II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2424 

To provide veterans with the choice of medical providers and to increase 

transparency and accountability of operations of the Veterans Health 

Administration of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other 

purposes. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2014 

Mr. MCCAIN (for himself, Mr. COBURN, Mr. BURR, Mr. FLAKE, Mr. ISAKSON, 

Mr. INHOFE, Mr. GRASSLEY, Mr. ROBERTS, Mr. HOEVEN, Mr. COATS, 

Mr. BARRASSO, Mr. JOHANNS, Mr. RUBIO, Mr. CORNYN, Mr. ALEXANDER, Mr. KIRK, Mr. WICKER, Mrs. FISCHER, Mr. PORTMAN, Mr. 

TOOMEY, Mr. BOOZMAN, Mr. MORAN, Mr. THUNE, Mr. SCOTT, Mr. 

ENZI, and Mr. GRAHAM) introduced the following bill; which was read 

twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To provide veterans with the choice of medical providers 

and to increase transparency and accountability of operations of the Veterans Health Administration 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. 

4 This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Veterans Choice Act 

5 of 2014’’. 


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1 SEC. 2. EXPANDED AVAILABILITY OF HOSPITAL CARE AND 

2 MEDICAL SERVICES FOR VETERANS 

3 THROUGH THE USE OF CONTRACTS. 

4 (a) EXPANSION OF AVAILABLE CARE AND SERV5 ICES.— 

6 (1) IN GENERAL.—Hospital care and medical 

7 services under chapter 17 of title 38, United States 

8 Code, shall be furnished to an eligible veteran de9 scribed in subsection (b), at the election of such vet10 eran, through contracts authorized under subsection 

11 (d), or any other law administered by the Secretary 

12 of Veterans Affairs, with health care providers that 

13 are participating in the Medicare program under 

14 title XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 1395 et seq.) for the furnishing of such care and 

16 services to veterans. 

17 (2) CHOICE OF PROVIDER.—An eligible veteran 

18 who elects to receive care and services under this 

19 section may select the provider of such care and 

20 services from among any source of provider of such 

21 care and services specified in paragraph (1) that is 

22 accessible to the veteran. 

23 (b) ELIGIBLE VETERANS.—A veteran is an eligible 

24 veteran for purposes of this section if— 

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1 fairs established and operated under section 1705 of 

2 title 38, United States Code; or 

3 (B) the veteran is enrolled in such system, has 

4 not received hospital care and medical services from 

5 the Department, and has contacted the Department 

6 seeking an initial appointment from the Department 

7 for the receipt of such care and services; and 

8 (2) the veteran either— 

9 (A)(i) attempts, or has attempted under 

10 paragraph (1)(B), to schedule an appointment 

11 for the receipt of such care and services but is 

12 unable to schedule an appointment within the 

13 current wait-time goals of the Veterans Health 

14 Administration for the delivery of such care and 

15 services; and 

16 (ii) elects, and is authorized, to be fur17 nished such care or services pursuant to sub18 section (c)(2); or 

19 (B) resides more than 40 miles from the 

20 nearest medical facility of the Department, in21 cluding a community-based outpatient clinic, 

22 that is closest to the residence of the veteran. 

23 (c) ELECTION AND AUTHORIZATION.—If the Sec24 retary confirms that an appointment for an eligible vet25 eran described in subsection (b)(2)(A) for the receipt of 


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1 hospital care or medical services under chapter 17 of title 

2 38, United States Code, is unavailable within the current 

3 wait-time goals of the Department for the furnishing of 

4 such care or services, the Secretary shall, at the election 

5 of the eligible veteran— 

6 (1) place such eligible veteran on an electronic 

7 waiting list for such an appointment that is main8 tained by the Department and accessible to the vet9 eran via www.myhealth.va.gov or any successor 

10 website; or 

11 (2)(A) authorize that such care and services be 

12 furnished to the eligible veteran under this section 

13 for a period of time specified by the Secretary; and 

14 (B) send a letter to the eligible veteran describ15 ing the care and services the eligible veteran is eligi16 ble to receive under this section. 

17 (d) CARE AND SERVICES THROUGH CONTRACTS.— 

18 (1) IN GENERAL.—The Secretary shall enter 

19 into contracts with health care providers that are 

20 participating in the Medicare program under title 

21 XVIII of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et 

22 seq.) to furnish care and services to eligible veterans 

23 under this section. 

24 (2) RATES AND REIMBURSEMENT.— 


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1 (A) IN GENERAL.—In entering into a con2 tract under this subsection, the Secretary 

3 shall— 

4 (i) negotiate rates for the furnishing 

5 of care and services under this section; and 

6 (ii) reimburse the health care provider 

7 for such care and services at the rates ne8 gotiated pursuant to clause (i) as provided 

9 in such contract. 

10 (B) LIMIT ON RATES.—Rates negotiated 

11 under subparagraph (A)(i) shall not be more 

12 than the rates paid by the United States to a 

13 provider of services (as defined in section 

14 1861(u) of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 

15 1395x(u))) or a supplier (as defined in section 

16 1861(d) of such Act (42 U.S.C. 1395x(d))) 

17 under the Medicare program under title XVIII 

18 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et 

19 seq.) for the same care and services. 

20 (C) LIMIT ON COLLECTION.—For the fur21 nishing of care and services pursuant to a con22 tract under this section, a health care provider 

23 may not collect any amount that is greater than 

24 the rate negotiated pursuant to subparagraph 

25 (A)(i). 


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1 (3) INFORMATION ON POLICIES AND PROCE2 DURES.—The Secretary shall provide to any health 

3 care provider with which the Secretary has entered 

4 into a contract under paragraph (1) the following: 

5 (A) Information on applicable policies and 

6 procedures for submitting bills or claims for au7 thorized care and services furnished to eligible 

8 veterans under this section. 

9 (B) Access to a telephone hotline main10 tained by the Department that such health care 

11 provider may call for information on the fol12 lowing: 

13 (i) Procedures for furnishing care and 

14 services under this section. 

15 (ii) Procedures for submitting bills or 

16 claims for authorized care and services fur17 nished to eligible veterans under this sec18 tion and being reimbursed for furnishing 

19 such care and services. 

20 (iii) Whether particular care or serv21 ices under this section are authorized, and 

22 the procedures for authorization of such 

23 care or services. 

24 (e) CHOICE CARD.— 


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1 (1) IN GENERAL.—For purposes of receiving 

2 care and services under this section, the Secretary 

3 shall issue to each eligible veteran a card that the 

4 eligible veteran shall present to a health care pro5 vider that is eligible to furnish care and services 

6 under this section before receiving such care and 

7 services. 

8 (2) NAME OF CARD.—Each card issued under 

9 paragraph (1) shall be known as a ‘‘Choice Card’’. 

10 (3) DETAILS OF CARD.—Each Choice Card 

11 issued to an eligible veteran under paragraph (1) 

12 shall include the following: 

13 (A) The name of the eligible veteran. 

14 (B) An identification number for the eligi15 ble veteran that is not the social security num16 ber of the eligible veteran. 

17 (C) The contact information of an appro18 priate office of the Department for health care 

19 providers to confirm that care and services 

20 under this section is authorized for the eligible 

21 veteran. 

22 (D) Contact information and other rel23 evant information for the submittal of claims or 

24 bills for the furnishing of care and services 

25 under this section. 


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1 (E) The following statement: ‘‘This card is 

2 for qualifying medical care outside the Depart3 ment of Veterans Affairs. Please call the De4 partment of Veterans Affairs phone number 

5 specified on this card to ensure that treatment 

6 has been authorized.’’. 

7 (4) INFORMATION ON USE OF CARD.—Upon 

8 issuing a Choice Card to an eligible veteran, the Sec9 retary shall provide the eligible veteran with infor10 mation clearly stating the circumstances under 

11 which the veteran may be eligible for care and serv12 ices under this section. 

13 (f) INFORMATION ON AVAILABILITY OF CARE.—The 

14 Secretary shall provide information to a veteran about the 

15 availability of care and services under this section in the 

16 following circumstances: 

17 (1) When the veteran enrolls in the patient en18 rollment system of the Department under section 

19 1705 of title 38, United States Code. 

20 (2) When the veteran attempts to schedule an 

21 appointment for the receipt of hospital care or med22 ical services from the Department but is unable to 

23 schedule an appointment within the current wait24 time goals of the Veterans Health Administration 

25 for delivery of such care or services. 


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1 (g) PROVIDERS.—To be eligible to furnish care and 

2 services under this section, a health care provider must 

3 maintain at least the same or similar credentials and li4 censes as those credentials and licenses that are required 

5 of health care providers of the Department, as determined 

6 by the Secretary for purposes of this section. 

7 (h) COST-SHARING.—The Secretary shall require an 

8 eligible veteran to pay a copayment to the Department for 

9 the receipt of care and services under this section only 

10 if the eligible veteran would be required to pay such copay11 ment for the receipt of such care and services at a medical 

12 facility of the Department. 

13 (i) CLAIMS PROCESSING SYSTEM.— 

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

15 for an efficient nationwide system for processing and 

16 paying bills or claims for authorized care and serv17 ices furnished to eligible veterans under this section. 

18 (2) REGULATIONS.—Not later than 90 days 

19 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec20 retary of Veterans Affairs shall prescribe regulations 

21 for the implementation of the efficient nationwide 

22 system required by paragraph (1). 

23 (j) CONTINUITY OF MEDICAL RECORDS.—The Sec24 retary shall ensure that medical records of veterans mainVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:18 Jun 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00009 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2424.IS S2424

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1 tained by the Department are updated to accurately re2 flect any care and services furnished under this section. 

3 (k) TRACKING OF MISSED APPOINTMENTS.—The 

4 Secretary shall implement a mechanism to track any 

5 missed appointments for care and services under this sec6 tion by eligible veterans to ensure that the Department 

7 does not pay for such care and services that were not fur8 nished. 

9 (l) IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 90 days after 

10 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall 

11 prescribe interim final regulations on the implementation 

12 of this section and publish such regulations in the Federal 

13 Register. 

14 (m) INSPECTOR GENERAL AUDIT.—Not later than 

15 540 days after the publication of the interim final regula16 tions under subsection (l), the Inspector General of the 

17 Department shall conduct an audit of care and services 

18 furnished under this section to ensure the accuracy of pay19 ments by the Department for the cost of care and services 

20 furnished under this section. 

21 (n) TERMINATION.—The requirement of the Sec22 retary to furnish care and services under this section ter23 minates on the date that is two years after the date on 

24 which the Secretary publishes the interim final regulations 

25 under subsection (l). 


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1 (o) REPORTS.—Not less frequently than once every 

2 90 days, the Secretary shall submit to Congress a report 

3 on the furnishing of care and services under this section 

4 that includes the following: 

5 (1) The number of veterans who have received 

6 care and services under this section during the 90- 

7 day period preceding the submittal of the report. 

8 (2) A description of the type of care and serv9 ices furnished to veterans under this section during 

10 such 90-day period. 

11 SEC. 3. SENSE OF CONGRESS ON PROMPT PAYMENT BY DE12 PARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 

13 It is the sense of Congress that the Secretary of Vet14 erans Affairs shall comply with section 1315 of title 5, 

15 Code of Federal Regulations (commonly known as the 

16 ‘‘prompt payment rule’’), or any corresponding similar 

17 regulation or ruling, in paying for health care pursuant 

18 to contracts entered into with non-Department of Vet19 erans Affairs providers to provide health care under the 

20 laws administered by the Secretary. 

21 SEC. 4. IMPROVED PERFORMANCE METRICS FOR HEALTH 

22 CARE PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VET23 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

24 (a) PROHIBITION ON USE OF SCHEDULING AND

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1 ANCE AWARDS.—The Secretary shall ensure that sched2 uling and wait-time metrics or goals are not used as fac3 tors in determining the performance of the following em4 ployees for purposes of determining whether to pay per5 formance awards to such employees: 

6 (1) Directors, associate directors, assistant di7 rectors, deputy directors, chiefs of staff, and clinical 

8 leads of medical centers of the Department. 

9 (2) Directors, assistant directors, and quality 

10 management officers of Veterans Integrated Service 

11 Networks of the Department. 

12 (b) MODIFICATION OF PERFORMANCE PLANS.— 

13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 30 days after 

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

15 shall modify the performance plans of the directors 

16 of the medical centers of the Department and the di17 rectors of the Veterans Integrated Service Networks 

18 to ensure that such plans are based on the quality 

19 of care received by veterans at the health care facili20 ties under the jurisdictions of such directors. 

21 (2) FACTORS.—In modifying performance plans 

22 under paragraph (1), the Secretary shall ensure that 

23 assessment of the quality of care provided at health 

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1 scribed in paragraph (1) includes consideration of 

2 the following: 

3 (A) Recent reviews by the Joint Commis4 sion (formerly known as the ‘‘Joint Commission 

5 on Accreditation of Healthcare Organizations’’) 

6 of such facilities. 

7 (B) The number and nature of rec8 ommendations concerning such facilities by the 

9 Inspector General of the Department in reviews 

10 conducted through Combined Assessment Pro11 gram (CAP) reviews, in the reviews by the In12 spector General of community based outpatient 

13 clinics and primary care clinics, and in reviews 

14 conducted through the Office of Healthcare In15 spections during the two most recently com16 pleted fiscal years. 

17 (C) The number of recommendations de18 scribed in subparagraph (B) that the Inspector 

19 General of the Department determines have not 

20 been carried out satisfactorily with respect to 

21 such facilities. 

22 (D) Reviews of such facilities by the Com23 mission on Accreditation of Rehabilitation Fa24 cilities. 


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1 (E) The number and outcomes of adminis2 trative investigation boards, root cause analysis, 

3 and peer reviews conducted at such facilities 

4 during the fiscal year for which the assessment 

5 is being conducted. 

6 (F) The effectiveness of any remedial ac7 tions or plans resulting from any Inspector 

8 General recommendations in the reviews and 

9 analyses described in subparagraphs (A) 

10 through (E). 

11 (3) ADDITIONAL LEADERSHIP POSITIONS.—To 

12 the degree practicable, the Secretary shall assess the 

13 performance of other employees of the Department 

14 in leadership positions at Department medical cen15 ters, including associate directors, assistant direc16 tors, deputy directors, chiefs of staff, and clinical 

17 leads, and in Veterans Integrated Service Networks, 

18 including assistant directors and quality manage19 ment officers, using factors and criteria similar to 

20 those used in the performance plans modified under 

21 paragraph (1). 

22 SEC. 5. IMPROVED TRANSPARENCY CONCERNING HEALTH 

23 CARE PROVIDED BY DEPARTMENT OF VET24 ERANS AFFAIRS. 

25 (a) PUBLICATION OF WAIT TIMES.— 


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1 (1) GOALS.— 

2 (A) INITIAL.—Not later than 90 days after 

3 the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec4 retary of Veterans Affairs shall publish in the 

5 Federal Register, and on an Internet website 

6 accessible to the public of each medical center 

7 of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 

8 wait-time goals of the Department for the 

9 scheduling of an appointment by a veteran for 

10 the receipt of health care from the Department. 

11 (B) SUBSEQUENT CHANGES.— 

12 (i) IN GENERAL.—If the Secretary 

13 modifies the wait-time goals described in 

14 subparagraph (A), the Secretary shall pub15 lish the new wait-times goals— 

16 (I) on an Internet website acces17 sible to the public of each medical 

18 center of the Department not later 

19 than 30 days after such modification; 

20 and 

21 (II) in the Federal Register not 

22 later than 90 days after such modi23 fication. 

24 (ii) EFFECTIVE DATE.—Any modifica25 tion under clause (i) shall take effect on 


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1 the date of publication in the Federal Reg2 ister. 

3 (C) GOALS DESCRIBED.—Wait-time goals 

4 published under this paragraph shall include 

5 goals for primary care appointments, specialty 

6 care appointments, and goals for such appoint7 ments based on the general severity of the con8 dition of the veteran. 

9 (2) WAIT TIMES AT MEDICAL CENTERS OF THE

10 DEPARTMENT.—Not later than one year after the 

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

12 Veterans Affairs shall publish on an Internet website 

13 accessible to the public of each medical center of the 

14 Department the current wait time for an appoint15 ment for primary care and specialty care at the 

16 medical center. 

17 (b) PUBLICLY AVAILABLE DATABASE OF PATIENT

18 SAFETY, QUALITY OF CARE, AND OUTCOME MEAS19 URES.— 

20 (1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than 180 days 

21 after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Sec22 retary shall develop and make available to the public 

23 a comprehensive database containing all applicable 

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1 ures for health care provided by the Department 

2 that are tracked by the Secretary. 

3 (2) UPDATE FREQUENCY.—The Secretary shall 

4 update the database required by paragraph (1) not 

5 less frequently than once each year. 

6 (3) UNAVAILABLE MEASURES.—For all meas7 ures that the Secretary would otherwise publish in 

8 the database required by paragraph (1) but has not 

9 done so because such measures are not available, the 

10 Secretary shall publish notice in the database of the 

11 reason for such unavailability and a timeline for 

12 making such measures available in the database. 

13 (4) ACCESSIBILITY.—The Secretary shall en14 sure that the database required by paragraph (1) is 

15 accessible to the public through the primary Internet 

16 website of the Department and through each pri17 mary Internet website of a Department medical cen18 ter. 

19 (c) HOSPITAL COMPARE WEBSITE OF DEPARTMENT

20 OF HEALTH AND HUMAN SERVICES.— 

21 (1) AGREEMENT REQUIRED.—Not later than 

22 180 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, 

23 the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall enter into an 

24 agreement with the Secretary of Health and Human 

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1 erans Affairs of such information as the Secretary of 

2 Health and Human Services may require to report 

3 and make publicly available patient quality and out4 come information concerning Department of Vet5 erans Affairs medical centers through the Hospital 

6 Compare Internet website of the Department of 

7 Health and Human Services or any successor Inter8 net website. 

9 (2) INFORMATION PROVIDED.—The information 

10 provided by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to the 

11 Secretary of Health and Human Services under 

12 paragraph (1) shall include the following: 

13 (A) Measures of timely and effective health 

14 care. 

15 (B) Measures of readmissions, complica16 tions of death, including with respect to 30-day 

17 mortality rates and 30-day readmission rates, 

18 surgical complication measures, and health care 

19 related infection measures. 

20 (C) Survey data of patient experiences, in21 cluding the Hospital Consumer Assessment of 

22 Healthcare Providers and Systems or any simi23 lar successor survey developed by the Depart24 ment of Health and Human Services. 


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1 (D) Any other measures required of or re2 ported with respect to hospitals participating in 

3 the Medicare program under title XVIII of the 

4 Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1395 et seq.). 

5 (3) UNAVAILABLE INFORMATION.—For any ap6 plicable metric collected by the Department of Vet7 erans Affairs or required to be provided under para8 graph (2) and withheld from or unavailable in the 

9 Hospital Compare Internet website, the Secretary of 

10 Veterans Affairs shall publish a notice in the Fed11 eral Register stating the reason why such metric was 

12 withheld from public disclosure and a timeline for 

13 making such metric available, if applicable. 

14 (d) COMPTROLLER GENERAL REVIEW OF PUBLICLY

15 AVAILABLE SAFETY AND QUALITY METRICS.—Not later 

16 than three years after the date of the enactment of this 

17 Act, the Comptroller General of the United States shall 

18 conduct a review of the safety and quality metrics made 

19 publicly available by the Secretary of Veterans Affairs 

20 under this section to assess the degree to which the Sec21 retary is complying with the provisions of this section. 


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1 SEC. 6. INFORMATION FOR VETERANS ON THE CREDEN2 TIALS OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF3 FAIRS PHYSICIANS. 

4 (a) IMPROVEMENT OF ‘‘OUR PROVIDERS’’ INTERNET

5 WEBSITE LINKS.— 

6 (1) AVAILABILITY THROUGH DEPARTMENT OF

7 VETERANS AFFAIRS HOMEPAGE.—A link to the ‘‘Our 

8 Providers’’ health care providers database of the De9 partment of Veterans Affairs, or any successor data10 base, shall be available on and through the home11 page of the Internet website of the Department that 

12 is accessible to the public. 

13 (2) INFORMATION ON LOCATION OF RESIDENCY

14 TRAINING.—The Internet website of the Department 

15 that is accessible to the public shall include under 

16 the link to the ‘‘Our Providers’’ health care pro17 viders database of the Department, or any successor 

18 database, the location of residency training of each 

19 licensed physician of the Department. 

20 (3) INFORMATION ON PHYSICIANS AT PAR21 TICULAR FACILITIES.—The ‘‘Our Providers’’ health 

22 care providers database of the Department, or any 

23 successor database, shall identify whether each li24 censed physician of the Department is a physician in 

25 residency. 


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1 (b) INFORMATION ON CREDENTIALS OF PHYSICIANS

2 FOR VETERANS UNDERGOING SURGICAL PROCEDURES.— 

3 Each veteran who is undergoing a surgical procedure by 

4 or through the Department shall be provided, at such time 

5 in advance of the procedure as is appropriate to permit 

6 such veteran to evaluate such information, information on 

7 the credentials of the surgeon to be performing such pro8 cedure. 

9 (c) GAO REPORT.—Not later than two years after 

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

11 General of the United States shall submit to the Commit12 tees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and the House of 

13 Representatives a report setting forth an assessment by 

14 the Comptroller General of the following: 

15 (1) The manner in which contractors under the 

16 Patient-Centered Community Care initiative of the 

17 Department perform oversight of the credentials of 

18 physicians within the networks of such contractors 

19 under the initiative. 

20 (2) The oversight by the Department of the 

21 contracts under the Patient-Centered Community 

22 Care initiative. 


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1 SEC. 7. INFORMATION IN ANNUAL BUDGET OF THE PRESI2 DENT ON HOSPITAL CARE AND MEDICAL 

3 SERVICES PROVIDED UNDER SECTION 2. 

4 The materials on the Department of Veterans Affairs 

5 in the budget of the President for a fiscal year, as sub6 mitted to Congress pursuant to section 1105(a) of title 

7 31, United States Code, shall set forth the following: 

8 (1) The number of veterans who received hos9 pital care and medical services under section 2 of 

10 this Act during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal 

11 year in which such budget is submitted. 

12 (2) The amount expended by the Department 

13 on furnishing care and services under such section 

14 during the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in 

15 which such budget is submitted. 

16 (3) The amount requested in such budget for 

17 the costs of furnishing care and services under such 

18 section during the fiscal year covered by such budg19 et, set forth in aggregate and by amounts for each 

20 account for which amounts are so requested. 

21 (4) The number of veterans that the Depart22 ment estimates will receive hospital care and medical 

23 services under such section during the fiscal years 

24 covered by the budget submission. 

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1 ing the fiscal year preceding the fiscal year in which 

2 such budget is submitted. 

3 SEC. 8. PROHIBITION ON FALSIFICATION OF DATA CON4 CERNING WAIT TIMES AND QUALITY MEAS5 URES AT DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AF6 FAIRS. 

7 Not later than 60 days after the date of the enact8 ment of this Act, and in accordance with title 5, United 

9 States Code, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall estab10 lish policies whereby any employee of the Department of 

11 Veterans Affairs who knowingly submits false data con12 cerning wait times for health care or quality measures 

13 with respect to health care to another employee of the De14 partment or knowingly requires another employee of the 

15 Department to submit false data concerning such wait 

16 times or quality measures to another employee of the De17 partment is subject to a penalty the Secretary considers 

18 appropriate after notice and an opportunity for a hearing, 

19 including civil penalties, unpaid suspensions, or termi20 nation. 


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1 SEC. 9. REMOVAL OF SENIOR EXECUTIVE SERVICE EM2 PLOYEES OF THE DEPARTMENT OF VET3 ERANS AFFAIRS FOR PERFORMANCE. 

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

5 States Code, is amended by adding at the end the fol6 lowing new section: 

7 ‘‘§ 713. Senior Executive Service: removal based on 

8 performance 

9 ‘‘(a) IN GENERAL.—(1) Notwithstanding subchapter 

10 V of chapter 35 of title 5, subchapter V of chapter 75 

11 of title 5, or any other provision of law, the Secretary may 

12 remove any individual who is an employee of the Depart13 ment from a Senior Executive Service position (as defined 

14 in section 3132(a) of title 5) if the Secretary determines 

15 the performance of the individual warrants such removal. 

16 ‘‘(2) If the Secretary so removes such an individual, 

17 the Secretary may— 

18 ‘‘(A) remove the individual from the civil service 

19 (as defined in section 2101 of title 5); or 

20 ‘‘(B) appoint the individual to a General Sched21 ule position at any grade of the General Schedule 

22 the Secretary determines appropriate. 

23 ‘‘(b) NOTICE TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 30 days 

24 after removing an individual from the Senior Executive 

25 Service under subsection (a), the Secretary shall submit 

26 to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and 


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1 the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Rep2 resentatives notice in writing of such removal and the rea3 son for such removal. 

4 ‘‘(c) MANNER OF REMOVAL.—A removal under this 

5 section shall be done in the same manner as the removal 

6 of a professional staff member employed by a Member of 

7 Congress.’’. 

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

9 at the beginning of such chapter is amended by adding 

10 at the end the following new item: 

‘‘713. Senior Executive Service: removal based on performance.’’. 

Æ 


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