Title: VET Protection Act of 2017
Policy area: Armed Forces and National Security

Summary:
Veterans, Employees, and Taxpayers Protection Act of 2017 or the VET Protection Act of 2017
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to: (1) track the use of official time by VA employees accurately; and (2) submit to the Office of Personnel Management and Congress, by October 1 of each fiscal year, a report on such use. "Official time" means any period of time granted to an employee under federal labor-management provisions to perform representational or consultative functions during which the employee would otherwise be in a duty status.
The bill prohibits: (1) a VA employee from using official time to carry out political activities or activities relating to lobbying; (2) a VA physician, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, or optometrist from using official time for any purpose; (3) other VA employees involved with direct patient care and other employees whose rate of basic pay is equal to or higher than a GS-13 from spending more than 25% of the time such employee would otherwise be in a duty status on official time; and (4) any VA employee from spending more than 50% of the time such employee would otherwise be in a duty status on official time.
Any exclusive bargaining agreement entered into by the VA shall allow a VA employee to terminate a voluntary allotment for the payment of dues at any time.
The appointment of a covered VA employee shall become final only after such employee has served a probationary period of 18 months. "Covered employee": (1) means any individual appointed to a permanent position within the competitive service or as a career appointee within the Senior Executive Service, and (2) does not include any individual with a probationary period prescribed by a provision applicable to specified health care practitioners. An employee's supervisor shall determine whether an employee's appointment becomes final by 90 days before the expiration such probationary period.

[Congressional Bills 115th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 1461 Introduced in House (IH)]

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115th CONGRESS
  1st Session
                                H. R. 1461

  To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report to Congress relating to the 
    use of official time by employees of the Department of Veterans 
 Affairs, to limit the instances in which official time may be granted 
  for certain purposes to employees of the Department, and for other 
                               purposes.


_______________________________________________________________________


                    IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

                             March 9, 2017

Mr. Arrington introduced the following bill; which was referred to the 
  Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on 
   Oversight and Government Reform, for a period to be subsequently 
   determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such 
 provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned

_______________________________________________________________________

                                 A BILL


 
  To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of 
Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report to Congress relating to the 
    use of official time by employees of the Department of Veterans 
 Affairs, to limit the instances in which official time may be granted 
  for certain purposes to employees of the 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, Employees, and Taxpayers 
Protection Act of 2017'' or the ``VET Protection Act of 2017''.

SEC. 2. LABOR MANAGEMENT IN DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) In General.--Chapter 7 of title 38, United States Code, is 
amended by adding at the end the following new subchapter:

                   ``SUBCHAPTER III--LABOR MANAGEMENT

``Sec. 741. Records on use of official time
    ``(a) Tracking of Official Time.--The Secretary shall track the use 
of official time by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs in 
a manner that accounts for such time accurately and to a specific 
degree without the use of estimates or ranges of time.
    ``(b) Annual Report.--(1) Not later than October 1 of each fiscal 
year, the Secretary shall submit to the Office of Personnel Management 
and the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives 
and the Senate a report on the use of official time by employees of the 
Department during the most recently ended fiscal year.
    ``(2) Each report under paragraph (1) shall include, with respect 
to the fiscal year covered by the report, the following information:
            ``(A) The total amount of official time granted to 
        employees.
            ``(B) The average amount of official time expended per 
        bargaining unit employee.
            ``(C) The specific types of activities or purposes for 
        which official time was granted, and the impact which the 
        granting of such official time for such activities or purposes 
        had on the operations of the Department.
            ``(D) The total number of employees to whom official time 
        was granted, and, of that total, the number who were not 
        engaged in any activities or purposes except activities or 
        purposes involving the use of official time.
            ``(E) The total amount of compensation (including fringe 
        benefits) afforded to employees in connection with activities 
        or purposes for which they were granted official time.
            ``(F) A description of any room or space designated at the 
        Department where official time activities will be conducted, 
        including the square footage of any such room or space.
    ``(c) For purposes of this section, the term `official time' means 
any period of time--
            ``(1) which may be granted to an employee under chapter 71 
        of title 5 (including a collective bargaining agreement entered 
        into under such chapter) or chapter 74 of this title to perform 
        representational or consultative functions; and
            ``(2) during which the employee would otherwise be in a 
        duty status.
``Sec. 742. Limitations on use of official time for certain purposes 
              and individuals
    ``(a) Political Activities and Lobbying.--Notwithstanding section 
7131 of title 5, an employee of the Department may not use official 
time to carry out political activities or activities relating to 
lobbying.
    ``(b) Prohibition on Use of Official Time by Certain Employees.--A 
physician, dentist, podiatrist, chiropractor, or optometrist employed 
by the Department may not use official time for any purpose.
    ``(c) Direct Patient Care.--An employee of the Department not 
covered by subsection (b) may spend no more than 25 percent of the time 
such employee would otherwise be in a duty status on official time if 
such employee--
            ``(1) is involved with direct patient care; or
            ``(2) occupies a position with a rate of basic pay equal to 
        or higher than the rate of basic pay for GS-13 of the General 
        Schedule.
    ``(d) Limitation on All Employees.--An employee of the Department 
not covered by subsection (b) or (c) may spend no more than 50 percent 
of the time such employee would otherwise be in a duty status on 
official time.
    ``(e) Official Time Defined.--For purposes of this section, the 
term `official time' has the meaning given that term in section 741(c).
``Sec. 743. Termination of collection of dues
    ``Any exclusive bargaining agreement entered into pursuant to 
chapter 71 of title 5 by the Department shall provide that an employee 
of the Department may terminate a voluntary allotment for the payment 
of dues at any time. Any deductions for dues made pursuant to such 
allotment shall cease beginning on the first pay period after the 
termination is made.''.
    (b) Applicability.--Sections 743 and 742 of title 38, United States 
Code, as added by subsection (a), shall apply with respect to any 
collective bargaining agreement entered into after the date of 
enactment of this Act.
    (c) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of 
such chapter is amended by adding at the end the following:

                   ``subchapter iii--labor management

``741. Records on use of official time.
``742. Prohibition on use of official time for certain purposes.
``743. Termination of collection of dues.''.

SEC. 3. REQUIRED PROBATIONARY PERIOD FOR NEW EMPLOYEES OF DEPARTMENT OF 
              VETERANS AFFAIRS.

    (a) Probationary Period.--
            (1) In general.--Chapter 7 of title 38, United States Code, 
        is further amended by inserting after section 717 the following 
        new section:
``Sec. 719. Probationary period for employees
    ``(a) In General.--Notwithstanding sections 3321 and 3393(d) of 
title 5, the appointment of a covered employee shall become final only 
after such employee has served a probationary period of 18 months.
    ``(b) Covered Employee.--In this section, the term `covered 
employee'--
            ``(1) means any individual--
                    ``(A) appointed to a permanent position within the 
                competitive service at the Department; or
                    ``(B) appointed as a career appointee (as that term 
                is defined in section 3132(a)(4) of title 5) within the 
                Senior Executive Service at the Department; and
            ``(2) does not include any individual with a probationary 
        period prescribed by section 7403 of this title.
    ``(c) Permanent Hires.--Not later than 90 days before the 
expiration of a covered employee's probationary period under subsection 
(a), the supervisor of the employee shall determine whether the 
appointment becomes final based on regulations prescribed for such 
purpose by the Secretary.''.
            (2) Clerical and conforming amendments.--
                    (A) Clerical.--The table of sections at the 
                beginning of such chapter, as amended by section 2, is 
                further amended by inserting after the item relating to 
                section 717 the following new item:

``719. Probationary period for employees.''.
                    (B) Conforming.--Title 5, United States Code, is 
                amended--
                            (i) in section 3321(c)--
                                    (I) by striking ``Service or'' and 
                                inserting ``Service,''; and
                                    (II) by inserting at the end before 
                                the period the following: ``, or any 
                                individual covered by section 719 of 
                                title 38''; and
                            (ii) in section 3393(d), by adding at the 
                        end after the period the following: ``The 
                        preceding sentence shall not apply to any 
                        individual covered by section 719 of title 
                        38.''.
    (b) Application.--Section 719 of title 38, United States Code, as 
added by subsection (a)(1), shall apply to any covered employee (as 
that term is defined in subsection (b) of such section 719, as so 
added) appointed after the date of the enactment of this Act.
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