Teacher:In this task, you are given text for US Congressional and California state bills, your task is to generate a summary for this bill.
Teacher: Now, understand the problem? Solve this instance: SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.

This Act may be cited as the ''VA Guidance for Organizational
Reform and Data Integrity for Accountability Needs Key for Necessary
and Optimal Transformation Act'' or the ''VA GORDIAN KNOT Act''.

SEC. 2. ORGANIZATION OF DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS.

(a) Independent Assessment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
seek to enter into an agreement with an independent entity to
conduct an assessment of the organization of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(2) Elements.--The assessment under paragraph (1) shall
include the following:
(A) Whether the current organization of the
Department is conducive to meeting the performance
goals of the Department.
(B) An identification of the mission statement and
function of each element of the Department, including
whether any such elements have duplicative functions.
(C) Identification of the strengths and weaknesses
of the current organization.
(D) How many full-time equivalent positions,
including with respect to senior executives, are in
each of the Veterans Benefits Administration, the
National Cemetery Administration, and the Central
Office.
(E) A description of the hierarchy in each element
of the Department.
(F) An evaluation of the cost to the Department of
providing hospital care and medical services to
veterans at medical facilities of the Department as
compared to the cost of paying for such care and
services furnished by a non-Department provider
pursuant to the Veterans Choice Program established by
section 101 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and
Accountability Act of 2014 (38 U.S.C. 1701 note) or
other provision of law authorizing non-Department
hospital care or medical services.
(G) To assist in developing a long-term sustainable
capital asset planning process, identification of
underused facilities of the Department that, if closed
or disposed of, would not negatively affect the health
care or benefits provided to veterans.
(H) With respect to the facilities described in
subparagraph (E), a plan to engage veteran populations,
veteran service organizations, and other organizations
and stakeholders that work with veterans to identify
such facilities and determine whether veterans have the
ability to seek services by non-Department providers
under the laws administered by the Secretary.
(3) Submission.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Senate the assessment under paragraph (1).
(b) Status of Organization.--Not later than October 1 of 2020, and
annually thereafter, the Secretary shall--
(1) either--
(A) update the organizational structure of the
Office of the Secretary, the Veterans Health
Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration,
and the National Cemetery Administration to ensure that
such structure is best able to provide benefits to
veterans; or
(B) certify to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Senate that
such structure does not require such updates; and
(2) make publically available such update or certification,
as the case may be, including clear organizational charts of
the Office of the Secretary, the Veterans Health
Administration, the Veterans Benefits Administration, and the
National Cemetery Administration.

SEC. 3. IMPROVEMENTS TO HIRING AND RETAINING EMPLOYEES.

(a) Improvements to Hiring.--
(1) Hiring plan.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
ensure that each medical facility of the Department of Veterans
Affairs, including community based outpatient clinics, has a
hiring plan to address the health care needs of the facility.
(2) Sharing of information.--The Secretary shall establish
a system that lists each vacant position in a medical facility
of the Department that is covered under the hiring plan under
paragraph (1). If the Secretary determines that an applicant
for such a vacant position is qualified for the position but is
not selected for the position, the Secretary may consider the
applicant for other similar positions listed in the system.
(3) Data.--The Secretary shall keep records on--
(A) the amount of time a vacant position described
in paragraph (2) remains unfilled;
(B) positions that have been vacant for a prolonged
period and such vacancy--
(i) is related to a whistleblower case; and
(ii) has affected the ability of the
Department to provide quality and timely health
care of veterans; and
(C) whether an employee of the Department who
transfers from one medical facility of the Department
to another such facility was reprimanded, placed on
administrative leave, or appealed an allegation at the
previous position of the employee within the
Department.
(4) Submission.--Upon the request of either the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives or the
Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate, the Secretary
shall submit to the committee the records specified in
paragraph (3).
(b) Exit Interviews.--The Secretary shall ensure that each employee
of the Department who voluntarily separates from the Department is
afforded the opportunity to complete an interview in order for the
Secretary to ascertain--
(1) the reason the employee is separating;
(2) the opinion of the employee with respect to being
employed at the Department; and
(3) ways in which the Secretary can better improve the
retention of employees of the Department.

SEC. 4. INTEGRITY OF HEALTH CARE DATA.

(a) Certain Definitions.--Section 7311 of title 38, United States
Code, is amended by inserting at the end the following new subsection:
''(f) For purposes of determining the validity of health care data
collected pursuant to this section or any other provision of law
regarding the employees of the Veterans Health Administration, the
Secretary shall develop standard definitions for--
''(1) the actions that constitute the manipulation of data
regarding scheduling appointments for health care; and
''(2) the ways in which such employees are held accountable
for such manipulation.''.
(b) Verification of Data.--
(1) Designation.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall
ensure that a single position in each office described in
paragraph (2) is designated as being responsible for verifying
the accuracy of the data reported from such office to a
superior office.
(2) Office described.--An office described in this
paragraph is each of the following:
(A) A medical facility of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(B) A Veterans Integrated Service Network.
(C) A regional office of the Veterans Benefits
Administration.
(D) The central office of the Veterans Benefits
Administration.
(c) Assessment.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall seek to enter into an
agreement with an independent, non-governmental entity to
assess whether this section, and the amendment made by this
section, improves the accuracy of data of the Department of
Veterans Affairs.
(2) Submission.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Senate the assessment conducted under paragraph (1).
(d) Report.--Not later than one year after the date of the
enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on
Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives and the Senate a
report containing--
(1) a study on--
(A) the data collected or used by the Veterans
Health Administration and the Veterans Benefits
Administration, including data that the Secretary, as
of the date of the study, allows to be self-reported by
the appropriate office; and
(B) what metrics the Secretary should be using to
track such data;
(2) an implementation plan to correct any vulnerabilities
regarding the accuracy of such data;
(3) a description of the Department-wide minimal standards
and guidelines to reprimand employees of the Department who
knowingly provide false information to Federal investigators or
who knowingly provide inaccurate information when testifying
before a committee of Congress; and
(4) an identification of the recommendations regarding data
integrity, information technology, organizational reforms,
management improvements, or hiring and retaining employees
reported by or made by the independent assessment under section
201 of the Veterans Access, Choice, and Accountability Act of
2014 (Public Law 113-146; 128 Stat. 1769), the Commission on
Care, the Comptroller General of the United States, and the
Inspector General of the Department of Veterans Affairs that,
as of the date of the report, have not been implemented, and a
plan to implement such recommendations and track the progress
of such implementation.
(e) Study of Costs.--
(1) In general.--The Secretary shall conduct a study to
determine the costs to the United States relating to officials
and employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs
manipulating health care data, providing negligent management,
and retaliating against whistleblowers, during the five-year
period preceding such study.
(2) Elements.--The study under paragraph (1) shall include
the following:
(A) The amount of money that the Federal Government
has spent, by fiscal year, on settlements (including
confidential settlements) with whistleblowers of the
Department.
(B) The number of hours that employees of the
Federal Government have spent to defend the Department
in administrative or judicial proceedings with respect
to employees of the Department accused of manipulating
health care data, providing negligent management, or
retaliating against whistleblowers.
(C) Obstacles preventing the Secretary from
demoting, removing, or terminating an employee of the
Department based on performance or misconduct.
(3) Submission.--Not later than one year after the date of
the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall submit to the
Committees on Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives
and the Senate a report containing the study under paragraph
(1).

SEC. 5. PUBLICATION OF WAIT TIMES.

(a) Publication of Wait Times.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs
shall make publically available on the Internet website of the
Department of Veterans Affairs the current wait times for a veteran
enrolled in the health care system established under section 1705(a) of
title 38, United States Code, to receive an appointment for health care
at a medical facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs. Such wait
time shall be categorized by primary care, specialty care, and mental
health services and include an explanation on the metrics used to
determine such wait times.
(b) Transparency.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall seek to
enter into an agreement with the Comptroller General of the United
States or an independent entity to conduct an assessment of the
accuracy of the wait times published under subsection (a). The
Secretary shall publish information regarding such assessment on the
Internet website described in subsection (a).
(c) Wait Time Defined.--In this section, the term ''wait time''
means, with respect to a veteran receiving an appointment at a medical
facility of the Department of Veterans Affairs, the period beginning on
the date on which the veteran first requests such appointment and
ending on the date on which such appointment occurs.

SEC. 6. TRANSFER AUTHORITY.

(a) In General.--Chapter 1 of title 38, United States Code, is
amended by inserting after section 117 the following new section:
''Sec. 117A. Transfer authority
''(a) In General.--In addition to any other provision of law
authorizing the transfer of amounts by the Secretary of Veterans
Affairs, in any fiscal year in which there is a shortfall, the
Secretary may transfer covered amounts to accounts of the Department
for purposes of mitigating or removing such shortfall.
''(b) Notification.--In any fiscal year in which there is a
shortfall and the Secretary does not make a transfer under subsection
(a), the Secretary shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs
of the House of Representatives and the Senate justifications for not
making such transfer.
''(c) Definitions.--In this section:
''(1) The term 'covered amounts' means amounts made
available to the Secretary for awards or bonuses under chapter
45 or 53 of title 5, United States Code, or any other awards or
bonuses authorized under such title or this title.
''(2) The term 'shortfall' means the event, as determined
by the Secretary, that the funds made available to the
Secretary for a fiscal year are not sufficient to provide the
benefits under the laws administered by the Secretary or
otherwise carry out the responsibilities of the Department
during any period of such fiscal year.''.
(b) Clerical Amendment.--The table of sections at the beginning of
such chapter is amended by inserting after the item relating to section
117 the following new item:

''117A. Transfer authority.''.
Student:
VA Guidance for Organizational Reform and Data Integrity for Accountability Needs Key for Necessary and Optimal Transformation Act or the VA GORDIAN KNOT Act This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to enter into an agreement for an independent assessment of its organization, which shall evaluate: (1) whether the VA's current organization is conducive to meeting its performance goals, and (2) the cost of providing hospital care and medical services to veterans at VA medical facilities compared to the cost of paying for such care and services furnished by a non-VA provider pursuant to the Veterans Choice Program. The VA shall ensure that: (1) each VA medical facility has a hiring plan, and (2) each VA employee who voluntarily separates is afforded the opportunity to complete an exit interview. The VA shall: (1) develop standard definitions for the actions that constitute the manipulation of data regarding scheduling health care appointments and the ways in which Veterans Health Administration employees are held accountable for such manipulation; (2) ensure that a single position in each VA medical facility and office is designated as being responsible for verifying the accuracy of reported health care data; (3) enter into an agreement for an independent assessment of whether such requirements improve the accuracy of VA data; and (4) study and report on VA health care data integrity and on costs relating to VA employees manipulating health care data, providing negligent management, and retaliating against whistleblowers. The VA shall: (1) make publicly available on its website the current wait times for a veteran enrolled in the VA health care system to receive an appointment at a VA facility, (2) enter into an agreement for an assessment of the accuracy of such wait times, and (3) publish information regarding such assessment. The VA may transfer specified amounts among its accounts to mitigate or remove any shortfall or justify not making such transfer.