means an employee of a private-sector entity who is 

3 participating in the fellowship under this section.’’. 

4 (b) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

5 than 90 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

6 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall implement the Ex7 ecutive Management Fellowship Program required under 

8 section 741 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

9 subsection (a). 

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

11 at the beginning of chapter 7 of title 38, United States 

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

13 items: 

‘‘SUBCHAPTER III—EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

‘‘741. Executive Management Fellowship Program.’’. 

14 SEC. 4. ACCOUNTABILITY OF LEADERS FOR MANAGING 

15 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

17 States Code, is amended by inserting after section 717 the 

18 following new section: 

19 ‘‘§ 719. Annual performance plan for political ap20 pointees 

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

22 annual performance plan for each political appointee of 

23 the Department that is similar to the annual performance 

24 plan conducted for an employee of the Department who 


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

2 in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5) within the Senior Execu3 tive Service at the Department. 

4 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF PLAN.—Each annual perform5 ance plan conducted under subsection (a) with respect to 

6 a political appointee of the Department shall include an 

7 assessment of whether the appointee is meeting the fol8 lowing goals: 

9 ‘‘(1) Recruiting, selecting, and retaining well10 qualified individuals for employment at the Depart11 ment. 

12 ‘‘(2) Engaging and motivating employees. 

13 ‘‘(3) Training and developing employees and 

14 preparing those employees for future leadership roles 

15 within the Department. 

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

17 that is a manager accountable for addressing issues 

18 relating to performance, in particular issues relating 

19 to the performance of employees that report to the 

20 manager. 

21 ‘‘(c) DEFINITION OF POLITICAL APPOINTEE.—In 

22 this section, the term ‘political appointee’ means an em23 ployee of the Department who holds— 

24 ‘‘(1) a position which has been excepted from 

25 the competitive service by reason of its confidential, 


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1 policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advo2 cating character; or 

3 ‘‘(2) a position in the Senior Executive Service 

4 as a noncareer appointee (as such term is defined in 

5 section 3132(a) of title 5).’’. 

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

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

8 inserting after the item relating to section 717 the fol9 lowing new item: 

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

10 SEC. 5. MODIFICATION TO VETERANS PREFERENCE. 

11 (a) ACTIVE DUTY REQUIREMENT.—Section 

12 2108(1)(B) and (D) of title 5, United States Code, are 

13 amended by striking ‘‘consecutive’’ in each instance it ap14 pears and inserting ‘‘cumulative’’. 

15 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY OF RETIRED VET16 ERANS.—Section 2108(4) of title 5, United States Code, 

17 is amended to read as follows: 

18 ‘‘(4) ‘preference eligible’ includes a retired 

19 member of the armed forces; and’’. 

20 SEC. 6. REEMPLOYMENT OF FORMER EMPLOYEES. 

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

22 may noncompetitively appoint a qualified former employee 

23 to any position within the competitive service or any ex24 cepted service position under chapter 74 of title 38, United 

25 States Code, at the Department of Veterans Affairs that 


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1 is one grade higher than the grade of the position at the 

2 Department most recently occupied by the employee. 

3 (b) LIMITATION.—The Secretary may not appoint a 

4 qualified former employee to a position that is more than 

5 one grade (or equivalent) higher than the position at the 

6 Department most recently occupied by the employee. 

7 (c) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED FORMER EM8 PLOYEE.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘quali9 fied former employee’’ means any individual who— 

10 (1) formerly occupied any position at the De11 partment of Veterans Affairs within two years before 

12 applying for reemployment at the Department; 

13 (2) voluntarily left such position, or was subject 

14 to a reduction in force, and had a satisfactory per15 formance record while occupying such position; and 

16 (3) since leaving such position has maintained 

17 licensing requirements, related to the position, if 

18 any, and gained skill, knowledge, or other factors re19 lated to the position. 

20 SEC. 7. RECRUITING DATABASE. 

21 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

22 Affairs shall establish a single database that lists each va23 cant position in the Department of Veterans Affairs that 

24 the Secretary determines is critical to the mission of the 

25 Department, difficult to fill, or both. 


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1 (b) QUALIFIED APPLICANT.—If the Secretary deter2 mines that an applicant for a vacant position listed in the 

3 database established under subsection (a) is qualified for 

4 such position but does not select the applicant for such 

5 position, the Secretary, at the election of the applicant, 

6 shall consider the applicant for other similar vacant posi7 tions listed in the database for which the applicant is 

8 qualified. 

9 (c) PROLONGED VACANCIES.—If the Secretary does 

10 not fill a vacant position listed in the database established 

11 under subsection (a) after a period determined appro12 priate by the Secretary, the Secretary— 

13 (1) shall ensure that applicants described in 

14 subsection (b) are considered for such position; and 

15 (2) shall use the database established under 

16 subsection (a) to assist in filling such position. 

17 (d) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

18 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit 

19 to Congress a report on the use and efficacy of the data20 base established under subsection (a). 

21 SEC. 8. HUMAN RESOURCES ACADEMY. 

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

23 shall provide to human resources professionals of the Vet24 erans Health Administration of the Department of Vet25 erans Affairs training on how to best recruit and retain 


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1 employees of the Veterans Health Administration, includ2 ing with respect to any recruitment and retention matters 

3 that are unique to the Veterans Health Administration 

4 pursuant to chapter 74 of title 38, United States Code, 

5 or other provisions of law. The Secretary shall provide 

6 such training in a manner that the Secretary determines 

7 appropriate in light of budget, travel, and other con8 straints. 

9 (b) AMOUNT OF TRAINING.—The Secretary shall en10 sure that each human resources professional of the Vet11 erans Health Administration receives the training de12 scribed in subsection (a)— 

13 (1) as soon as practicable after being hired by 

14 the Secretary as a human resource professional; and 

15 (2) annually thereafter. 

16 (c) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall require 

17 that each human resources professional of the Veterans 

18 Health Administration, upon the completion of the train19 ing described in subsection (a), certifies that the profes20 sional received the training and understands the informa21 tion provided by the training. 

22 (d) ANNUAL REPORT.—The Secretary shall submit 

23 to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 

24 Representatives and the Senate an annual report on the 

25 training described in subsection (a), including the cost of 


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1 providing such training and the number of human re2 sources professionals who received such training during 

3 the year covered by the report. 

4 SEC. 9. PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR TECHNICAL 

5 EXPERTS. 

6 Not later than one year after the date of the enact7 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

8 establish a promotional track system for employees of the 

9 Department of Veterans Affairs that the Secretary deter10 mines are technical experts pursuant to regulations pre11 scribed by the Secretary for purposes of carrying out this 

12 section. Such system shall— 

13 (1) provide any such employee the opportunity 

14 to advance within the Department without being re15 quired to transition to a management position; and 

16 (2) for purposes of achieving career advance17 ment— 

18 (A) provide for the establishment of new 

19 positions within the Department; and 

20 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of 

21 law, provide for increases in pay for any such 

22 employee. 


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1 SEC. 10. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON SUCCESSION 

2 PLANNING. 

3 (a) STUDY.—The Comptroller General of the United 

4 States shall conduct a study on each of the following: 

5 (1) The succession planning at each medical fa6 cility of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

7 (2) The succession planning at the Veterans 

8 Benefits Administration and the National Cemetery 

9 Administration of the Department. 

10 (b) ELEMENTS.—The study under subsection (a) 

11 shall include, for each entity studied under the study, the 

12 following: 

13 (1) A determination of the mission-critical posi14 tions within the entity and the vacancy risk of such 

15 positions. 

16 (2) An analysis of the future needs for mission17 critical positions and gaps within the existing talent 

18 pool of the entity. 

19 (3) A description of strategies to close skill 

20 gaps through the use of training for existing staff, 

21 targeted recruitment, and hiring. 

22 (4) A plan to regularly evaluate progress of 

23 staff and update existing succession plans using 

24 clear and measurable metrics and benchmarks. 


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1 (5) A demonstration of the capacity of the enti2 ty to execute succession plans with successful succes3 sion management strategies. 

4 (6) Any other matters the Comptroller General 

5 determines appropriate. 

6 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

7 of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller General shall 

8 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

9 House of Representatives and the Senate a report con10 taining each study conducted under subsection (a). 

11 SEC. 11. INFORMATION ON HIRING EFFECTIVENESS. 

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

13 shall measure and collect information on indicators of hir14 ing effectiveness as follows: 

15 (1) With respect to recruiting and hiring— 

16 (A) the ability to reach and recruit well17 qualified talent from diverse talent pools, in18 cluding sources of candidates for mission-crit19 ical occupations; 

20 (B) the use and impact of special hiring 

21 authorities and flexibilities to recruit most 

22 qualified applicants, including the use of stu23 dent internships as a talent pool for permanent 

24 hires; 


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1 (C) the use and impact of special hiring 

2 authorities and flexibilities to recruit diverse 

3 candidates, including veteran, minority and dis4 abled candidates; 

5 (D) the use and impact of special hiring 

6 authorities and flexibilities to recruit candidates 

7 for mission-critical occupations and occupations 

8 with shortages; 

9 (E) the age, educational level, and source 

10 of applicants; 

11 (F) the length of time between the date on 

12 which a position is advertised and the date on 

13 which a first offer of employment is made; 

14 (G) the length of time between the date on 

15 which a first offer of employment for a position 

16 is made and the date on which a new hire 

17 starts in that position; 

18 (H) the number of internal and external 

19 applicants for positions; and 

20 (I) the number of offers accepted com21 pared to the number of offers made for perma22 nent positions. 

23 (2) With respect to the hiring authority— 

24 (A) the satisfaction of the hiring authority 

25 with— 


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1 (i) the quality of new hires; 

2 (ii) the match between the skills of 

3 newly hired individuals and the needs of 

4 the Department; 

5 (iii) the hiring process and hiring out6 comes after the first year of the employ7 ment of a new hire; and 

8 (iv) the length of time that elapses to 

9 fill a position and for a new hire to begin 

10 working in a new position; and 

11 (B) mission-critical deficiencies filled by 

12 new hires and the connection between mission13 critical deficiencies and annual agency perform14 ance. 

15 (3) Satisfaction of employment applicants with 

16 the hiring process, including with respect to the clar17 ity of job announcement, reasons for withdrawal of 

18 applications, user-friendliness of the application 

19 process, communication regarding status of applica20 tion, and timeliness of hiring decision. 

21 (4) With respect to a newly hired employee— 

22 (A) the satisfaction of the employee with 

23 the hiring process as described in paragraph 

24 (3); 


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1 (B) the satisfaction with the process of 

2 joining and becoming oriented with the Depart3 ment, including with respect to the timeliness of 

4 such process after the hiring decision, the ori5 entation process, and being provided with time6 ly and useful new employee information and as7 sistance after the hire is made but before the 

8 new hire starts in that position and after the 

9 new hire has begun; 

10 (C) attrition and reasons for leaving; 

11 (D) investment in training and develop12 ment for the employee during the first year of 

13 employment; and 

14 (E) significant barriers to the effective re15 cruitment, selection, joining and becoming ori16 ented with the Department, and retention of 

17 employees. 

18 (b) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—To the extent prac19 ticable and in a manner which protects personally identifi20 able information of applicants and employees, the Sec21 retary shall collect and report data collected under sub22 section (a) disaggregated by facility or Veterans Inte23 grated Service Network. 

24 (c) REPORTS.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—On an annual basis, the Sec2 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 

3 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen4 ate a report of the information collected under sub5 section (a). 

6 (2) AVAILABILITY OF RECRUITING AND HIRING

7 INFORMATION.—On an annual basis, the Secretary 

8 shall make publicly available the information col9 lected under subsection (a) in a consistent and ma10 chine-readable format to allow for a comparison of 

11 hiring effectiveness and experience by Veterans Inte12 grated Service Network or comparable public or pri13 vate sector organization. 

14 SEC. 12. EMPLOYMENT OF STUDENTS AND RECENT GRAD15 UATES. 

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

17 shall prescribe regulations to allow for excepted service ap18 pointments of students and recent graduates leading to 

19 conversion to career or career conditional employment of 

20 a student or recent graduate of a qualifying educational 

21 institution, as defined by the Department. 

22 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The conversion authority de23 scribed in subsection (a) shall be applicable to individuals 

24 in good standing who— 


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1 (1) are employed in a qualifying internship or 

2 fellowship program at the Department; 

3 (2) are employed in the Department in a volun4 teer capacity and performing substantive duties com5 parable to those of individuals in internship or fel6 lowship programs and meet the required number of 

7 hours for conversion; or 

8 (3) are employed in the Department under a 

9 contract or agreement with an external nonprofit or10 ganization and performing substantive duties com11 parable to those of individuals in internship or fel12 lowship programs. 

13 (c) UNIFORMITY.—For the purposes of subsections 

14 (b)(2) and (b)(3), hours of work performed by an indi15 vidual employed shall be considered equal to those per16 formed by an individual employed in a qualifying intern17 ship or fellowship program by the Department. 

18 SEC. 13. EXIT SURVEYS. 

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

20 shall develop and carry out a standardized exit survey to 

21 be voluntarily completed by career and noncareer employ22 ees and executives of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

23 who voluntarily separate from the Department. Such exit 

24 survey shall be developed in consultation with an approVerDate Sep 11 2014 19:31 Mar 10, 2017 Jkt 069200 PO 00000 Frm 00023 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H1367.RH H1367

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1 priate non-Department entity with experience developing 

2 such surveys. 

3 (b) SURVEY CONTENT.—The survey shall include, at 

4 a minimum— 

5 (1) reasons for leaving the Department; 

6 (2) efforts made by the supervisor of the em7 ployee to retain the individual; 

8 (3) the extent of job satisfaction and engage9 ment during the employment; 

10 (4) the intent of employee to either remain em11 ployed within the Federal Government or to leave 

12 employment with the Federal Government; and 

13 (5) such other matters as the Secretary deter14 mines appropriate. 

15 (c) ANONYMITY OF SURVEY CONTENT.—The Sec16 retary shall ensure that, to the extent possible, data col17 lected under subsection (a) is anonymized and personally 

18 identifiable information is removed. 

19 (d) SHARING OF SURVEY DATA.—The Secretary 

20 shall ensure that the results of the survey required by sub21 section (a) are shared on an annual basis with directors 

22 and managers of facilities of the Department and the Vet23 erans Integrated Service Networks. 

24 (e) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the date 

25 of the enactment of this Act, and annually thereafter, the 


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1 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af2 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 

3 report containing the aggregate results of the exit survey 

4 under subsection (a) covering the year prior to the report. 

5 The report shall include— 

6 (1) an analysis of the most common reasons 

7 employees choose to leave the Department; 

8 (2) steps the Secretary is taking to improve re9 tention, particularly for mission-critical occupations; 

10 (3) the demographic characteristics of employ11 ees choosing to leave the Department; 

12 (4) any legislative barriers to improving em13 ployee retention; and 

14 (5) the number of employees who took the exit 

15 survey under subsection (a). 


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Union Calendar No. 17 

115TH CONGRESS 

1ST SESSION H. R. 1367 

[Report No. 115–35, Part I] 

A BILL 

To improve the authority of the Secretary of VetAffairs, and for other purposes. other employees of the Department of Veterans erans Affairs to hire and retain physicians and 

MARCH 10, 2017 

Reported from the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

MARCH 10, 2017 

The Committee on Oversight and Government Reform 

printed House on the State of the Union and ordered to be discharged; committed to the Committee of the Whole 


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