Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2021
Bill: H.R.1124 | Sponsor: Resident Commissioner González-Colón, Jenniffer (R-PR)
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 2021
This bill updates the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) current recruiting database by requiring the VA to maintain a single searchable database to be known as the Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs Recruitment Database.
With respect to vacant positions for critical jobs or mental health professionals, the database must list (1) the military occupational specialty or skill that corresponds to the position, and (2) each qualified member of the Armed Forces who may be recruited to fill the position before such qualified member has been discharged and released from active duty. Qualified members of the Armed Forces are those service members who (1) are being separated or recently separated from active duty, (2) elect to be listed in the database, and (3) have been determined by the VA to have a military occupational specialty.
The database must list the following for each qualified member of the Armed Forces: name, contact information, expected discharge date, and military occupational specialty.
The VA must implement direct hiring and appointment procedures for vacant database positions and may authorize relocation bonuses.
The bill also requires the VA to train and certify veterans who served as basic health care technicians in the Armed Forces to work as VA intermediate care technicians.

To amend the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act to direct the 
 Secretary of Veterans Affairs to establish a vacancy and recruitment 
database to facilitate the recruitment of certain members of the Armed 
Forces to satisfy the occupational needs of the Department of Veterans 
   Affairs, to establish and implement a training and certification 
 program for intermediate care technicians in that Department, and for 
                            other purposes.

    Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the 
United States of America in Congress assembled,

SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

    This Act may be cited as the ``Veterans Serving Veterans Act of 
2021''.

SEC. 2. RECRUITMENT DATABASE.

    (a) Establishment.--Section 208 of the VA Choice and Quality 
Employment Act (Public Law 115-46; 38 U.S.C. 701 note) is amended as 
follows:
            (1) In subsection (a)--
                    (A) in the matter proceeding paragraph (1), by 
                striking ``a single database'' and inserting ``and 
                maintain a single searchable database (to be known as 
                the `Departments of Defense and Veterans Affairs 
                Recruitment Database')'';
                    (B) in paragraph (1), by striking ``; and'' and 
                inserting a semicolon;
                    (C) in paragraph (2), by striking the period at the 
                end and inserting ``; and''; and
                    (D) by adding after paragraph (2) the following new 
                paragraph:
            ``(3) with respect to each vacant position under paragraphs 
        (1) and (2)--
                    ``(A) the military occupational specialty or skill 
                that corresponds to the position, as determined by the 
                Secretary, in consultation with the Secretary of 
                Defense; and
                    ``(B) each qualified member of the Armed Forces who 
                may be recruited to fill the position before such 
                qualified member of the Armed Forces has been 
                discharged and released from active duty.''.
            (2) By redesignating subsections (b), (c), and (d) as 
        subsections (f), (g), and (h), respectively.
            (3) By inserting after subsection (a) the following new 
        subsections:
    ``(b) Additional Information.--Subject to subsection (c), the 
database established under subsection (a) shall include, with respect 
to each qualified member of the Armed Forces, the following 
information:
            ``(1) The name and contact information of the qualified 
        member of the Armed Forces.
            ``(2) The date on which the qualified member of the Armed 
        Forces is expected to be discharged and released from active 
        duty.
            ``(3) Each military occupational specialty currently or 
        previously assigned to the qualified member of the Armed 
        Forces.
    ``(c) Availability.--Information in the database shall be available 
to offices, officials, and employees of the Department of Veterans 
Affairs to the extent the Secretary of Veterans Affairs determines 
appropriate.
    ``(d) Expedited Hiring Procedures.--The Secretary shall hire 
qualified members of the Armed Forces who apply for vacant positions 
listed in the database established under subsection (a) without regard 
to the provisions of subchapter I of chapter 33 of title 5, United 
States Code.
    ``(e) Relocation Bonus.--The Secretary may authorize a relocation 
bonus, in an amount determined appropriate by the Secretary and subject 
to the same limitations as in the case of the authority provided under 
section 5753 of title 5, to any qualified member of the Armed Forces 
who has accepted a position listed in the database established under 
subsection (a).''.
            (4) In subsection (g)(1), as redesignated in paragraph (2), 
        by striking ``subsection (b)'' and inserting ``subsection 
        (g)''.
            (5) In subsection (h), as redesignated in paragraph (2), by 
        striking ``of this Act'' and inserting ``of the Veterans 
        Serving Veterans Act of 2021, and annually thereafter''.
            (6) By adding after subsection (h), as redesignated in 
        paragraph (2), the following new subsection:
    ``(i) Qualified Member of the Armed Forces Defined.--In this 
section, the term `qualified member of the Armed Forces' means a member 
of the Armed Forces--
            ``(1) described in section 1142(a) of title 10;
            ``(2) who elects to be listed in the database established 
        under subsection (a); and
            ``(3) who has been determined by the Secretary, in 
        consultation with the Secretary of Defense, to have a military 
        occupational speciality that corresponds to a vacant position 
        described in subsection (a).''.
    (b) Implementation Plan.--Not later than 180 days after the date of 
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of 
Representatives and the Senate a plan to implement, including a 
timeline, section 208 of the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act 
(Public Law 115-46; 38 U.S.C. 701 note), as amended by this section.

SEC. 3. INTERMEDIATE CARE TECHNICIAN TRAINING PROGRAM.

    (a) Establishment.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall 
implement a program to train and certify covered veterans to work as 
intermediate care technicians in the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    (b) Locations.--
            (1) Establishment.--The Secretary shall establish centers 
        at medical facilities of the Department selected by the 
        Secretary for the purposes of carrying out the program under 
        subsection (a).
            (2) Selection of medical facilities.--In selecting a 
        medical facility of the Department under this subsection to 
        serve as a center, the Secretary shall consider--
                    (A) the experience and success of the facility in 
                training intermediate care technicians; and
                    (B) the availability of resources of the facility 
                to train intermediate care technicians.
    (c) Covered Veteran Defined.--In this section, the term ``covered 
veteran'' means a veteran whom the Secretary determines served as a 
basic health care technician while serving in the Armed Forces.

SEC. 4. NO AUTHORIZATION OF APPROPRIATIONS.

    No additional funds are authorized to be appropriated to carry out 
section 208 of the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act (Public Law 
115-46; 38 U.S.C. 701 note), as amended by section 2 of this Act, or to 
carry out section 3 of this Act. Such sections shall be carried out 
using amounts otherwise authorized to be appropriated for such purpose.
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