II 

117TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 4156 

To improve the workforce of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for 

other purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

MAY 5, 2022 

Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. BOOZMAN) introduced the following bill; 

which was read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To improve the workforce of the Department of Veterans 

Affairs, and for other purposes. 

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

3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS. 

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

5 ‘‘VA Workforce Improvement, Support, and Expansion 

6 (WISE) Act of 2022’’. 

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

8 this Act is as follows: 

Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents. 

TITLE I—TRAINING, RECRUITMENT, AND RETENTION OF 

HEALTH CARE EMPLOYEES 


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Sec. 101. National rural recruitment and hiring plan for Veterans Health Administration. 

Sec. 102. Rural health quality and access fellowship program for Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 103. Authority to buy out service contracts for health care professionals 

in exchange for employment at rural or highly rural facilities 

of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 104. Payment of licensure exam costs for recipients of scholarships from 

Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 105. Improvement of workforce training and team models to meet the 

needs of older veterans. 

Sec. 106. Qualifications for human resources positions within the Department 

of Veterans Affairs and plan to recruit and retain human resources employees. 

Sec. 107. Study on improving recruitment and retention at community living 

centers of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 108. Limitation on transfer of directors of medical centers of Department 

of Veterans Affairs to different positions. 

TITLE II—ACCOUNTABILITY, OVERSIGHT, AND PERSONNEL 

MATTERS 

Subtitle A—Matters Relating to Pay 

Sec. 201. Increased pay cap for directors of medical centers and Veterans Integrated Service Networks of Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 202. Waiver of pay limitation for employees of the Veterans Health Administration performing mission critical work. 

Sec. 203. Elimination of performance pay elements for physicians, podiatrists, 

and dentists and elimination of total compensation cap. 

Sec. 204. Increase of maximum amount of incentive pay for Department pharmacist executives. 

Sec. 205. Elimination of pay cap for certain employees of Veterans Health Administration. 

Sec. 206. Modification of special pay authority for nurse executives. 

Subtitle B—Improvement of Recruitment and Hiring 

Sec. 211. Oversight of direct hire authority and hiring flexibility of Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 212. Expansion of emergency hiring authorities for Department of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 213. Waiver of certain licensure requirements. 

Sec. 214. Expansion of opportunities for housekeeping aides. 

Subtitle C—Other Personnel Matters 

Sec. 221. Expansion of annual leave options for employees of Department of 

Veterans Affairs during public health emergency. 

Sec. 222. Expansion of reimbursement of continuing professional education 

fees. 

Sec. 223. Inclusion of police officers of Department of Veterans Affairs as law 

enforcement officers. 

Sec. 224. Department of Veterans Affairs personnel transparency. 

Sec. 225. Comptroller General report assessing human resources modernization 

within Veterans Health Administration. 


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TITLE III—ASSISTANCE WITH NATIONAL EMERGENCIES 

Sec. 301. Update of web portal to identify veterans who had medical occupations as members of the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 302. Program on provision to States of information on veterans with medical skills obtained during service in the Armed Forces. 

Sec. 303. Program on training of intermediate care technicians of Department 

of Veterans Affairs. 

Sec. 304. Notification of opportunities for veterans. 

1 TITLE I—TRAINING, RECRUIT2 MENT, AND RETENTION OF 

3 HEALTH CARE EMPLOYEES 

4 SEC. 101. NATIONAL RURAL RECRUITMENT AND HIRING 

5 PLAN FOR VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRA6 TION. 

7 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

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

9 Veterans Affairs, in collaboration with the directors of 

10 each community-based outpatient clinic and medical cen11 ter of the Department of Veterans Affairs, shall develop 

12 and implement a national rural recruitment and hiring 

13 plan for the Veterans Health Administration to— 

14 (1) recruit health care professionals for rural 

15 and highly rural community-based outpatient clinics 

16 and rural and highly rural medical centers of the 

17 Department; 

18 (2) determine which such clinics or centers have 

19 a staffing shortage of health care professionals; 


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1 (3) develop best practices and techniques for re2 cruiting health care professionals for such clinics 

3 and centers; 

4 (4) not less frequently than annually, provide 

5 virtually based, on-demand training to human re6 sources professionals of the Veterans Health Admin7 istration on the best practices and techniques devel8 oped under paragraph (3); and 

9 (5) provide recruitment resources, such as pam10 phlets and marketing material to— 

11 (A) Veterans Integrated Service Networks 

12 of the Department; 

13 (B) rural and highly rural community14 based outpatient clinics of the Department; and 

15 (C) rural and highly rural medical centers 

16 of the Department. 

17 (b) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

18 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and annually 

19 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

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

21 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

22 that includes— 

23 (1) the plan developed and implemented under 

24 subsection (a); and 


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1 (2) an assessment of the outcomes related to 

2 recruitment and retention of employees of the Vet3 erans Health Administration at rural and highly 

4 rural facilities of the Department. 

5 (c) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘rural’’ 

6 and ‘‘highly rural’’ have the meanings given those terms 

7 under the rural-urban commuting areas coding system of 

8 the Department of Agriculture. 

9 SEC. 102. RURAL HEALTH QUALITY AND ACCESS FELLOW10 SHIP PROGRAM FOR DEPARTMENT OF VET11 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 7302 of title 38, United 

13 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol14 lowing new subsection: 

15 ‘‘(f)(1) In carrying out this section, the Secretary 

16 shall establish a fellowship program, to be known as the 

17 Rural Health Quality and Access Fellowship program, to 

18 provide fellowships to health care professionals at the 

19 post-graduate level who serve on a short-term basis as 

20 post-graduate health professions trainees at a rural or 

21 highly rural community-based outpatient clinic or rural or 

22 highly rural medical center of the Department. 

23 ‘‘(2) Not less frequently than annually, the Secretary 

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

25 Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the 


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1 House of Representatives a report on the program under 

2 paragraph (1). 

3 ‘‘(3) In this subsection: 

4 ‘‘(A) The term ‘health care professional’ means 

5 an individual who qualifies as an appointee under 

6 section 7402 of this title. 

7 ‘‘(B) The terms ‘rural’ and ‘highly rural’ have 

8 the meanings given those terms under the rural9 urban commuting areas coding system of the De10 partment of Agriculture.’’. 

11 (b) INITIAL REPORT.—The Secretary of Veterans Af12 fairs shall submit the initial report required under section 

13 7302(f)(2) of title 38, United States Code, as added by 

14 subsection (a), not later than 18 months after the date 

15 of the enactment of this Act. 

16 SEC. 103. AUTHORITY TO BUY OUT SERVICE CONTRACTS 

17 FOR HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONALS IN EX18 CHANGE FOR EMPLOYMENT AT RURAL OR 

19 HIGHLY RURAL FACILITIES OF DEPARTMENT 

20 OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

21 (a) IN GENERAL.—For any covered health care pro22 fessional to whom the Secretary of Veterans Affairs has 

23 offered employment with the Department of Veterans Af24 fairs, the Secretary may buy out the non-Department serv25 ice contract of such individual in exchange for such indiVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00006 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4156.IS S4156

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1 vidual agreeing to be employed at a rural or highly rural 

2 facility of the Department for a period of obligated service 

3 specified in subsection (c). 

4 (b) PAYMENT OF AMOUNTS.—Payment of any 

5 amounts for a buy out of a service contract for a covered 

6 health care professional under subsection (a) shall be 

7 made directly to the individual or entity with respect to 

8 which the covered health care professional has a service 

9 obligation under such contract. 

10 (c) OBLIGATED SERVICE.—In exchange for a con11 tract buy out under subsection (a), a covered health care 

12 professional shall agree to be employed for not less than 

13 four years at a rural or highly rural facility of the Depart14 ment. 

15 (d) LIABILITY.— 

16 (1) IN GENERAL.—Except as provided in para17 graph (2), if a covered health care professional fails 

18 for any reason to complete the period of obligated 

19 service of the individual under subsection (c), the 

20 United States shall be entitled to recover from the 

21 individual an amount equal to— 

22 (A) the total amount paid under subsection 

23 (a) to buy out the non-Department service con24 tract of the individual; multiplied by 

25 (B) a fraction— 


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1 (i) the numerator of which is— 

2 (I) the total number of months in 

3 the period of obligated service of the 

4 individual; minus 

5 (II) the number of months served 

6 by the individual; and 

7 (ii) the denominator of which is the 

8 total number of months in the period of 

9 obligated service of the individual. 

10 (2) EXCEPTION.—Liability shall not arise under 

11 paragraph (1) in the case of an individual covered 

12 by that paragraph if the individual does not obtain, 

13 or fails to maintain, employment as an employee of 

14 the Department due to staffing changes approved by 

15 the Under Secretary for Health. 

16 (e) NOT A TAXABLE BENEFIT.—A contract buy out 

17 for a covered health care professional under subsection (a) 

18 shall not be considered a taxable benefit or event for the 

19 covered health care professional. 

20 (f) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than 18 months 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not less 

22 frequently than annually thereafter, the Secretary of Vet23 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

24 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ AfVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00008 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4156.IS S4156

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1 fairs of the House of Representatives a report on the use 

2 by the Secretary of the authority under this section. 

3 (g) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 

4 (1) COVERED HEALTH CARE PROFESSIONAL.— 

5 The term ‘‘covered health care professional’’ means 

6 a health care professional offered employment with 

7 the Veterans Health Administration under— 

8 (A) section 7401 of title 38, United States 

9 Code; or 

10 (B) title 5, United States Code. 

11 (2) RURAL; HIGHLY RURAL.—The terms 

12 ‘‘rural’’ and ‘‘highly rural’’ have the meanings given 

13 those terms under the rural-urban commuting areas 

14 coding system of the Department of Agriculture. 

15 SEC. 104. PAYMENT OF LICENSURE EXAM COSTS FOR RE16 CIPIENTS OF SCHOLARSHIPS FROM DEPART17 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

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

19 shall pay the costs of any licensing examinations and cer20 tifications required by the Secretary for any current recipi21 ent of a covered health professional scholarship from the 

22 Department of Veterans Affairs. 

23 (b) LICENSING EXAMINATIONS AND CERTIFI24 CATIONS.—Subsection (a) shall apply to the payment of 

25 costs for— 


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1 (1) the United States Medical Licensing Exam2 ination Step 1, Step 2, and Step 3; 

3 (2) the National Council Licensure Exam; 

4 (3) the National Board Dental Examination; 

5 (4) the National Board Dental Hygiene Exam6 ination; 

7 (5) the Dental Licensure Objective Structured 

8 Clinical Examination and Integrated National Board 

9 Dental Examination; 

10 (6) the National Licensing Exams for Nurse 

11 Practitioner and Certified Registered Nurse Anes12 thetist; and 

13 (7) such other licensing examinations and cer14 tifications as the Secretary considers appropriate. 

15 (c) COVERED HEALTH PROFESSIONAL SCHOLARSHIP

16 DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘covered health pro17 fessional scholarship’’ means— 

18 (1) the Department of Veterans Affairs Health 

19 Professional Scholarship Program under subchapter 

20 II of chapter 76 of title 38, United States Code; 

21 (2) the Department of Veterans Affairs Em22 ployee Incentive Scholarship Program under sub23 chapter VI of such chapter, including— 

24 (A) the National Nursing Education Initia25 tive; and 


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1 (B) the VA National Education for Em2 ployees Program; 

3 (3) the Visual Impairment and Orientation and 

4 Mobility Professionals Scholarship Program under 

5 chapter 75 of such title; 

6 (4) the Veterans Healing Veterans Medical Ac7 cess and Scholarship Program under section 304 of 

8 the VA MISSION Act of 2018 (Public Law 115– 

9 182; 38 U.S.C. 7601 note); and 

10 (5) such other programs as the Secretary con11 siders appropriate. 

12 SEC. 105. IMPROVEMENT OF WORKFORCE TRAINING AND 

13 TEAM MODELS TO MEET THE NEEDS OF 

14 OLDER VETERANS. 

15 (a) RURAL GERIATRICS TEAM TRAINING.—The Sec16 retary of Veterans Affairs shall expand the Rural Inter17 disciplinary Team Training program of the Department 

18 of Veterans Affairs to not fewer than one rural site in 

19 each Veterans Integrated Service Network of the Depart20 ment and ensure access at such sites to learning opportu21 nities through the Geriatric Scholars Program of the De22 partment. 

23 (b) EXPANSION OF FELLOWSHIP IN ADVANCED GER24 IATRICS.—The Secretary shall expand the Fellowship in 

25 Advanced Geriatrics program of the Department to ensure 


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1 that a fellowship position is required to be provided under 

2 such program in each Geriatric Research, Education, and 

3 Clinical Center of the Department. 

4 (c) TRAINING ON CARING FOR VETERANS WITH

5 MEMORY LOSS.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall provide 

7 continuing professional education for primary care 

8 providers, community living center staff, geriatrics 

9 and extended care staff, home health workers, and 

10 social workers of the Department on caring for vet11 erans with Alzheimer’s disease and dementia. 

12 (2) IMPLEMENTATION.—The Secretary shall 

13 implement the continuing professional education re14 quired under paragraph (1) in consultation with the 

15 Office of Rural Health of the Department of Vet16 erans Affairs established under section 7308 of title 

17 38, United States Code, in order to ensure equitable 

18 access to learning opportunities for employees of the 

19 Department in rural and highly rural areas. 

20 (d) EXPANSION OF GERIATRIC PATIENT ALIGNED

21 CARE TEAM MODEL.— 

22 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall expand 

23 the Geriatrics Patient Aligned Care Team model of 

24 the Department of Veterans Affairs— 


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1 (A) to every medical center of the Depart2 ment; and 

3 (B) to any community-based outpatient 

4 clinic at which such expansion is determined by 

5 the Secretary to be feasible and needed. 

6 (2) WAIVER OF EXPANSION TO MEDICAL CEN7 TERS.—The Secretary may waive the application of 

8 the requirements under paragraph (1)(A) with re9 spect to a medical center if the Secretary determines 

10 that the medical center does not have the capacity 

11 or need to implement a Geriatrics Patient Aligned 

12 Care Team model. 

13 (3) STUDY.—The Secretary shall conduct a 

14 study on the variations in the structure and model 

15 consistency of the Geriatrics Patient Aligned Care 

16 Team model throughout the Department and how 

17 those variations impact quality of care and patient 

18 outcomes. 

19 (e) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

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

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, and not 

22 less frequently than annually thereafter for the fol23 lowing five years, the Secretary shall submit to the 

24 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 

25 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of 


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1 Representatives a report on the implementation of 

2 this section. 

3 (2) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION ON WAIV4 ERS.—The Secretary shall include in the report re5 quired by paragraph (1) an identification of any 

6 medical center of the Department in receipt of a 

7 waiver under subsection (d)(2) and the reason for 

8 the waiver. 

9 (f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section, the terms ‘‘rural’’ 

10 and ‘‘highly rural’’ have the meanings given those terms 

11 under the rural-urban commuting areas coding system of 

12 the Department of Agriculture. 

13 SEC. 106. QUALIFICATIONS FOR HUMAN RESOURCES POSI14 TIONS WITHIN THE DEPARTMENT OF VET15 ERANS AFFAIRS AND PLAN TO RECRUIT AND 

16 RETAIN HUMAN RESOURCES EMPLOYEES. 

17 (a) ESTABLISHMENT OF QUALIFICATIONS.—Not 

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

19 this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall— 

20 (1) establish qualifications for each human re21 sources position within the Department of Veterans 

22 Affairs in coordination with the Office of Personnel 

23 Management; 

24 (2) establish standardized performance metrics 

25 for each such position; and 


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1 (3) submit to the Committee on Veterans’ Af2 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ 

3 Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

4 containing the qualifications and standardized per5 formance metrics established under paragraphs (1) 

6 and (2). 

7 (b) IMPROVEMENT OF HUMAN RESOURCES AC8 TIONS.—Not later than 90 days after the date of the en9 actment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish or en10 hance systems of the Department to monitor the hiring 

11 and other human resources actions that occur at the local, 

12 regional, and national levels of the Department to improve 

13 the performance of those actions. 

14 (c) REPORT.—Not later than one year after the es15 tablishment of the qualifications and performance metrics 

16 under subsection (a), the Comptroller General of the 

17 United States shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

18 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af19 fairs of the House of Representatives a report con20 taining— 

21 (1) a description of the implementation of such 

22 qualifications and performance metrics; 

23 (2) an assessment of the quality of such quali24 fications and performance metrics; 


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1 (3) an assessment of performance and outcomes 

2 based on such metrics; and 

3 (4) such other matters as the Comptroller Gen4 eral considers. 

5 (d) PLAN TO RECRUIT AND RETAIN HUMAN RE6 SOURCES EMPLOYEES.—Not later than one year after the 

7 date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet8 erans Affairs shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ 

9 Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af10 fairs of the House of Representatives a plan for the re11 cruitment and retention of human resources employees 

12 within the Department of Veterans Affairs. 

13 SEC. 107. STUDY ON IMPROVING RECRUITMENT AND RE14 TENTION AT COMMUNITY LIVING CENTERS 

15 OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

16 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

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

18 Veterans Affairs shall complete a study on barriers to hir19 ing and retaining staff at community living centers of the 

20 Department of Veterans Affairs and best practices for im21 proving recruitment and retention of such staff, with an 

22 emphasis on nursing staff. 

23 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 180 days 

24 after completion of the study under subsection (a), the 

25 Secretary shall submit to the Committee on Veterans’ AfVerDate Sep 11 2014 21:32 May 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00016 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4156.IS S4156

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1 fairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans’ Af2 fairs of the House of Representatives a report— 

3 (1) summarizing key findings with respect to 

4 barriers to hiring and retaining staff at community 

5 living centers of the Department and best practices 

6 for improving recruitment and retention of such 

7 staff, including any barriers or best practices specific 

8 to rural areas; and 

9 (2) including recommendations for such admin10 istrative action as the Secretary considers appro11 priate. 

12 SEC. 108. LIMITATION ON TRANSFER OF DIRECTORS OF 

13 MEDICAL CENTERS OF DEPARTMENT OF VET14 ERANS AFFAIRS TO DIFFERENT POSITIONS. 

15 (a) NOTIFICATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

16 transferring a director of a medical center of the Depart17 ment of Veterans Affairs to a different position within the 

18 Department, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall notify 

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

20 Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep21 resentatives of such transfer. 

22 (b) RETURN TO POSITION OR REMOVAL.—Not later 

23 than 180 days after transferring a director of a medical 

24 center of the Department of Veterans Affairs to a difVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00017 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4156.IS S4156

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1 ferent position within the Department, the Secretary 

2 shall— 

3 (1) return the individual to the position as di4 rector of the medical center; or 

5 (2) remove the individual from the position as 

6 director of the medical center and begin the process 

7 of hiring a new director for such position. 

8 TITLE II—ACCOUNTABILITY, 

9 OVERSIGHT, AND PERSONNEL 

10 MATTERS 

11 Subtitle A—Matters Relating to 

12 Pay 

13 SEC. 201. INCREASED PAY CAP FOR DIRECTORS OF MED14 ICAL CENTERS AND VETERANS INTEGRATED 

15 SERVICE NETWORKS OF DEPARTMENT OF 

16 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

17 (a) INCREASED PAY CAP.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter III of chapter 

19 74 of title 38, United States Code, is amended by 

20 adding at the end the following new section: 

21 ‘‘§ 7434. Pay for directors of medical centers and di22 rectors of Veterans Integrated Service 

23 Networks 

24 ‘‘(a) PERFORMANCE MANAGEMENT.—The Secretary 

25 shall prescribe a performance management and awards 


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1 system for employees appointed under section 7401(4) of 

2 this title that ensures performance ratings and awards 

3 meaningfully differentiate extraordinary from satisfactory 

4 contributions and substantively reflect organizational 

5 achievements over which the employee has responsibility 

6 and control. 

7 ‘‘(b) MARKET RATE OF PAY.—(1) The annual 

8 amount of the market rate of pay for an employee ap9 pointed under section 7401(4) of this title— 

10 ‘‘(A) shall be determined by the Secretary on a 

11 case-by-case basis; and 

12 ‘‘(B) shall take into account— 

13 ‘‘(i) the level of experience of the employee 

14 in managing facilities or programs of the De15 partment or other similar agencies or compa16 nies, whether governmental or nongovern17 mental; 

18 ‘‘(ii) the complexity of the assignment of 

19 the employee, whether assigned or to be as20 signed; 

21 ‘‘(iii) the labor market for individuals in 

22 similar positions, which may cover any geo23 graphic area the Secretary considers appro24 priate; 


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1 ‘‘(iv) the experience of the employee in per2 forming the assignment of the employee, wheth3 er assigned or to be assigned; and 

4 ‘‘(v) such other considerations as the Sec5 retary considers appropriate. 

6 ‘‘(2) Market rate of pay provided under this sub7 section shall reflect the recruitment and retention needs 

8 of the Department for the assignment of a particular di9 rector in a facility or network of the Department. 

10 ‘‘(3)(A) The market rate of pay provided under this 

11 subsection shall be evaluated by the Secretary not less fre12 quently than once every two years. 

13 ‘‘(B) The market rate of pay of an employee may be 

14 adjusted as the result of an evaluation under subpara15 graph (A). 

16 ‘‘(C) An employee whose market rate of pay is evalu17 ated under subparagraph (A) shall receive written notice 

18 of the results of such evaluation. 

19 ‘‘(c) REQUIREMENTS AND LIMITATIONS ON TOTAL

20 PAY.—(1) Not less frequently than once every two years, 

21 the Secretary shall prescribe for applicability throughout 

22 the Department the minimum and maximum amounts for 

23 a market rate of pay that may be paid under subsection 

24 (b). 


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1 ‘‘(2) Amounts prescribed under paragraph (1) shall 

2 be published in the Federal Register and shall take effect 

3 not earlier than 60 days after the date of publication. 

4 ‘‘(3) In no case may the total market rate of pay pro5 vided under subsection (b) exceed the amount of annual 

6 compensation (excluding expenses) specified in section 102 

7 of title 3. 

8 ‘‘(4) No adjustment of the market rate of pay under 

9 subsection (b)(3)(B) may result in a reduction of the 

10 amount of the market rate of pay of a director while in 

11 the same position or assignment at the same location. 

12 ‘‘(d) TREATMENT OF PAY.—(1) Pay under sub13 section (b) shall be considered pay for all purposes, includ14 ing retirement benefits under chapters 83 and 84 of title 

15 5 and other benefits. 

16 ‘‘(2) An individual receiving pay under subsection (b) 

17 may not receive a cost-of-living allowance under section 

18 5941 of title 5. 

19 ‘‘(e) ANNUAL REPORT.—Not later than one year 

20 after the date of the VA Workforce Improvement, Sup21 port, and Expansion (WISE) Act of 2022, and annually 

22 thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee 

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

24 Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 


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1 on the implementation by the Secretary of the require2 ments under this section.’’. 

3 (2) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sec4 tions at the beginning of such subchapter is amend5 ed by inserting after the item relating to section 

6 7433 the following new item: 

‘‘7434. Pay for directors of medical centers and directors of Veterans Integrated 

Service Networks.’’. 

7 (b) CONFORMING AMENDMENTS.—Section 

8 7404(a)(1) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

9 (1) in subparagraph (A)— 

10 (A) by striking ‘‘(A) The annual’’ and in11 serting ‘‘The annual’’; and 

12 (B) by striking ‘‘and 7401(4)’’; and 

13 (2) by striking subparagraph (B). 

14 SEC. 202. WAIVER OF PAY LIMITATION FOR EMPLOYEES OF 

15 THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION 

16 PERFORMING MISSION CRITICAL WORK. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Subchapter I of chapter 74 of title 

18 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the end 

19 the following new section: 

20 ‘‘§ 7414. Waiver of pay limitation for employees per21 forming mission critical work 

22 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other pro23 vision of law, the Secretary may waive any limitation on 


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1 pay for an employee of the Veterans Health Administra2 tion who is performing mission critical work. 

3 ‘‘(b) AUTHORITY.—The Secretary shall prescribe reg4 ulations for the administration of this section. 

5 ‘‘(c) EMPLOYEE OF THE VETERANS HEALTH ADMIN6 ISTRATION DEFINED.—In this section, the term ‘‘em7 ployee of the Veterans Health Administration’ includes 

8 any employee of the Veterans Health Administration, re9 gardless of the authority under which the employee was 

10 hired.’’. 

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

12 at the beginning of such subchapter is amended by insert13 ing after the item relating to section 7413 the following 

14 new item: 

‘‘7414. Waiver of pay limitation for employees performing mission critical 

work.’’. 

15 SEC. 203. ELIMINATION OF PERFORMANCE PAY ELEMENTS 

16 FOR PHYSICIANS, PODIATRISTS, AND DEN17 TISTS AND ELIMINATION OF TOTAL COM18 PENSATION CAP. 

19 Section 7431 of title 38, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) by striking subsection (a)(1); 

22 (2) by striking subsection (d); 

23 (3) by redesignating subsections (e) through (h) 

24 as subsections (d) through (g), respectively; 


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1 (4) in subsection (d), as redesignated by para2 graph (3), by striking paragraph (4); and 

3 (5) in subsection (g), as redesignated by para4 graph (3), by striking ‘‘responsibility of the Sec5 retary under subsection (c), (d), or (e) except for the 

6 responsibilities of the Secretary under subsection 

7 (e)(1)’’ and inserting ‘‘responsibility of the Secretary 

8 under subsection (c) or (d) except for the respon9 sibilities of the Secretary under subsection (d)(1)’’. 

10 SEC. 204. INCREASE OF MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF INCENTIVE 

11 PAY FOR DEPARTMENT PHARMACIST EXECU12 TIVES. 

13 Section 7410(b)(1) of title 38, United States Code, 

14 is amended by striking ‘‘$40,000’’ and inserting 

15 ‘‘$75,000’’. 

16 SEC. 205. ELIMINATION OF PAY CAP FOR CERTAIN EMPLOY17 EES OF VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRA18 TION. 

19 Section 7455(c) of title 38, United States Code, is 

20 amended— 

21 (1) in paragraph (1), by striking ‘‘(1) Subject 

22 to paragraph (2), the amount’’ and inserting ‘‘The 

23 amount’’; and 

24 (2) by striking paragraph (2). 


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1 SEC. 206. MODIFICATION OF SPECIAL PAY AUTHORITY FOR 

2 NURSE EXECUTIVES. 

3 Section 7452(g) of title 38, United States Code, is 

4 amended— 

5 (1) in paragraph (1), in the matter preceding 

6 subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘authorize the 

7 Under Secretary for Health to’’ before ‘‘pay special 

8 pay’’; and 

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

10 paragraph: 

11 ‘‘(5) The Under Secretary for Health shall define 

12 through regulations which positions of the Veterans 

13 Health Administration qualify as nurse executives for pur14 poses of special pay under paragraph (1).’’. 

15 Subtitle B—Improvement of 

16 Recruitment and Hiring 

17 SEC. 211. OVERSIGHT OF DIRECT HIRE AUTHORITY AND 

18 HIRING FLEXIBILITY OF DEPARTMENT OF 

19 VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

20 Not later than two years after the date of the enact21 ment of this Act, the Inspector General of the Department 

22 of Veterans Affairs shall conduct a study and publish a 

23 report on— 

24 (1) the use of direct hire authority by the De25 partment; 


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1 (2) the contributions made by the use of such 

2 authority to filling vacancies within the Department; 

3 and 

4 (3) any vulnerabilities or inconsistencies with 

5 respect to the use of such authority. 

6 SEC. 212. EXPANSION OF EMERGENCY HIRING AUTHORI7 TIES FOR DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF8 FAIRS. 

9 Section 7405 of title 38, United States Code, is 

10 amended— 

11 (1) in subsection (c)— 

12 (A) in paragraph (2), in the matter pre13 ceding subparagraph (A), by striking ‘‘A tem14 porary’’ and inserting ‘‘Except as provided in 

15 paragraph (5), a temporary’’; and 

16 (B) by adding at the end the following new 

17 paragraph: 

18 ‘‘(5) During a public health emergency, national 

19 emergency, domestic emergency, or other emergency as 

20 determined by the Secretary, appointments under para21 graph (2) may be extended by the Secretary for additional 

22 one-year periods.’’; and 

23 (2) by adding at the end the following: 

24 ‘‘(h)(1) If the Secretary declares an emergency or cri25 sis of veteran care or other operational impediment that 


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1 the Secretary determines will cause significant disruption 

2 to veteran care or the Secretary identifies a significant 

3 need to employ personnel on a temporary basis in response 

4 to a national emergency declared under any provision of 

5 law, the Secretary may employ personnel under subsection 

6 (a)(1) to support the emergency, crisis, or impediment. 

7 ‘‘(2) The Secretary shall submit to Congress in writ8 ing any declaration or identification made by the Secretary 

9 under paragraph (1), which shall include an identification 

10 of the approximate end date of the emergency, crisis, or 

11 impediment. 

12 ‘‘(3) The authority to employ personnel under this 

13 subsection shall continue throughout the period covered by 

14 the declaration concerned. 

15 ‘‘(4) Personnel in positions of a confidential or policy16 determining character are excluded from employment 

17 under this subsection.’’. 

18 SEC. 213. WAIVER OF CERTAIN LICENSURE REQUIRE19 MENTS. 

20 (a) PSYCHOLOGISTS.—Paragraph (8)(C) of section 

21 7402(b) of title 38, United States Code, is amended— 

22 (1) by striking ‘‘individual psychologist for a 

23 period’’ and inserting ‘‘individual psychologist— 

24 ‘‘(i) for a period’’; 


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1 (2) by striking the period at the end and insert2 ing ‘‘; or’’; and 

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

4 clause: 

5 ‘‘(ii) for a reasonable period rec6 ommended by the Under Secretary for 

7 Health, not to exceed four years, during a 

8 public health emergency declared by the 

9 President, the Secretary of Health and 

10 Human Services, or such other authority 

11 as specified by the Secretary.’’. 

12 (b) LICENSED PROFESSIONAL MENTAL HEALTH

13 COUNSELOR.—Paragraph (11)(B) of such section is 

14 amended by striking the period at the end and inserting 

15 ‘‘, except that the Secretary may waive the requirement 

16 of licensure or certification for an individual professional 

17 mental health counselor to permit a reasonable period of 

18 time for the counselor to be licensed or certified, as the 

19 case may be, on the condition that the counselor— 

20 ‘‘(i) provide patient care only under 

21 the direct supervision of a licensed mental 

22 health provider; and 

23 ‘‘(ii) work toward such licensure or 

24 certification, as the case may be.’’. 


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1 SEC. 214. EXPANSION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR HOUSE2 KEEPING AIDES. 

3 Section 3310 of title 5, United States Code, is 

4 amended by inserting ‘‘(other than for positions of house5 keeping aides in the Department of Veterans Affairs)’’ 

6 after ‘‘competitive service’’. 

7 Subtitle C—Other Personnel 

8 Matters 

9 SEC. 221. EXPANSION OF ANNUAL LEAVE OPTIONS FOR EM10 PLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF11 FAIRS DURING PUBLIC HEALTH EMERGENCY. 

12 (a) IN GENERAL.—Notwithstanding any other provi13 sion of law, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall waive 

14 all annual leave ceilings for employees of the Department 

15 of Veterans Affairs during the period beginning on Janu16 ary 1, 2022, and ending on December 31, 2026, allowing 

17 all unused, accrued annual leave to be carried over from 

18 any year in the period to any subsequent year in the pe19 riod. 

20 (b) LEAVE IN EXCESS OF CEILING.—At the end of 

21 December 31, 2026, all unused, accrued annual leave in 

22 excess of the ceiling pursuant to subsection (a) shall be 

23 forfeited. 


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1 SEC. 222. EXPANSION OF REIMBURSEMENT OF CON2 TINUING PROFESSIONAL EDUCATION FEES. 

3 Section 7411 of title 38, United States Code, is 

4 amended by striking ‘‘physician or dentist’’ and inserting 

5 ‘‘physician, board-certified dentist, advanced practice reg6 istered nurse, or physician assistant’’. 

7 SEC. 223. INCLUSION OF POLICE OFFICERS OF DEPART8 MENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS AS LAW EN9 FORCEMENT OFFICERS. 

10 Title 5, United States Code, is amended— 

11 (1) in section 8331(20), by inserting ‘‘and an 

12 employee of the Department of Veterans Affairs who 

13 is a Department police officer under section 902 of 

14 title 38’’ after ‘‘supervisory or administrative posi15 tion’’; and 

16 (2) in section 8401(17)— 

17 (A) in subparagraph (C), by striking 

18 ‘‘and’’ at the end; 

19 (B) in the flush text following subpara20 graph (D)(iii), by adding ‘‘and’’ at the end; and 

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

22 ‘‘(E) an employee of the Department of 

23 Veterans Affairs who is a Department police of24 ficer under section 902 of title 38;’’. 


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1 SEC. 224. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PER2 SONNEL TRANSPARENCY. 

3 (a) PUBLICATION OF STAFFING AND VACANCIES.— 

4 (1) WEBSITE REQUIRED.—Subject to para5 graph (2) and not later than 90 days after the date 

6 of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Vet7 erans Affairs shall make publicly available on an 

8 internet website of the Department of Veterans Af9 fairs the following information: 

10 (A) The number of personnel encumbering 

11 positions. 

12 (B) The number of accessions and separa13 tion actions processed during the quarter pre14 ceding the date of the publication of the infor15 mation. 

16 (C) The number of vacancies, by occupa17 tion. 

18 (D) The number of vacancies removed. 

19 (E) The percentage of new hires for the 

20 Department who were hired within the time-to21 hire target of the Office of Personnel Manage22 ment, disaggregated by internal hires and exter23 nal hires. 

24 (2) EXCEPTIONS.—The Secretary may withhold 

25 from publication under paragraph (1) information 

26 relating to law enforcement, information security, or 


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1 such positions in the Department that the Secretary 

2 determines to be sensitive. 

3 (3) UPDATE OF INFORMATION.—The Secretary 

4 shall update the information on the website required 

5 under paragraph (1) on a quarterly basis. 

6 (4) TREATMENT OF CONTRACTOR POSITIONS.— 

7 Any Department position that is filled with a con8 tractor may not be treated as a Department position 

9 for purposes of the information required to be pub10 lished under paragraph (1). 

11 (5) INSPECTOR GENERAL REVIEW.—On a semi12 annual basis, the Inspector General of the Depart13 ment shall review the administration of the website 

14 required by paragraph (1) and make recommenda15 tions relating to the improvement of such adminis16 tration. 

17 (b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—Each year, the Secretary 

19 shall submit to Congress an annual report on the ac20 tions the Department is taking to achieve full staff21 ing capacity. 

22 (2) CONTENTS.—Each report submitted under 

23 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 


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1 (A) An estimate of the amount of addi2 tional funds necessary to enable the Depart3 ment to reach full staffing capacity. 

4 (B) Such recommendations for legislative 

5 or administrative action as the Secretary may 

6 have to achieve full staffing capacity at the De7 partment. 

8 SEC. 225. COMPTROLLER GENERAL REPORT ASSESSING 

9 HUMAN RESOURCES MODERNIZATION WITH10 IN VETERANS HEALTH ADMINISTRATION. 

11 (a) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 18 months after 

12 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comptroller 

13 General of the United States shall submit to the Com14 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Com15 mittee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representa16 tives a report on human resources modernization con17 ducted by the Veterans Health Administration (in this sec18 tion referred to as the ‘‘Administration’’). 

19 (b) ELEMENTS.—The report required by subsection 

20 (a) shall include an assessment of the following: 

21 (1) The Human Resources Modernization Pro22 gram (referred to in this subsection as the ‘‘Pro23 gram’’) of the Administration, including an assess24 ment of the activities carried out under the Program 

25 and the results of those activities. 


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1 (2) The performance, accuracy, efficiency, and 

2 transparency of the human resources information 

3 technology systems of the Administration for human 

4 resources professionals, managers with hiring au5 thority, and other employees of the Administration 

6 using those systems to recruit and retain the work7 force of the Administration. 

8 (3) Metrics used to report hiring and vacancy 

9 data within the Administration, including recruit10 ment, hiring, and retention data for mission critical 

11 occupations. 

12 (4) Trends in the hiring and vacancies among 

13 employees of the Administration with mission critical 

14 occupations, as determined by the Secretary of Vet15 erans Affairs, during the five-year period preceding 

16 the date of the enactment of this Act. 

17 (5) The use by the Administration of hiring 

18 flexibilities, including direct hire authority, and waiv19 ers during the five-year period preceding the date of 

20 the enactment of this Act, including— 

21 (A) an assessment of the standardization 

22 of use of such authorities and waivers within 

23 Veterans Integrated Service Networks of the 

24 Department of Veterans Affairs; and 


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1 (B) the number and employee category of 

2 employees of the Administration hired under 

3 each such authority or waiver. 

4 (6) Training and development of human re5 sources professionals of the Administration, includ6 ing— 

7 (A) feedback from managers with hiring 

8 authority; and 

9 (B) feedback on such training from indi10 viduals receiving the training and individuals 

11 providing the training. 

12 (7) Such other matters as the Comptroller Gen13 eral considers relevant. 

14 TITLE III—ASSISTANCE WITH 

15 NATIONAL EMERGENCIES 

16 SEC. 301. UPDATE OF WEB PORTAL TO IDENTIFY VETERANS 

17 WHO HAD MEDICAL OCCUPATIONS AS MEM18 BERS OF THE ARMED FORCES. 

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

20 shall update existing web portals of the Department of 

21 Veterans Affairs to allow the identification of veterans 

22 who had a medical occupation as a member of the Armed 

23 Forces. 

24 (b) INFORMATION IN PORTAL.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—An update to a portal under 

2 subsection (a) shall allow a veteran to elect to pro3 vide the following information: 

4 (A) Contact information for the veteran. 

5 (B) A history of the medical experience 

6 and trained competencies of the veteran. 

7 (2) INCLUSIONS IN HISTORY.—To the extent 

8 practicable, histories provided under paragraph 

9 (1)(B) shall include individual critical task lists spe10 cific to military occupational specialties that align 

11 with existing standard occupational codes main12 tained by the Bureau of Labor Statistics. 

13 SEC. 302. PROGRAM ON PROVISION TO STATES OF INFOR14 MATION ON VETERANS WITH MEDICAL 

15 SKILLS OBTAINED DURING SERVICE IN THE 

16 ARMED FORCES. 

17 (a) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of facilitating civil18 ian medical credentialing and hiring opportunities for vet19 erans seeking to respond to a national emergency, includ20 ing a public health emergency declared by the Secretary 

21 of Health and Human Services under section 319 of the 

22 Public Health Service Act (42 U.S.C. 247d), the Secretary 

23 of Veterans Affairs, in coordination with the Secretary of 

24 Defense and the Secretary of Labor, shall establish a proVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00036 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4156.IS S4156

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1 gram to share information specified in section 301(b)(1) 

2 with the following: 

3 (1) State departments of veterans affairs. 

4 (2) State credentialing bodies. 

5 (3) State homes. 

6 (4) Other stakeholders involved in State-level 

7 credentialing, as determined appropriate by the Sec8 retary of Veterans Affairs. 

9 (b) STATE HOME DEFINED.—In this section, the 

10 term ‘‘State home’’ has the meaning given that term in 

11 section 101(19) of title 38, United States Code. 

12 SEC. 303. PROGRAM ON TRAINING OF INTERMEDIATE CARE 

13 TECHNICIANS OF DEPARTMENT OF VET14 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

15 (a) ESTABLISHMENT.—The Secretary of Veterans 

16 Affairs shall implement a program to train covered vet17 erans to work as intermediate care technicians of the De18 partment of Veterans Affairs. 

19 (b) LOCATIONS.—The Secretary may place an inter20 mediate care technician trained under the program under 

21 subsection (a) at any medical center of the Department, 

22 giving priority to a location with a significant staffing 

23 shortage. 

24 (c) INCLUSION OF INFORMATION IN TRANSITION AS25 SISTANCE PROGRAM.—As part of the Transition AssistVerDate Sep 11 2014 04:16 May 06, 2022 Jkt 029200 PO 00000 Frm 00037 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S4156.IS S4156

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1 ance Program under sections 1142 and 1144 of title 10, 

2 United States Code, the Secretary shall prepare a commu3 nications campaign to convey opportunities for training, 

4 certification, and employment under the program under 

5 subsection (a) to appropriate members of the Armed 

6 Forces separating from active duty. 

7 (d) REPORT ON EXPANSION OF PROGRAM.—Not 

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

9 this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committee on 

10 Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Vet11 erans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives a report 

12 on whether the program under this section could be rep13 licated for other medical positions within the Department. 

14 (e) COVERED VETERAN DEFINED.—In this section, 

15 the term ‘‘covered veteran’’ means a veteran whom the 

16 Secretary determines served or is serving as an allied 

17 health professional (such as a combat medic, medical tech18 nician, corpsman, or basic health care technician) while 

19 serving in the Armed Forces. 

20 SEC. 304. NOTIFICATION OF OPPORTUNITIES FOR VET21 ERANS. 

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

23 shall notify veterans service organizations, such other 

24 stakeholders as the Secretary considers appropriate, and, 

25 in coordination with the Secretary of Defense, members 


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1 of the reserve components of the Armed Forces of oppor2 tunities for veterans under this title. 

3 (b) VETERANS SERVICE ORGANIZATION DEFINED.— 

4 In this section, the term ‘‘veterans service organization’’ 

5 means any organization recognized by the Secretary of 

6 Veterans Affairs for the representation of veterans under 

7 section 5902 of title 38, United States Code. 

Æ 


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