Political Appointee Burrowing Prevention Act

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, my manager's amendment makes a number of minor technical changes to the reported version of the bill and would significantly reduce discretionary costs while maintaining the overall intent of the bill.

The biggest change that would be made in the manager's amendment is the removal of section 11 of the bill, which would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to track a number of hiring effectiveness metrics.

That section alone scored at $6 million because the Congressional Budget Office expected that the VA would have to hire an additional employee in each Veterans Integrated Service Network in order to gather that information. I disagree with that assertion and I intend to continue working on that provision to, hopefully, include it in future legislation in some form.

In addition, the manager's amendment would authorize but not require the VA to track and match qualified job applicants for vacant positions using the recruiting database that the bill would establish. The CBO estimated that the VA would have to hire up to 40 additional employees with an average compensation of $100,000 per year to accomplish that task, meaning that provision in total would cost $19 million. Again, I disagree with the assertion that such a task could not be accomplished using existing staff.

The Subcommittee on Health, which I am proud to chair, is holding an oversight hearing next week where I intend

to ask the VA how the Department would utilize the recruiting database and whether it would entail additional employees. Should it appear that the VA would not use the recruiting database to identify qualified candidates for open positions in a timely manner and to promptly fill prolonged vacancies, I will certainly reconsider mandating that in future legislation.

The manager's amendment would also stipulate that the additional human resources training that the bill would require be done virtually. Finally, it would extend the timeline to implement the executive management fellowship program from 90 days to 1 year, which would provide the VA additional time to set up this important new leadership development program and would extend the GAO reporting deadline from 1 to 2 years, which would provide the GAO additional time to complete their investigation into the VA succession planning.

Mr. Chair, I urge the adoption of the amendment, and I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr, Chair, I yield myself such time as I may consume.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative Meng's amendment, which would stipulate that the annual determination of Veterans Health Administration staffing shortages must include at least five clinical occupations and five nonclinical occupations within each VA medical center.

This amendment rightfully recognizes that some VA medical centers may have staffing challenges that extend beyond just 10 occupations and provides sufficient flexibility for this reporting requirement--which triggers the VA's direct hiring authority--to accommodate that by reporting more than five clinical and five nonclinical occupations, as needed.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment. I thank Representative Meng for submitting it.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Representative Sewell's amendment, which would authorize the Secretary in selecting employees to participate in the executive management fellowship program established by section 3 of the bill, to provide a preference for employees in rural areas.

According to VA's Office of Rural Health, there are currently 3 million veterans living in rural communities across the country who rely on the VA healthcare system for their care.

It is critical that VA medical facilities in rural areas are given access to leadership development opportunities like the executive management fellowship program so that rural veterans benefit from them.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment, and I thank Representative Sewell for submitting it.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in opposition to Representative Hanabusa's amendment, which would strike section 6 of the bill.

Section 6 would allow the VA to noncompetitively reappoint a former VA employee to a position not more than one grade higher than their former position, as long as the employee left voluntarily within the prior 2 years, had a satisfactory performance record, and maintained necessary licensures and credentials.

The former employees who would be helped by this section had performed admirably, left voluntarily, and gone on to gain relevant education or experience that the VA needs. They should be encouraged to come back to the VA and put their new skills to work for our veterans, not required to go through a lengthy competitive selection process at the VA for the second time.

Striking this provision would deprive the VA of an authority that could be used to address access and other challenges by recruiting high-performing former employees back to VA employment.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in opposing this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative Buck's amendment, which would prevent former VA political appointees from receiving nonpolitical, competitively selected positions pursuant to section 6 of the bill without going through the proper competitive selection process.

This amendment would prevent political appointees from inappropriately burrowing in across VA, and I am in full support of it.

I thank Representative Buck for submitting this amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Mr. Chairman, I ask unanimous consent to claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative Shea- Porter's amendment, which would require the VA to ensure that the recruiting database established by section 7 of the bill includes a list of open mental health positions.

Though I am glad to report that, as of January, only 3,469 of VA's 45,360 vacant positions were specific to mental health, it is critical that the VA closely track to mental health vacancies on an ongoing basis so that they can be prioritized and filled to prevent any disruptions in care to our most vulnerable veterans.

I am fully supportive of this amendment and grateful to Representative Shea-Porter for submitting it.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative Brownley's amendment, which would stipulate that the Government Accountability Office report on VA succession planning should include an assessment of succession planning at VA medical centers, domiciliary facilities, outpatient clinics, community-based outpatient clinics, and vet centers.

I appreciate this clarifying amendment and my friend and colleague Representative Brownley, the ranking member of the Subcommittee on Health, for submitting it.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Representative Welch's amendment, which would ensure that the GAO report on VA succession planning includes an analysis of succession planning in rural areas.

Rural facilities undoubtedly face unique challenges in recruiting and retaining employees and in planning effectively to ensure leadership continuity as employees retire or depart. I am glad that, with the adoption of this amendment, GAO will be reviewing these issues specifically and will be able to offer recommendations as to how VA can improve succession planning in rural areas where approximately 40 percent of our veterans reside.

I appreciate Representative Welch for submitting this amendment, and I ask all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Representative Gottheimer's amendments which would ensure that veterans who are recent graduates and/or recipients of the

post-9/11 GI Bill are also eligible for excepted service appointments under section 12 of the bill.

As a veteran and as the former chairman of the Subcommittee on Economic Opportunity, there are few things I support as strongly as assisting veterans in seeking and receiving employment opportunities, particularly in the Federal Government.

The skill sets and commitment to service that veterans display while in uniform often make them particularly suited to government work once they transition to civilian life. The adoption of this amendment would provide yet another tool to support veterans looking to continue their service to our Nation, and I am grateful to Representative Gottheimer for submitting it.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I rise in support of Representative Hanabusa's amendment, which would tweak the report on exit surveys the VA is required to submit in section 13 of the bill to stipulate the VA provide the total number of employees who voluntarily separated from VA service and the percentage of those who took an exit survey.

This information will be very helpful for Congress to receive in order to track how many employees are choosing to voluntarily leave the VA and are taking advantage of the opportunity to complete an exit survey prior to their departure.

I urge all my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment, and I am grateful to Representative Hanabusa for submitting it.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative Meng's amendment, which would encourage military medical professionals who are transitioning out of the Armed Forces to seek employment within the Veterans Health Administration.

Wherever possible, the VA should be filling vacant positions at VA medical facilities with eligible, qualified veterans. And I am fully supportive of any amendment like this one that recognizes the highly specialized skills that many veterans gained while in uniform, skills that, in this case, could be used in service to fellow veterans by addressing access to care challenges across the country.

I am grateful to Representative Meng for this important amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative Bost's amendment, which would require the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a plan to hire directors at each VA medical center that lacks a permanent director.

Twenty-five percent of current VA medical center directors are eligible to retire, and the VA testified last year that it can take more than 6 months and multiple reannouncements to recruit new VA medical center directors.

The VA must begin planning now to ensure that leadership at VA medical centers across the country remain stable and that medical center director vacancies are closely monitored and prioritized.

The text of this amendment passed the House last year with unanimous support, and I am grateful to Representative Bost for submitting this amendment again this year to H.R. 1367.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting it.

Mr. Chairman, I rise in support of Representative O'Rourke's amendment, which would allow the VA to offer physicians conditional job offers 2 years prior to the completion of their residency, and also require VA recruiters or other officials to visit each teaching institution with a residency program at least once a

year. It is a great idea and one that I greatly appreciate.

The VA's existing workforce is increasingly retirement-eligible, and, historically, the VA has performed poorly in comparison to other Federal agencies when it comes to hiring younger employees.

By creating a pipeline of young, up-and-coming physicians willing to practice in VA medical facilities and committed to VA service, this amendment would help ensure that the VA healthcare system is fully staffed to care for our veterans for years to come.

The text of this amendment passed the House last year as an amendment to H.R. 5620, and I am grateful to Representative O'Rourke for submitting it as an amendment to H.R. 1367 today.

I urge all of my colleagues to join me in supporting this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I move that the Committee do now rise.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, although I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, as mentioned last night during general debate on the underlying bill, the VA has experienced a shortage of medical providers. This shortage impacts not only a veteran's access to care, but also the quality of care a veteran may receive.

Dr. Wenstrup's amendment is smart. It would allow the VA more authority, information, and resources, all of which they need to compete with non-VA facilities. The honorable Member from Ohio has worked hard to ensure that what we are proposing with this legislation is reasonable from all sides. I am grateful for that. I do not object to the various changes he is proposing with this amendment to the timeline, to the GAO reporting deadline, and to the establishment of a recruiting database from a ``shall'' to a ``may'' authority. This is exactly what we should be doing, putting forward good pieces of legislation, making sure that the VA gets the best possible people, keeps them there, and care for our veterans. I fully support the gentleman's amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I claim the time in opposition, even though I am not opposed to the amendment.

Mr. Chairman, we must enable the VA to recruit and retain the most capable people to serve our Nation's veterans.

We also know that one size does not fit all when considering an applicant's background and experience. If an individual has gained valuable experience over many years at an agency, we don't want to eliminate them as an option. Federal hiring officials need the most complete list of options available to select the most highly qualified employees.

I do not object to requiring former political appointees at the VA go through the proper selection process when they apply for nonpolitical, competitively selected positions.

I truly appreciate the spirit and intent of the gentleman from Colorado's amendment. I support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I do not oppose this amendment. It is smart.

I have seen how important employee exit surveys can be in facilitating and understanding how an organization can be improved, made more efficient, or take constructive criticism. It makes absolute sense that employees filling them out know that they can provide honest responses because their anonymity will be protected by law, not by a promise or regulation.

Ensuring that exit data is collected on the VISN level will give VA leadership the most accurate look at where in the country higher retention policies are working and where they are not. That is just good, best practice.

Mr. Chair, I support the gentlewoman's smart amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I demand a recorded vote.

Mr. Chair, every Member of Congress has heard directly from their constituents who receive health care from the VA that it is understaffed. This is true at all levels, but it is vital to both the workforce and the veterans served that each medical center have permanent leadership.

I think all of us know--and there is an old saying--if you have been to one VA facility, you have been to one VA facility. Again, it may seem like the easiest thing to say that leadership matters at these facilities. Nothing matters more.

When a VA facility is moving in the right direction, it can always be traced to strong, directed leadership. In almost every case each one of us has worked on, whether it is weak leadership or lack of leadership, those situations go awry.

I have a situation in Minnesota where we have been waiting for leadership for a year. We were notified, I believe, a week or so ago that we are finally getting that.

I enthusiastically endorse Mr. Bost's amendment, which would require the Department to get these things done, develop and implement a plan within 120 days of enactment to hire a permanent director for each medical center which does not have one.

As the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) says in his amendment, a new director may well be identified from senior executives already within the Department, or he or she may be someone from outside the agency who meets the qualifications and wants to work at the VA.

What is necessary is that filling these open directorships be made a priority. Requiring the VA to show us the plan to do so and provide regular updates as that plan is implemented is a way to set this priority.

I commend the gentleman from Illinois (Mr. Bost) for getting at the heart of this. This will be about accountability. It will put the right people in place to make the right decisions and get the care for our veterans.

Mr. Chairman, I strongly support it, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the chairman and ranking member of the Veterans' Affairs Committee and Representative Wenstrup for their work on this important bill.

This legislation empowers the Secretary of Veterans Affairs with the authority to hire the best and brightest employees.

We can all agree that you can't have a top-notch VA without employing young veterans who want to continue serving their country after they return from the front lines. Each and every day, our brave men and women in uniform put their lives on the line for us, and we owe it to them to ensure that, when they return home, they have the best care at the VA and that they also have the best career opportunities available to them.

This legislation is about veterans serving veterans. Young veterans in the Fifth District of New Jersey, where I live, tell me that they face significant challenges when they return home, even though many of them have a desire to help serve other veterans.

I was lucky enough to hire one such veteran on my team, Mike DeVilliers, who served in the U.S. Army. Mike is committed to helping other veterans and has, at a local community college, where he ran a program for student veterans. He now serves my constituents, including our veterans and across the four counties in the Fifth District.

We should be encouraging talented and qualified young veterans like Mike to put their skills to use and give back to their fellow servicemen and -women. The VA is one place those skills are sorely needed to best serve the 473,000 veterans who live in New Jersey and the many other veterans across our country.

Mr. Chairman, approximately 60 percent of VA employees are over the age of 45, and the Department has struggled to develop an adequate pipeline for younger employees and emerging leaders to fill crucial and critical roles. We have seen the negative effects of not having the right team in place to support our veterans. While programs like Pathways at the VA are a step in the right direction, we can do more to improve the process and give a leg up to all veterans who wish to bring their skills to the VA.

More than half of the post-9/11 veterans are 34 years of age or younger, and approximately 30 percent have bachelor's or advanced degrees; yet the Department of Labor reported that post-9/11 vets face a higher unemployment rate than other veterans. That is simply unacceptable.

The VA should draw from their excellent source of talent to strengthen the care all of our veterans receive by considering more young veterans for excepted service appointments. That is why my amendment would make sure that the VA Secretary includes recipients of the post-9/11 GI Bill and younger veterans who have recently graduated from college as a distinct category qualifying for excepted service appointments to the Department of Veterans Affairs.

Mr. Chairman, the mission statement of the VA is inscribed outside the Department's headquarters. It reads: ``To care for him who shall have borne the battle, and for his widow, and his orphan.'' This is President Lincoln's promise to serving and honoring the men and women who are America's heroes, and it should and must be our same commitment today. I know of no one who stands more willing and able to serve fellow veterans and their brothers and sisters in arms than the veterans themselves.

There is nothing partisan about serving our veterans. This is a commonsense solution without any new costs, and it is a perfect example of working across party lines to help get the backs of those who have served our country.

I urge my colleagues to join me in standing up for our veterans by supporting this win-win solution.

Mr. Chair, I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, I thank Representative Wenstrup for his thoughtful amendment, and I thank Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz for bringing it to the floor today.

Clearly, there are staffing shortages within the Department of Veterans Affairs, and, clearly, something must be done. Personally, I think this legislation is a good first step toward improving the VA's ability to identify staffing shortages, recruit and retain high-quality employees, and onboard new hires.

The amendment I am offering today speaks to the identification of staffing shortages portion of this bill. Under current law, 38 U.S.C. 7412 to be exact, the inspector general of the VA is required to submit a report to the VA Secretary annually highlighting the five personnel occupations with the largest staffing shortages throughout the Department. After receiving this report, the Secretary is then permitted to recruit and directly appoint qualified individuals to fill those vacancies.

Section 2 of the bill before us does something important to current law. It will require the IG to report on not just the five occupations with the largest staffing shortages, it will require the IG to report on the five clinical and five nonclinical occupations with the largest shortages in the VA. Additionally, it will require this reporting to be done for each medical center. Mr. Chair, I think this is a wonderful change, one that is sorely needed.

What my amendment would do is add to this expanded reporting requirement a simple clarification: the IG must report on, at minimum, the five clinical and nonclinical occupations with the largest staffing shortages at each facility. It would allow the IG to report on more than the five occupations with the largest shortages, should his findings require it.

This amendment is not an additional reporting requirement. It simply makes clear that should the IG find additional staffing shortages, he may highlight those so that the Secretary may fill them more quickly. It is a simple attempt to avoid the necessity of passing similar legislation 2, 3, or even 4 years from now.

Our veterans need the care that they have earned and that they deserve. They need it now. The first step in that endeavor is making sure that the VA staffing levels are adequate.

Again, Mr. Chair, I am pleased to see this amendment on the floor today and to do my small part in ensuring that veterans get the care they need. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment, which would allow the VA inspector general to highlight additional staffing shortages within the Department.

Mr. Chair, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I urge support for this amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, this amendment would require the VA Secretary to establish a program encouraging members of our Armed Forces serving as health professionals to pursue jobs with the Veterans Health Administration upon discharge or separation from the military.

As we all know, the VHA has existing shortages of health professionals. We also know that our servicemen and -women sometimes have difficulty transitioning back to civilian life after serving.

What would be better than having a servicemember with healthcare training and experience transition into employment with the VHA serving their brothers and sisters?

Mr. Chair, I believe that everyone wins with this amendment. This program would be completely optional to participate in, would help reduce staffing shortages at the VHA, and would provide job opportunities to recently discharged servicemembers.

I urge support for this commonsense amendment, and I yield back the balance of my time.

Mr. Chair, I have an amendment at the desk.

Mr. Chair, today I rise in support of bipartisan work to enhance recruitment and retainment strategies at VA medical centers. While we focus on strengthening the VA workforce, we must also

focus on making sure the geographic diversity of our VA workforce is reflective of the veteran patient population and that rural populations are adequately represented.

I thank Chairman Roe and Ranking Member Walz for working with me on this critically important amendment and for their dedication to our Nation's veterans.

My amendment is simple. It allows the Secretary to select eligible employees for the fellowship program who represent or service rural communities in order to alleviate the systemic burdens of rural healthcare workforce shortages for our Nation's veterans. In order to best serve our Nation's heroes from rural America, we must invest in training VA workers who understand the unique needs of rural America.

This amendment would help ensure that veterans who are serviced by rural VAs have access to the most cutting-edge healthcare industry procedures and practices. My amendment also helps address an issue that is indicative of a larger systemic issue in rural America where healthcare workforce recruitment is a barrier to improved population health. Workforce shortages, especially in health care, permeate every aspect of rural life, aggregating already long driving distances and minimal access to care.

There is significant evidence that increased recruitment and retention of professionals to underserved areas can exist if we recruit people from rural areas to come into our healthcare profession. To help address concerns of veterans' access to care, Congress established the Office of Rural Health within the VA in 2007. This office has done outstanding work over the years to recruit, train, and retain rural healthcare professionals. Everything we do in Congress in relation to the VA workforce must complement that work.

Approximately 25 percent of our Nation's veterans live in rural communities and comprise nearly 11 percent of the adult rural population. Rural veterans account for 36 percent of all VA enrollees. 43 percent of rural veterans earn an annual income of less than $26,000, and more than 40 percent do not have access to broadband internet. This limits the accessibility of our rural veterans to online healthcare services.

According to the Census, the rates of uninsurance, disability, poverty, and unemployment among veterans all increase as the levels of rurality increases. Four in ten have at least one service-connected disability. The Seventh Congressional District of Alabama is home to more than 36,000 veterans and over 5,000 VA employees at eight facilities. I visited with the VA staff at several of these facilities, and I am always impressed with the work that they do every day on behalf of our Nation's veterans. With all of the negativity surrounding our VA employees over the past several years, I want to take this opportunity to commend those public servants who rise every morning to help our veterans lead productive and healthy lives.

I hope my colleagues, both urban and rural, will work with me to ensure that rural veterans thrive in their communities and rural Americans are included in this outstanding VA workforce recruitment bill. I urge my colleagues to support this amendment.

Mr. Chairman, I reserve the balance of my time.

Mr. Chairman, I want to thank the gentleman for supporting this amendment, and I urge all of my colleagues to support it as well.

Mr. Chairman, I yield back the balance of my time.