I 

114TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION H. R. 5526 

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 

JUNE 16, 2016 

Mr. WENSTRUP (for himself and Mrs. WALORSKI) 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 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. 

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. Appointment and pay for directors of medical centers and Veterans Integrated Services Networks. 

Sec. 3. Modification to annual determination of staffing shortages in Veterans 

Health Administration. 


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Sec. 4. Repeal of compensation panels to determine market pay for physicians 

and dentists. 

Sec. 5. Executive management fellowship program. 

Sec. 6. Accountability of leaders for managing the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 7. Modification to veterans preference. 

Sec. 8. Reemployment of former employees. 

Sec. 9. Recruiting database. 

Sec. 10. Human resources academy. 

Sec. 11. Promotional opportunities for technical experts. 

Sec. 12. Comptroller General study on succession planning. 

Sec. 13. Information on hiring effectiveness. 

Sec. 14. Employment of students and recent graduates. 

Sec. 15. Exit surveys. 

1 SEC. 2. APPOINTMENT AND PAY FOR DIRECTORS OF MED2 ICAL CENTERS AND VETERANS INTEGRATED 

3 SERVICES NETWORKS. 

4 (a) APPOINTMENT.—Paragraph (4) of section 

5 7306(a) of title 38, United States Code, is amended to 

6 read as follows: 

7 ‘‘(4) Such medical directors and directors of 

8 Veterans Integrated Service Networks as may be ap9 pointed to suit the needs of the Department, who, to 

10 the extent practicable, shall be a qualified doctor of 

11 medicine, a qualified doctor of dental surgery or 

12 dental medicine, or other qualified medical profes13 sional.’’. 

14 (b) PAY.— 

15 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter IV of chapter 74 

16 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by add17 ing after section 7459 the following new section: 


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1 ‘‘§ 7460. Medical directors and directors of Veterans 

2 Integrated Service Networks 

3 ‘‘(a) ELEMENTS OF PAY.—Pay for covered directors 

4 shall consist of the following elements: 

5 ‘‘(1) Base pay as provided for under subsection 

6 (b). 

7 ‘‘(2) Market pay as provided for under sub8 section (c). 

9 ‘‘(b) BASE PAY.—Each covered director is entitled to 

10 base pay determined under subsection (a)(1) of section 

11 7404 of this title. 

12 ‘‘(c) MARKET PAY.—(1) Each covered director is eli13 gible for market pay under this subsection. 

14 ‘‘(2) Market pay shall consist of pay intended to re15 flect the recruitment and retention needs for the assign16 ment (as defined by the Secretary) of a particular covered 

17 director. 

18 ‘‘(3) The annual amount of the market pay payable 

19 to a covered director shall be determined by the Secretary 

20 on a case-by-case basis. 

21 ‘‘(4) In determining the amount of market pay for 

22 covered directors, the Secretary shall— 

23 ‘‘(A) consult two or more national surveys of 

24 pay for hospital directors, medical facility directors, 

25 or others individuals in similar positions, whether 

26 prepared by private, public, or quasi-public entities 


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1 in order to make a general assessment of the range 

2 of pays payable to covered directors, as applicable; 

3 and 

4 ‘‘(B) take into account— 

5 ‘‘(i) the experience of the covered director 

6 in managing facilities or program offices of the 

7 Department; 

8 ‘‘(ii) the experience of the covered director 

9 in managing medical facilities for other depart10 ments or agencies of the Federal Government, 

11 private entities, or non-profit entities; 

12 ‘‘(iii) the complexity of the facility man13 aged or to be managed by the covered director; 

14 ‘‘(iv) the labor market for hospital direc15 tors, medical facility directors, or other individ16 uals in similar positions, which may cover any 

17 geographic area the Secretary considers appro18 priate; and 

19 ‘‘(v) such other considerations as the Sec20 retary considers appropriate. 

21 ‘‘(5) The amount of market pay of a covered director 

22 shall be evaluated by the Secretary not less often than 

23 once every two years. The amount of market pay may be 

24 adjusted as the result of such an evaluation. A covered 


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1 director whose market pay is so evaluated shall receive 

2 written notice of the results of such evaluation. 

3 ‘‘(d) REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS ON TOTAL

4 PAY.—(1)(A) Not less often than once every two years, 

5 the Secretary shall prescribe for Department-wide applica6 bility the minimum and maximum amounts of annual pay 

7 that may be paid under this section to covered directors. 

8 ‘‘(B) Amounts prescribed under subparagraph (A) 

9 shall be published in the Federal Register, and shall not 

10 take effect until at least 60 days after the date of publica11 tion. 

12 ‘‘(2) The sum of the total amount of the annual rate 

13 of base pay payable to a covered director under subsection 

14 (b) and the market pay determined for the covered direc15 tor under subsection (c) may not be less than the min16 imum amount, nor more than the maximum amount, spec17 ified pursuant to paragraph (1)(A). 

18 ‘‘(3) In no case may the total amount of compensa19 tion paid to a covered director in any year exceed the 

20 amount of annual compensation (excluding expenses) 

21 specified in section 102 of title 3. 

22 ‘‘(e) TREATMENT OF PAY.—Pay under subsections 

23 (b) and (c) shall be considered pay for all purposes, includ24 ing retirement benefits under chapters 83 and 84 of title 

25 5 and other benefits. 


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1 ‘‘(f) ANCILLARY EFFECTS OF DECREASES IN PAY.— 

2 (1) A decrease in pay of a covered director resulting from 

3 an adjustment in the amount of market pay of the covered 

4 director under subsection (c) shall not be treated as an 

5 adverse action. 

6 ‘‘(2) A decrease in pay of a covered director resulting 

7 from an involuntary reassignment in connection with a 

8 disciplinary action taken against the covered director is 

9 not subject to appeal. 

10 ‘‘(g) DELEGATION OF RESPONSIBILITIES.—The Sec11 retary may delegate to an appropriate officer or employee 

12 of the Department any responsibility of the Secretary 

13 under this section, except for the responsibilities of the 

14 Secretary under subsection (d)(1). 

15 ‘‘(h) COVERED DIRECTORS DEFINED.—In this sec16 tion, the term ‘covered directors’ means medical directors 

17 and directors of Veterans Integrated Service Networks ap18 pointed under section 7306(a)(4) of this title.’’. 

19 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec20 tions at the beginning of such chapter is amended 

21 by inserting after the item relating to section 7459 

22 the following new item: 

‘‘7460. Medical directors and directors of Veterans Integrated Service Networks.’’. 

23 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Chapter 74 

24 of such title is further amended— 


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1 (A) in section 7404(a)(1) by striking ‘‘The 

2 annual’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided by 

3 section 7460 of this title, the annual’’; and 

4 (B) in the heading for subchapter IV (and 

5 in the item relating to such subchapter in the 

6 table of sections at the beginning of such chap7 ter), by striking ‘‘HEALTH-CARE’’. 

8 SEC. 3. MODIFICATION TO ANNUAL DETERMINATION OF 

9 STAFFING SHORTAGES IN VETERANS HEALTH 

10 ADMINISTRATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subsection (a) of section 7412 of 

12 title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

13 (1) by striking ‘‘the five occupations’’ and in14 serting ‘‘the five clinical occupations and the five 

15 nonclinical occupations’’; and 

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

17 and inserting ‘‘with respect to each Veterans Inte18 grated Services Network,’’. 

19 (b) TECHNICAL AMENDMENT.—Subsection (b) of 

20 such section is amended by striking ‘‘paragraph (1)’’ and 

21 inserting ‘‘subsection (a)’’. 


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1 SEC. 4. REPEAL OF COMPENSATION PANELS TO DETER2 MINE MARKET PAY FOR PHYSICIANS AND 

3 DENTISTS. 

4 Section 7431(c) of title 38, United States Code, is 

5 amended— 

6 (1) by striking paragraph (4); 

7 (2) by redesignating paragraphs (5), (6), and 

8 (7) as paragraphs (4), (5), and (6), respectively; and 

9 (3) in paragraph (6), as so redesignated, by 

10 striking ‘‘under paragraph (6)’’ and inserting 

11 ‘‘under paragraph (5)’’. 

12 SEC. 5. EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM. 

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

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

15 following new subchapter: 

16 ‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT 

17 FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM 

18 ‘‘§ 721. Executive Management Fellowship Program 

19 ‘‘(a) FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM.—There is in the De20 partment an Executive Management Fellowship Program. 

21 The purpose of the program shall be to provide eligible 

22 employees of the Veterans Benefits Administration and 

23 the Veterans Health Administration with training and ex24 perience in the private sector. 

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

26 this section is a one-year fellowship during which the eligiVerDate Sep 11 2014 02:26 Jun 22, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5526.IH H5526

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1 ble employee who is the recipient of the fellowship shall 

2 receive training at a private-sector entity that is engaged 

3 in the administration and delivery of health care or other 

4 services similar to the benefits administered by the Sec5 retary. 

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

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

8 this section. 

9 ‘‘(c) SELECTION OF RECIPIENTS.—In August of each 

10 year, the Secretary shall select not fewer than 18 and not 

11 more than 30 eligible employees to receive a fellowship 

12 under this section. To the extent practicable, the Secretary 

13 shall select such eligible employees from among eligible 

14 employees who are veterans in a manner that is reflective 

15 of the demographics of the veteran population of the 

16 United States. 

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

18 this section, an eligible employee is an employee of the 

19 Veterans Benefits Administration or the Veterans Health 

20 Administration who— 

21 ‘‘(1) is compensated at a rate of basic pay not 

22 less than the minimum rate of basic pay payable for 

23 grade GS–14 of the General Schedule and not more 

24 than either the minimum rate of basic pay payable 

25 to a member of the Senior Executive Service under 


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1 section 5382 of title 5, United States Code, or the 

2 minimum rate of basic pay payable pursuant to 

3 chapter 74 of this title, as the case may be; 

4 ‘‘(2) enters into an agreement with the Sec5 retary under subsection (e); and 

6 ‘‘(3) submits to the Secretary an application 

7 containing such information and assurances as the 

8 Secretary may require. 

9 ‘‘(e) AGREEMENTS.—An agreement between the Sec10 retary and a recipient of a fellowship shall be in writing, 

11 shall be signed by the recipient, and shall include the fol12 lowing provisions: 

13 ‘‘(1) The Secretary’s agreement— 

14 ‘‘(A) to provide the recipient with a fellow15 ship under this section; and 

16 ‘‘(B) to afford the participant the oppor17 tunity for employment in the Veterans Benefits 

18 Administration or the Veterans Health Admin19 istration (subject to the availability of appro20 priated funds for such purpose and other quali21 fications established in accordance with section 

22 7402 of this title). 

23 ‘‘(2) The recipient’s agreement— 

24 ‘‘(A) to accept the fellowship; 


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1 ‘‘(B) after completion of the fellowship, to 

2 serve as a full-time employee in the Veterans 

3 Benefits Administration or the Veterans Health 

4 Administration for at least two years as speci5 fied in the agreement; and 

6 ‘‘(C) that, during the two-year period be7 ginning on the last day of the fellowship, the re8 cipient will not accept employment in the same 

9 industry as the industry of the private entity at 

10 which the recipient accepts the fellowship. 

11 ‘‘(3) A provision that any financial obligation of 

12 the United States arising out of an agreement en13 tered into under this subchapter, and any obligation 

14 of the recipient which is conditioned on such agree15 ment, is contingent upon funds being appropriated 

16 for educational assistance under this subchapter. 

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

18 United States is entitled under this subchapter for 

19 the recipient’s breach of the agreement. 

20 ‘‘(5) Such other terms as the Secretary deter21 mines are required to be included in the agreement. 

22 ‘‘(f) TREATMENT OF RECIPIENTS.—The recipient of 

23 a fellowship under this section shall be considered an em24 ployee of the Department for all purposes, including for 

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1 main eligible for all promotion and incentive programs 

2 otherwise available to such an employee. 

3 ‘‘(g) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 60 days 

4 after completing a fellowship under this section, a recipi5 ent of the fellowship shall submit to the Secretary a report 

6 on the fellowship. Each such report shall describe the du7 ties of the recipient during the fellowship and any rec8 ommendations of the recipient for the application of indus9 try processes, technologies, and best practices. Not later 

10 than seven days after receiving each such report, the Sec11 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs 

12 of the Senate and House of Representatives such report 

13 without change. 

14 ‘‘(h) PRIVATE-SECTOR ENTITY DEFINED.—In this 

15 section, the term ‘private-sector entity’ includes an entity 

16 operating under a public-private partnership.’’. 

17 (b) DEADLINE FOR IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later 

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

19 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall implement the Ex20 ecutive Management Fellowship Program required under 

21 section 721 of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

22 subsection (a). 

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

24 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

25 at the end the following new items: 


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‘‘SUBCHAPTER II—EXECUTIVE MANAGEMENT FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM

‘‘721. Executive Management Fellowship Program.’’. 

1 SEC. 6. ACCOUNTABILITY OF LEADERS FOR MANAGING 

2 THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

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

5 following new section: 

6 ‘‘§ 709A. Annual performance plan for political ap7 pointees 

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

9 annual performance plan for each political appointee of 

10 the Department that is similar to the annual performance 

11 plan conducted for an employee of the Department who 

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

13 in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5) within the Senior Execu14 tive Service at the Department. 

15 ‘‘(b) ELEMENTS OF PLAN.—Each annual perform16 ance plan conducted under subsection (a) with respect to 

17 a political appointee of the Department shall include an 

18 assessment of whether the appointee is meeting the fol19 lowing goals: 

20 ‘‘(1) Recruiting, selecting, and retaining well21 qualified individuals for employment at the Depart22 ment. 

23 ‘‘(2) Engaging and motivating employees. 


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1 ‘‘(3) Training and developing employees and 

2 preparing those employees for future leadership roles 

3 within the Department. 

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

5 that is a manager accountable for addressing issues 

6 relating to performance, in particular issues relating 

7 to the performance of employees that report to the 

8 manager. 

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

10 this section, the term ‘political appointee’ means an em11 ployee of the Department who holds— 

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

13 the competitive service by reason of its confidential, 

14 policy-determining, policy-making, or policy-advo15 cating character; or 

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

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

18 section 3132(a) of title 5).’’. 

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

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

21 inserting after the item relating to section 709 the fol22 lowing new item: 

‘‘709A. Annual performance plan for political appointees.’’. 

23 SEC. 7. MODIFICATION TO VETERANS PREFERENCE. 

24 (a) ACTIVE DUTY REQUIREMENT.—Section 

25 2108(1)(B) and (D) of title 5, United States Code, are 


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1 amended by striking ‘‘consecutive’’ in each instance it ap2 pears and inserting ‘‘cumulative’’. 

3 (b) EXPANSION OF ELIGIBILITY OF RETIRED VET4 ERANS.—Section 2108(4) of title 5, United States Code, 

5 is amended to read as follows: 

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

7 member of the armed forces; and’’. 

8 (c) VETERANS PREFERENCE FOR VA SENIOR EX9 ECUTIVES.— 

10 (1) IN GENERAL.—To the greatest extent prac11 ticable and notwithstanding the matter following 

12 subparagraph (H) of section 2108(3) of title 5, 

13 United States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Af14 fairs shall give a hiring preference to any preference 

15 eligible when selecting an individual for appointment 

16 to a senior executive position. 

17 (2) DEFINITIONS.—For purposes of this sub18 section— 

19 (A) the term ‘‘preference eligible’’ has the 

20 meaning given such term in section 2108(3) of 

21 title 5, United States Code; and 

22 (B) the terms ‘‘individual’’ and ‘‘senior ex23 ecutive position’’ have the meaning given such 

24 terms in paragraphs (1) and (3), respectively, 


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1 of section 713(g) of title 38, United States 

2 Code. 

3 (3) CONFORMING AMENDMENT.—Section 

4 2108(3) of title 5, United States Code, is amended 

5 in the matter following subparagraph (H) by insert6 ing ‘‘(except as provided for under section 8(c) of 

7 the To improve the authority of the Secretary of 

8 Veterans Affairs to hire and retain physicians and 

9 other employees of the Department of Veterans Af10 fairs, and for other purposes Act of 2016)’’ after 

11 ‘‘members of, the Senior Executive Service’’. 

12 SEC. 8. REEMPLOYMENT OF FORMER EMPLOYEES. 

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

14 may noncompetitively appoint a qualified former employee 

15 to any position within the competitive service or any ex16 cepted service position under chapter 74 of title 38, United 

17 States Code, at the Department of Veterans Affairs that 

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

19 Department most recently occupied by the employee. 

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

21 qualified former employee to a position that is more than 

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

23 Department most recently occupied by the employee. 


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1 (c) DEFINITION OF QUALIFIED FORMER EM2 PLOYEE.—For purposes of this section, the term ‘‘quali3 fied former employee’’ means any individual who— 

4 (1) formerly occupied any position at the De5 partment of Veterans Affairs within 2 years before 

6 applying for reemployment at the Department; 

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

8 to a reduction in force, and had a satisfactory per9 formance record while occupying such position; and 

10 (3) since leaving such position has maintained 

11 licensing requirements, related to the position, if 

12 any, and gained skill, knowledge, or other factors re13 lated to the position. 

14 SEC. 9. RECRUITING DATABASE. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

16 Affairs shall establish a single database that lists each va17 cant position in the Department of Veterans Affairs that 

18 the Secretary determines is critical to the mission of the 

19 Department, difficult to fill, or both. 

20 (b) QUALIFIED APPLICANT.—If the Secretary deter21 mines that an applicant for a vacant position listed in the 

22 database established under subsection (a) is qualified for 

23 such position but does not select the applicant for such 

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

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1 tions listed in the database for which the applicant is 

2 qualified. 

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

4 not fill a vacant position listed in the database established 

5 under subsection (a) after a period determined appro6 priate by the Secretary, the Secretary— 

7 (1) shall ensure that applicants described in 

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

9 (2) shall use the database established under 

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

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

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

13 to Congress a report on the use and efficacy of the data14 base established under subsection (a). 

15 SEC. 10. HUMAN RESOURCES ACADEMY. 

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

17 shall provide to human resources professionals of the Vet18 erans Health Administration of the Department of Vet19 erans Affairs training on how to best recruit and retain 

20 employees of the Veterans Health Administration, includ21 ing with respect to any recruitment and retention matters 

22 that are unique to the Veterans Health Administration 

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

24 or other provisions of law. The Secretary shall provide 

25 such training in a manner that the Secretary determines 


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1 appropriate in light of budget, travel, and other con2 straints. 

3 (b) AMOUNT OF TRAINING.—The Secretary shall en4 sure that each human resources professional of the Vet5 erans Health Administration receives the training de6 scribed in subsection (a)— 

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

8 the Secretary as a human resource professional; and 

9 (2) annually thereafter. 

10 (c) CERTIFICATION.—The Secretary shall require 

11 that each human resources professional of the Veterans 

12 Health Administration, upon the completion of the train13 ing described in subsection (a), certifies that the profes14 sional received the training and understands the informa15 tion provided by the training. 

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

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

18 Representatives and the Senate an annual report on the 

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

20 providing such training and the number of human re21 sources professionals who received such training during 

22 the year covered by the report. 


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1 SEC. 11. PROMOTIONAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR TECHNICAL 

2 EXPERTS. 

3 Not later than one year after the date of the enact4 ment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 

5 establish a promotional track system for employees of the 

6 Department of Veterans Affairs that the Secretary deter7 mines are technical experts pursuant to regulations pre8 scribed by the Secretary for purposes of carrying out this 

9 section. Such system shall— 

10 (1) provide any such employee the opportunity 

11 to advance within the Department without being re12 quired to transition to a management position; and 

13 (2) for purposes of achieving career advance14 ment— 

15 (A) provide for the establishment of new 

16 positions within the Department; and 

17 (B) notwithstanding any other provision of 

18 law, provide for increases in pay for any such 

19 employee. 

20 SEC. 12. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY ON SUCCESSION 

21 PLANNING. 

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

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

24 (1) The succession planning at each medical fa25 cility of the Department of Veterans Affairs. 


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1 (2) The succession planning at the Veterans 

2 Benefits Administration and the National Cemetery 

3 Administration of the Department. 

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

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

6 following: 

7 (1) A determination of the mission-critical posi8 tions within the entity and the vacancy risk of such 

9 positions. 

10 (2) An analysis of the future needs for mission11 critical positions and gaps within the existing talent 

12 pool of the entity. 

13 (3) A description of strategies to close skill 

14 gaps through the use of training for existing staff, 

15 targeted recruitment, and hiring. 

16 (4) A plan to regularly evaluate progress of 

17 staff and update existing succession plans using 

18 clear and measurable metrics and benchmarks. 

19 (5) A demonstration of the capacity of the enti20 ty to execute succession plans with successful succes21 sion management strategies. 

22 (6) Any other matters the Comptroller General 

23 determines appropriate. 

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

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


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1 submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the 

2 House of Representatives and the Senate a report con3 taining each study conducted under subsection (a). 

4 SEC. 13. INFORMATION ON HIRING EFFECTIVENESS. 

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

6 shall measure and collect information on indicators of hir7 ing effectiveness as follows: 

8 (1) With respect to recruiting and hiring— 

9 (A) the ability to reach and recruit well10 qualified talent from diverse talent pools, in11 cluding sources of candidates for mission-crit12 ical occupations; 

13 (B) the use and impact of special hiring 

14 authorities and flexibilities to recruit most 

15 qualified applicants, including the use of stu16 dent internships as a talent pool for permanent 

17 hires; 

18 (C) the use and impact of special hiring 

19 authorities and flexibilities to recruit diverse 

20 candidates, including veteran, minority and dis21 abled candidates; 

22 (D) the use and impact of special hiring 

23 authorities and flexibilities to recruit candidates 

24 for mission-critical occupations and occupations 

25 with shortages; 


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

2 of applicants; 

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

4 which a position is advertised and the date on 

5 which a first offer of employment is made; 

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

7 which a first offer of employment for a position 

8 is made and the date on which a new hire 

9 starts in that position; 

10 (H) the number of internal and external 

11 applicants for positions; and 

12 (I) the number of offers accepted com13 pared to the number of offers made for perma14 nent positions. 

15 (2) With respect to the hiring authority— 

16 (A) the satisfaction of the hiring authority 

17 with— 

18 (i) the quality of new hires; 

19 (ii) the match between the skills of 

20 newly hired individuals and the needs of 

21 the Department; 

22 (iii) the hiring process and hiring out23 comes after the first year of the employ24 ment of a new hire; and 


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1 (iv) the length of time that elapses to 

2 fill a position and for a new hire to begin 

3 working in a new position; and 

4 (B) mission-critical deficiencies filled by 

5 new hires and the connection between mission6 critical deficiencies and annual agency perform7 ance. 

8 (3) Satisfaction of employment applicants with 

9 the hiring process, including with respect to the clar10 ity of job announcement, reasons for withdrawal of 

11 applications, user-friendliness of the application 

12 process, communication regarding status of applica13 tion, and timeliness of hiring decision. 

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

15 (A) the satisfaction of the employee with 

16 the hiring process as described in paragraph 

17 (3); 

18 (B) the satisfaction with the process of 

19 joining and becoming oriented with the Depart20 ment, including with respect to the timeliness of 

21 such process after the hiring decision, the ori22 entation process, and being provided with time23 ly and useful new employee information and as24 sistance after the hire is made but before the 


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1 new hire starts in that position and after the 

2 new hire has begun; 

3 (C) attrition and reasons for leaving; 

4 (D) investment in training and develop5 ment for the employee during the first year of 

6 employment; and 

7 (E) significant barriers to the effective re8 cruitment, selection, joining and becoming ori9 ented with the Department, and retention of 

10 employees. 

11 (b) DISAGGREGATION OF DATA.—To the extent prac12 ticable and in a manner which protects personally identifi13 able information of applicants and employees, the Sec14 retary shall collect and report data collected under sub15 section (a) disaggregated by facility or Veterans Inte16 grated Service Network. 

17 (c) REPORTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—On an annual basis, the Sec19 retary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ 

20 Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Sen21 ate a report of the information collected under sub22 section (a). 

23 (2) AVAILABILITY OF RECRUITING AND HIRING

24 INFORMATION.—On an annual basis, the Secretary 

25 shall make publicly available the information colVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 Jun 24, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00025 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5526.IH H5526

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1 lected under subsection (a) in a consistent and ma2 chine-readable format to allow for a comparison of 

3 hiring effectiveness and experience by Veterans Inte4 grated Service Network or comparable public or pri5 vate sector organization. 

6 SEC. 14. EMPLOYMENT OF STUDENTS AND RECENT GRAD7 UATES. 

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

9 shall prescribe regulations to allow for excepted service ap10 pointments of students and recent graduates leading to 

11 conversion to career or career conditional employment of 

12 a student or recent graduate of a qualifying educational 

13 institution, as defined by the Department. 

14 (b) APPLICABILITY.—The conversion authority de15 scribed in subsection (a) shall be applicable to individuals 

16 in good standing who— 

17 (1) are employed in a qualifying internship or 

18 fellowship program at the Department; 

19 (2) are employed in the Department in a volun20 teer capacity and performing substantive duties com21 parable to those of individuals in internship or fel22 lowship programs and meet the required number of 

23 hours for conversion; or 

24 (3) are employed in the Department under a 

25 contract or agreement with an external nonprofit orVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:57 Jun 24, 2016 Jkt 059200 PO 00000 Frm 00026 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\H5526.IH H5526

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1 ganization and performing substantive duties com2 parable to those of individuals in internship or fel3 lowship programs. 

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

5 (b)(2) and (b)(3), hours of work performed by an indi6 vidual employed shall be considered equal to those per7 formed by an individual employed in a qualifying intern8 ship or fellowship program by the Department. 

9 SEC. 15. EXIT SURVEYS. 

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

11 shall develop and carry out a standardized exit survey to 

12 be voluntarily completed by career and noncareer employ13 ees and executives of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

14 who voluntarily separate from the Department. Such exit 

15 survey shall be developed in consultation with an appro16 priate non-Department entity with experience developing 

17 such surveys. 

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

19 a minimum— 

20 (1) reasons for leaving the Department; 

21 (2) efforts made by the supervisor of the em22 ployee to retain the individual; 

23 (3) the extent of job satisfaction and engage24 ment during the employment; 


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1 (4) the intent of employee to either remain em2 ployed within the Federal Government or to leave 

3 employment with the Federal Government; and 

4 (5) such other matters as the Secretary deter5 mines appropriate. 

6 (c) ANONYMITY OF SURVEY CONTENT.—The Sec7 retary shall ensure that, to the extent possible, data col8 lected under subsection (a) is anonymized and personally 

9 identifiable information is removed. 

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

11 shall ensure that the results of the survey required by sub12 section (a) are shared on an annual basis with directors 

13 and managers of facilities of the Department and the Vet14 erans Integrated Service Networks. 

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

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

17 Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af18 fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 

19 report containing the aggregate results of the exit survey 

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

21 The report shall include— 

22 (1) an analysis of the most common reasons 

23 employees choose to leave the Department; 

24 (2) steps the Secretary is taking to improve re25 tention, particularly for mission-critical occupations; 


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1 (3) the demographic characteristics of employ2 ees choosing to leave the Department; 

3 (4) any legislative barriers to improving em4 ployee retention; and 

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

6 survey under subsection (a). 

Æ 


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