II 

113TH CONGRESS 

2D SESSION S. 2419 

To protect America’s veterans from dishonesty and malfeasance in the delivery 

of medical services and to hold the Department of Veterans Affairs 

accountable to those they serve. 

IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 

JUNE 3, 2014 

Mr. TOOMEY introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred 

to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 

A BILL 

To protect America’s veterans from dishonesty and malfeasance in the delivery of medical services and to hold 

the Department of Veterans Affairs accountable to those 

they serve. 

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 ‘‘VA Accountability Act 

5 of 2014’’. 

6 SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS. 

7 In this Act: 


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1 (1) HEALTH INFORMATION.—The term ‘‘health 

2 information’’ means any information, whether oral 

3 or recorded in any form or medium, that relates 

4 to— 

5 (A) the past, present, or future physical or 

6 mental health or condition of an individual; 

7 (B) the provision of health care to an indi8 vidual; or 

9 (C) the past, present, or future payment 

10 for the provision of health care to an individual. 

11 (2) VA HEALTH RECORD.—The term ‘‘VA 

12 health record’’ means any item, collection, or group13 ing of information about an individual that is main14 tained by the Department of Veterans Affairs and 

15 that contains or relates to the health information of 

16 the individual. 

17 SEC. 3. PROHIBITED ACTS. 

18 It shall be a violation of this Act for any officer, em19 ployee, or agent of the Department of Veterans Affairs 

20 to— 

21 (1) knowingly falsify any health information in 

22 the VA health record of an individual; 

23 (2) knowingly destroy any health information or 

24 exclude any health information from the VA health 

25 record of an individual with the intent to defraud— 


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1 (A) the individual; 

2 (B) an employee or officer of the United 

3 States Government; or 

4 (C) a Member of Congress; 

5 (3) direct another individual to commit conduct 

6 described in paragraph (1) or (2); or 

7 (4) know of the commission of conduct de8 scribed in paragraph (1), (2), or (3) by an individual 

9 under his or her supervision, and fail to stop, if pos10 sible, or report to a superior the commission of that 

11 conduct. 

12 SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION AND REMEDIES. 

13 (a) CAUSE OF ACTION.— 

14 (1) IN GENERAL.—An individual aggrieved by a 

15 violation of this Act by an officer, employee, or 

16 agent of the Department of Veterans Affairs may 

17 bring a civil action against the officer, employee, or 

18 agent in an appropriate district court of the United 

19 States for damages or other legal or equitable relief. 

20 (2) CONSIDERATIONS.—In determining whether 

21 to award compensatory damages or restitution in a 

22 civil action brought under this section and in calcu23 lating the amount of any such damages, the court— 

24 (A) shall consider the amount of benefits 

25 the officer, employee, or agent is entitled to colVerDate Mar 15 2010 06:33 Jun 04, 2014 Jkt 039200 PO 00000 Frm 00003 Fmt 6652 Sfmt 6201 E:\BILLS\S2419.IS S2419

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1 lect from the Department of Veterans Affairs 

2 relating to service for the Department, includ3 ing retirement benefits; and 

4 (B) may include the amount of those bene5 fits, or a percentage of the amount of those 

6 benefits, in calculating the amount of any dam7 ages awarded. 

8 (b) ATTORNEYS’ FEES AND EXPERT FEES.— 

9 (1) ATTORNEYS’ FEES.—In a civil action 

10 brought under this section, the court, in its discre11 tion, may award to the prevailing party, other than 

12 the United States, reasonable attorneys’ fees. 

13 (2) EXPERT FEES.—In awarding attorneys’ fees 

14 under this subsection, the court, in its discretion, 

15 may include fees related to the hiring of experts as 

16 part of the attorneys’ fees awarded. 

17 (c) NO PREEMPTION.—The rights and remedies cre18 ated by this section shall be in addition to, and do not 

19 preempt, any other rights and remedies available under 

20 Federal or State law. 

21 SEC. 5. EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS. 

22 Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including 

23 title 5, United States Code, or any contract, on and at 

24 any time after the date on which a court enters final judg25 ment in an action brought under section 4 in which the 


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1 court determines that the officer, employee, or agent vio2 lated this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may, 

3 without prior notice— 

4 (1) terminate the officer, employee, or agent 

5 without cause; and 

6 (2) may terminate any or all of the benefits of 

7 the officer, employee, or agent relating to service as 

8 an officer, employee, or agent, including retirement 

9 benefits, without cause. 

10 SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT. 

11 This Act shall apply to conduct committed before, on, 

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

Æ 


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