IIB 
117TH CONGRESS 
1ST SESSION H. R. 2429 
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES 
JUNE 16, 2021 
Received; read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs 
AN ACT 
To amend title 38, United States Code, to improve the 
staffing, transparency, and accountability of the law en-
forcement operations of the Department of Veterans Af-
fairs, and for other purposes. 
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled, 
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SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘VA Police Improve-
ment and Accountability Act’’. 
SEC. 2. IMPROVEMENTS TO TRANSPARENCY OF LAW EN-
FORCEMENT OPERATIONS OF DEPARTMENT 
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) PROVISION OF INFORMATION.—Section 902 of 
title 38, United States Code, is amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(e)(1) The Secretary shall publish on the internet 
website of each facility of the Department the following 
information with respect to the facility: 
‘‘(A) Summaries and statistics covering the pre-
vious five-year period regarding— 
‘‘(i) arrests made by and tickets issued by 
Department police officers; 
‘‘(ii) prosecutions, ticketing, and other ac-
tions relating to such arrests; 
‘‘(iii) the use of force and weapons dis-
charge by Department police officers; and 
‘‘(iv) complaints, investigations, and dis-
ciplinary actions regarding Department police 
officers. 
‘‘(B) Contact information for employees of the 
Department and the public to directly contact the 
police force of the facility, including for an indi-
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vidual (or the representative, attorney, or authorized 
agent of the individual) to request information re-
garding the arrest, ticketing, detainment, use of 
force, or other police matters pertaining to that indi-
vidual. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that each police force 
of a facility of the Department is able to provide to an 
individual who contacts the police force pursuant to para-
graph (1)(B) the information described in such para-
graph.’’. 
(b) USE OF BODY WORN CAMERAS BY DEPARTMENT 
POLICE OFFICERS.— 
(1) REQUIREMENT.—Subsection (a) of such 
section 902 is amended by adding at the end the fol-
lowing new paragraph: 
‘‘(3) Beginning not later than 180 days after the date 
of the enactment of this paragraph, the Secretary shall 
require Department police officers to use cameras worn 
on the individual police officer’s person that record and 
store audio and video (commonly known as ‘body worn 
cameras’).’’. 
(2) GUIDANCE.—Not later than one year after 
the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary 
shall issue, and make publicly available, guidance on 
the use of body worn cameras by Department police 
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officers pursuant to section 902(a)(3) of title 38, 
United States Code, as amended by paragraph (1). 
(3) CONSULTATION.—The Secretary shall issue 
the guidance under paragraph (2) in consultation 
with veterans service organizations, civil rights orga-
nizations, law enforcement organizations, law en-
forcement accreditation organizations, privacy rights 
organizations, and other relevant organizations or 
experts. 
(c) DATA AND REPORTING ON POLICE INCIDENTS.— 
Section 902 of title 38, United States Code, as amended 
by subsection (a), is further amended by adding at the 
end the following new subsection: 
‘‘(f) POLICE INCIDENTS.—(1)(A) The Secretary shall 
track and analyze the following information regarding the 
police force of the Department: 
‘‘(i) Arrests made by and tickets 
issued by Department police officers. 
‘‘(ii) 
Prosecutions, 
ticketing, 
and 
other actions relating to such arrests. 
‘‘(iii) The use of force and weapons 
discharge. 
‘‘(iv) Complaints, investigations, and 
disciplinary actions. 
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‘‘(B) The Secretary shall carry out subparagraph (A) 
by implementing one or more Department-wide data sys-
tems. 
‘‘(2)(A) Beginning not later than one year after the 
date of the enactment of this subsection, the Secretary 
shall ensure that each incident described in subparagraph 
(C) is promptly reported to the Assistant Secretary with 
responsibility for operations, preparedness, security, and 
law enforcement functions. 
‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary shall, in a timely man-
ner— 
‘‘(i) review each incident described in subpara-
graph (C)(i) that is reported under subparagraph 
(A); and 
‘‘(ii) investigate each incident described in sub-
paragraph (C)(ii) that is reported under subpara-
graph (A). 
‘‘(C) An incident described in this subparagraph is 
either of the following: 
‘‘(i) An incident, including an allegation, of the 
use of force by a Department police officer. 
‘‘(ii) An incident, including an allegation, of the 
use of force by a Department police officer that re-
sults in any person receiving medical attention.’’. 
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(d) PLAN
ON POLICE STAFFING.—The Secretary 
shall develop a plan that establishes minimum standards 
for police staffing at each facility of the Department, in-
cluding with respect to— 
(1) the number of Department police officers 
assigned to each facility; and 
(2) the pay grades for such officers. 
(e) REPORT ON IMPLEMENTATION.—Not later than 
one year after the date of the enactment of this Act, the 
Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Af-
fairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a 
report on the implementation of this section and the 
amendments made by this section. The report shall include 
the following: 
(1) With respect to the staffing needs of the 
Department police force— 
(A) identification of the amount of turn-
over among Department police officers; 
(B) how the compensation for Department 
police officers affects such turnover; 
(C) a comparison of such compensation 
with the compensation provided to specialty po-
lice units, such as police units at medical facili-
ties and other police units in the same locality 
pay area; and 
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(D) the plan developed under subsection 
(d), including— 
(i) estimates on the costs to carry out 
the plan; and 
(ii) any recommendations for legisla-
tive actions required to carry out the plan. 
(2) With respect to body worn cameras, a re-
view of the implementation and use of body worn 
cameras by Department police officers, including 
under pilot programs carried out by the Secretary 
during the five-year period preceding the date of the 
report. 
(f) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
(1) The term ‘‘body worn camera’’ means a 
camera worn on an individual police officer’s person 
that records and stores audio and video. 
(2) The term ‘‘Department police officer’’ 
means an employee of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs described in section 902(a) of title 38, 
United States Code. 
Passed the House of Representatives June 15, 2021. 
Attest: 
CHERYL L. JOHNSON, 
Clerk. 
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