S.Amdt. 2219

SA 2219. Mr. TESTER (for himself and Mr. Boozman) submitted an
amendment intended to be proposed by him to the bill S. 4638, to
authorize appropriations for fiscal year 2025 for military activities
of the Department of Defense, for military construction, and for
defense activities of the Department of Energy, to prescribe military
personnel strengths for such fiscal year, and for other purposes; which
was ordered to lie on the table; as follows:

At the appropriate place in title X, insert the following:

SEC. ___. DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS PERSONNEL
TRANSPARENCY.

(a) In General.--Section 505 of the John S. McCain III,
Daniel K. Akaka, and Samuel R. Johnson VA Maintaining
Internal Systems and Strengthening Integrated Outside
Networks Act of 2018 (Public Law 115-182; 38 U.S.C. 301 note)
is amended--
(1) in subsection (a)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) in the matter before subparagraph (A), by striking
``information,'' and all that follows through ``facility:''
and inserting ``information:'';
(ii) in subparagraph (B)--

(I) by inserting ``(i)'' before ``The number''; and
(II) by adding at the end the following new clause:

``(ii) All historical data under this subparagraph shall be
updated at each quarterly reporting under paragraph (3) to
account for delays in data processing and to reflect the most
recently available data.'';
(iii) in subparagraph (C), by striking ``vacancies, by
occupation.'' and inserting ``positions currently undergoing
a recruitment action, disaggregated by occupation and by
stage of recruitment, including Manager Request Initiation
Stage, recruitment stage, onboarding stage, and waiting to
start stage, or successor stages if modified.'';
(iv) in subparagraph (E)(iii), by striking ``potential
hires or''; and
(v) by adding at the end the following new subparagraph:
``(F) The number of positions vacated during the quarter
for which the Department has not initiated a recruitment
action, including the date the position was vacated,
disaggregated by occupation, with quarterly updates
reflecting the most recently available data to account for
delays in data processing.'';
(B) by redesignating paragraph (5) as paragraph (6);
(C) by inserting after paragraph (4) the following new
paragraph (5):
``(5) Display of information.--The display of information
made publicly available on an Internet website of the
Department pursuant to paragraph (1), shall be
disaggregated--
``(A) by departmental component;
``(B) in the case of information relating to Veterans
Health Administration positions, by medical facility;
``(C) in the case of information relating to Veterans
Benefits Administration positions, by regional office;
``(D) in the case of information relating to the National
Cemetery Administration, by location; and
``(E) in the case of information relating to the Board of
Veterans Appeals, separately from data relating to the
Veterans Health Administration, the Veterans Benefits
Administration, and the National Cemetery Administration.'';
and
(D) in paragraph (6), as redesignated by subparagraph (B),
by striking ``shall'' and all that follows and inserting
``shall--
``(A) review the administration of the website required
under paragraph (1);
``(B) develop recommendations relating to the improvement
of such administration; and
``(C) submit to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the
Senate and the Committee on Veterans' Affairs of the House of
Representatives a report containing--
``(i) the findings of the Inspector General with respect to
the most recent review conducted under subparagraph (A); and
``(ii) the recommendations most recently developed under
subparagraph (B).''; and
(2) by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
``(b) Annual Report.--Each year, the Secretary shall submit
to Congress an annual report that includes the following:
``(1) A description of the steps the Department is taking
to achieve full staffing capacity.
``(2) A description of the actions the Department is taking
to improve the onboard timeline for facilities of the
Department, including--
``(A) in the case of facilities of the Veterans Health
Administration, for facilities for which the duration of the
onboarding process exceeds the metrics laid out in the Time
to Hire Model of the Veterans Health Administration, or
successor model; and
``(B) in the case of Veterans Benefits Administration, for
regional offices that exceed the time-to-hire target of the
Office of Personnel Management.
``(3) The amount of additional funds necessary to enable
the Department to reach full staffing capacity.
``(4) Such recommendations for legislative or
administrative action as the Secretary may have in order to
achieve full staffing capacity at the Department.''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a)
shall take effect on the date of the enactment of this Act
and shall apply with respect to the first update under
section 505(a)(3) of such Act beginning after the date of the
enactment of this Act and each update thereafter.
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