SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE. 
This Act may be cited as the ‘‘Strengthening Whistle-
blower Protections at the Department of Veterans Affairs 
Act’’. 
SEC. 2. COUNSEL OF OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION. 
Subsection (e) of section 323 of title 38, United 
States Code, is amended— 
(1) by inserting ‘‘(1)’’ before ‘‘The Office’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(2) The Assistant Secretary shall appoint a Counsel 
of the Office, who shall be a career appointee in the Senior 
Executive Service and shall report to the Assistant Sec-
retary. The Counsel shall provide the Assistant Secretary 
with legal advice on all matters relating to the Office. In 
accordance with subsection (e), the Assistant Secretary 
may hire the appropriate staff for the Counsel to provide 
such legal advice.’’. 
SEC. 3. MODIFICATIONS TO FUNCTIONS OF OFFICE OF AC-
COUNTABILITY AND WHISTLEBLOWER PRO-
TECTION. 
Subsection (c)(1) of such section is amended— 
(1) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B); 
(2) by redesignating subparagraphs (C) through 
(G) as subparagraphs (A) through (E), respectively;
(3) in subparagraph (A), as so redesignated, by 
inserting ‘‘and allegations of whistleblower retalia-
tion’’ after ‘‘disclosures’’; 
(4) by striking subparagraph (B), as so redesig-
nated, and inserting the following new subpara-
graph: 
‘‘(B) Referring employees of the Depart-
ment to the Office of Special Counsel so the Of-
fice of Special Counsel may receive whistle-
blower disclosures and allegations of whistle-
blower retaliation.’’; and 
(5) by striking subparagraphs (H) and (I). 
SEC. 4. EXPANSION OF WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTIONS. 
(a) CLARIFICATION OF PROHIBITED PERSONNEL AC-
TION.—Section 731(c) of such title is amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1)— 
(A) in the matter preceding subparagraph 
(A), by inserting ‘‘, or threatening to take or 
fail to take,’’ after ‘‘failing to take’’; and 
(B) in subparagraph (A), by inserting ‘‘, or 
with respect to an allegation of such a disclo-
sure’’ before the semicolon; 
(2) in paragraph (3), by inserting ‘‘, making a 
referral to boards of licensure,’’ after ‘‘negative peer 
review’’.
(b) FUNCTION OF OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY AND 
WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.—Section 323(g) of such 
title is amended by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4) The term ‘prohibited personnel action’ has 
the meaning given such term in section 731(c) of 
this title.’’. 
SEC. 5. TRACKING AND ENFORCEMENT OF RECOMMENDA-
TIONS AND SETTLEMENT AGREEMENTS RE-
GARDING WHISTLEBLOWERS. 
Subsection (c) of section 323 of such title, as amend-
ed by section 4, is further amended— 
(1) in paragraph (1), by adding at the end the 
following new subparagraphs: 
‘‘(I) Tracking the negotiation, implementation, 
and enforcement of settlement agreements entered 
into by the Secretary regarding claims of whistle-
blower retaliation, including with respect to the work 
of the General Counsel of the Department regarding 
such settlements. 
‘‘(J) Tracking the determinations made by the 
Special Counsel regarding claims of whistleblower 
retaliation, including—
‘‘(i) any disciplinary action for the indi-
vidual who engaged in whistleblower retaliation; 
and 
‘‘(ii) determinations regarding the need for 
settlement as identified by the Special Counsel, 
and any settlement resolving claims of whistle-
blower retaliation entered into by the Secretary 
with the whistleblower.’’; and 
(2) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(4)(A) In carrying out subparagraph (I) of para-
graph (1), the Assistant Secretary shall, in consultation 
with the General Counsel, establish metrics and standards 
regarding— 
‘‘(i) the timely implementation of settlement 
agreements entered into by the Secretary regarding 
whistleblower retaliation; and 
‘‘(ii) reasonable restitution and restoration of 
employment, and other relief for whistleblowers; and 
‘‘(B) The Assistant Secretary shall establish a secure 
electronic system to carry out subparagraphs (I) and (J) 
of paragraph (1) in a manner that ensures the confiden-
tiality of the identity of a whistleblower.’’. 
SEC. 6. TRAINING AND INFORMATION. 
Section 323 of such title is further amended—
(1) in subsection (c)(2), by striking ‘‘receive 
anonymous whistleblower disclosures’’ and inserting 
‘‘provide information to employees of the Depart-
ment regarding the rights of and procedures for 
whistleblowers’’; 
(2) by redesignating subsection (g) as sub-
section (i); and 
(3) by inserting after subsection (f) the fol-
lowing new subsections: 
‘‘(g) TRAINING.—The Assistant Secretary shall— 
‘‘(1) develop, in consultation with the Special 
Counsel, annual training on whistleblower protection 
and related issues; 
‘‘(2) provide and make such training available 
to employees of the Department; and 
‘‘(3) disseminate training materials and infor-
mation to employees on whistleblower rights, whistle-
blower disclosures, and allegations of whistleblower 
retaliation, including any materials created pursuant 
to section 733 of this title.’’. 
SEC. 7. IMPROVEMENTS TO ANNUAL REPORTS. 
Subsection (f) of section 323 of such title is amend-
ed—
(1) in paragraph (1)(B)(ii), by striking ‘‘sub-
section 
(C)(1)(G)’’ 
and 
inserting 
‘‘subsection 
(c)(1)(E)’’; 
(2) in paragraph (2)— 
(A) 
by 
striking 
‘‘under 
subsection 
(c)(1)(I)’’ and inserting ‘‘by the Special Coun-
sel’’; and 
(B) by inserting ‘‘not later than 60 days 
after such date’’ before ‘‘the Secretary shall’’; 
and 
(3) by adding at the end the following new 
paragraph: 
‘‘(3) Not later than June 30, 2023, and semiannually 
thereafter, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees 
on Veterans’ Affairs of the House of Representatives and 
the Senate a report on settlements described in paragraph 
(1)(I) of subsection (c), including, with respect to the pe-
riod covered by the report— 
‘‘(A) the number of settlements under negotia-
tion or executed, and the number of executed settle-
ments that have not been fully implemented; 
‘‘(B) the explanation as to why any such exe-
cuted settlement has not been fully implemented; 
‘‘(C) a description of the metrics described in 
paragraph (4)(A) of such subsection; and
‘‘(D) identification of settlement agreements 
that are not meeting such metrics and standards, or 
for which the Assistant Secretary is aware of a de-
termination that a breach of agreement has been 
found.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives September 29, 
2022. 
Attest: 
Clerk.