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(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter is further amended by 
inserting after the item relating to section 723, as added 
by section 7, the following new item: 
‘‘725. Congressional testimony by employees: treatment as official duty.’’. 
SEC. 9. LIMITATION ON AWARDS AND BONUSES PAID TO 
EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS. 
Section 705 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Ac-
countability Act of 2014 (Public Law 113–146; 38 U.S.C. 
703 note) is amended to read as follows: 
‘‘SEC. 705. LIMITATION ON AWARDS AND BONUSES PAID TO 
EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS. 
‘‘The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall ensure that 
the aggregate amount of awards and bonuses paid by the 
Secretary in a fiscal year under chapter 45 or 53 of title 
5, United States Code, or any other awards or bonuses 
authorized under such title or title 38, United States 
Code, does not exceed the following amounts: 
‘‘(1) With respect to each of fiscal years 2015 
through 2018, $300,000,000. 
‘‘(2) With respect to each of fiscal years 2019 
through 2024, $360,000,000.’’. 
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SEC. 10. COMPTROLLER GENERAL STUDY OF DEPARTMENT 
TIME AND SPACE USED FOR LABOR ORGANI-
ZATION ACTIVITY. 
(a) STUDY REQUIRED.—Not later than 180 days 
after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Comp-
troller General of the United States shall conduct a study 
on the amount of time spent by Department of Veterans 
Affairs employees carrying out organizing activities relat-
ing to labor organizations and the amount of space in De-
partment facilities used for such activities. The study shall 
include a cost-benefit analysis of the use of such time and 
space for such activities. 
(b) REPORT TO CONGRESS.—Not later than 90 days 
after the completion of the study required under sub-
section (a), the Comptroller General shall submit to the 
Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of the Senate and House 
of Representatives a report on the results of the study. 
SEC. 11. ACCOUNTABILITY OF SECRETARY OF VETERANS 
AFFAIRS TO INSPECTOR GENERAL OF THE 
DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS. 
(a) IN GENERAL.—Chapter 7 of title 38, United 
States Code, as amended by section 8, is amended by add-
ing at the end the following new section: 
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‘‘§ 727. Accountability of Secretary to Inspector Gen-
eral 
‘‘(a) SUBMISSION OF REPORTS.—(1) At the same 
time as the Inspector General of the Department submits 
to the Secretary a covered report, the Inspector General 
shall submit to the Committees on Veterans’ Affairs of 
the Senate and House of Representatives a copy of such 
covered report. 
‘‘(2) The Inspector General shall include in each cov-
ered report submitted under paragraph (1)— 
‘‘(A) an explanation of any changes to the cov-
ered report recommended by the Secretary during 
the period in which the Inspector General was pre-
paring the covered report; and 
‘‘(B) a list of the names of each responsible 
manager. 
‘‘(3) The Inspector General may not make public the 
names of responsible managers submitted under para-
graph (2)(B). 
‘‘(b) PERFORMANCE OF RESPONSIBLE MANAGERS.— 
(1) The Secretary shall— 
‘‘(A) promptly notify each responsible manager 
of a covered issue by not later than seven days after 
the date on which the Inspector General submits a 
covered report to the Secretary; 
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‘‘(B) direct such manager to resolve such issue; 
and 
‘‘(C) provide such manager with appropriate 
counseling and a mitigation plan with respect to re-
solving such issue. 
‘‘(2) The Secretary shall ensure that any performance 
review of a responsible manager includes an evaluation of 
whether the manager took appropriate actions during the 
period covered by the review to respond to a covered issue. 
‘‘(3) The Secretary may not pay to a responsible 
manager any bonus or award under chapter 45 or 53 of 
title 5 or any other bonus or award authorized under such 
title or this title if a covered issue is unresolved. 
‘‘(c) ROLE OF INSPECTOR GENERAL.—Any authority 
of the Inspector General provided under this section is in 
addition to any responsibility or authority provided to the 
Inspector General in the Inspector General Act of 1978 
(5 U.S.C. App.). 
‘‘(d) DEFINITIONS.—In this section: 
‘‘(1) The term ‘covered issue’ means, with re-
spect to a responsible manager, an issue described in 
a covered report for which the manager is or was re-
sponsible. 
‘‘(2) The term ‘covered report’ means a report 
by the Inspector General of the Department of Vet-
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erans Affairs that recommends actions to the Sec-
retary of Veterans Affairs (or other official or em-
ployee of the Department) to address an issue in the 
Department with respect to public health or safety 
relating to misconduct, or alleged misconduct, by an 
employee of the Department. 
‘‘(3) The term ‘responsible manager’ means an 
individual who— 
‘‘(A) is an employee of the Department; 
‘‘(B) is or was responsible for an issue in-
cluded in a covered report; and 
‘‘(C) in being so responsible, is or was em-
ployed in a management position, regardless of 
whether the employee is in the competitive civil 
service, Senior Executive Service, or other type 
of civil service.’’. 
(b) CLERICAL AMENDMENT.—The table of sections 
at the beginning of such chapter, as amended by section 
8, is amended by inserting after the item relating to sec-
tion 725 the following new item: 
‘‘727. Accountability of Secretary to Inspector General.’’. 
Passed the House of Representatives July 29, 2015. 
Attest: 
KAREN L. HAAS, 
Clerk. 
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