H.R. 1367 - 115th Congress (2017-2018) - To improve the authority of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to hire and retain physicians and other employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.

This bill provides that the annual determination of the Veterans Health Administration (VHA) staff shortages shall include shortages for five clinical and five non-clinical occupations for each network. (Such determination currently includes the five occupations for which there are the largest Department of Veterans Affairs (VA)-wide shortages.)

The bill establishes in the VA an executive management fellowship program to provide eligible employees of: (1) the Veterans Benefits Administration (VBA) and the VHA with private sector training and experience, and (2) a private-sector entity with VA training and experience.

The VA shall:

conduct an annual performance plan for each political appointee that is similar to the plan conducted for VA career senior executive employees;
establish a single database that lists each vacant VA position that is critical, difficult to fill, or both;
prescribe regulations to allow for excepted service appointments of qualifying students and recent graduates leading to career or career conditional employment;
provide VHA human resources with training on employee recruitment and retention;
establish a promotional track system for employees who are technical experts to advance without being required to transition to management positions;
collect information on hiring effectiveness; and
develop and carry out a standardized exit survey for career and noncareer VA employees and executives who voluntarily separate from the VA.

Veterans federal employment preference provisions are amended to: (1) make all retired members of the armed forces preference eligible, and (2) provide preference eligible individuals with a senior executive position hiring preference.

The VA may non-competitively appoint a qualified former employee to any VA position within the competitive or excepted service that is one grade higher than the position most recently occupied by the employee.

The Government Accountability Office shall conduct a study of succession planning at: (1) each VA medical facility, and (2) the VBA and the VA National Cemetery Administration.

Text (4)

March 21, 2017

March 17, 2017

March 10, 2017

March 6, 2017

Amendments (14)

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 101

An amendment numbered 14 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to allow the VA to offer physicians conditional job offers two years prior to the completion of their residency program. Also, the amendment requires VA recruiters or similar official to visit each teaching institution with a residency program at least once annually.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 100

An amendment numbered 13 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to direct the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a plan to hire a director for each VA medical center without a permanent director.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 99

An amendment numbered 12 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to encourage the transition of military medical professionals into employment with the Veterans Health Administration upon discharge or separation from the Armed Forces.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 98

Amendment adjusts the report on exit surveys required to be submitted by the Department of Veterans Affairs and stipulates the VA to include the total number of employees who voluntarily separated from VA service and the percentage of those who took an exit survey.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 97

An amendment numbered 10 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to strengthen anonymity protections for employees filling out exit surveys, and requires exit survey data to be compiled at the VISN level to identify and acknowledge regional differences.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 96

An amendment numbered 9 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to add veterans who are recent graduates and/or recipients of Post-9/11 GI Bill Educational Assistance as a distinct category of individuals who are allowed for excepted service appointments.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 95

An amendment numbered 8 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to add an analysis of succession planning and hiring in rural areas, and requires a study on the ability to hire and recruit veterans in rural areas.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 94

An amendment numbered 7 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to clarify that "medical facility" referenced in Sec. 10 includes each medical center, domiciliary facility, outpatient clinic, community-based outpatient clinic, and vet center.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 93

An amendment numbered 6 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to require the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to list open mental health positions in the database established under the bill.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 92

An amendment numbered 5 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to prevent former political appointees at the VA from receiving non-political, competitively selected positions at the VA without having to go through the proper selection process.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Not Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 91

An amendment numbered 4 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to strike section 6, "Reemployment of Former Employees," which would allow for the Secretary to appoint former employees at one grade higher than when they last separated, without having to go through the usual competitive application process.

Active

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 90

An amendment numbered 3 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to allow the Secretary to select eligible employees for the Executive Management Fellowship Program who represent or service rural areas, to whatever extent practicable.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 89

An amendment numbered 2 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to make clear that the Inspector General of the VA must report, pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 7412, on at minimum 5 clinical and 5 nonclinical VA occupations that have the largest staffing shortages, which then triggers special hiring authorities for the Secretary to address such shortages.

Agreed To

Mar 17, 2017

Agreed to in House

Sponsorship

House Amendment 88

An amendment numbered 1 printed in Part B of House Report 115-39 to extend the timeline to implement the fellowship program from 90 days to one year and extends the GAO reporting deadline from one to two years. Also, the amendment removes the requirement to track a number of hiring effectiveness metrics, changes the establishment of a recruiting database from a "shall" to "may" authority, and stipulates that HR training be accomplished virtually.

Agreed To

Actions (41)

Show Only Major Actions

03/21/2017

Received in the Senate and Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.

03/17/2017

Motion to reconsider laid on the table Agreed to without objection.

03/17/2017

On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 412 - 0 (Roll no. 171).

03/17/2017

Passed/agreed to in House: On passage Passed by the Yeas and Nays: 412 - 0 (Roll no. 171).

03/17/2017

The House adopted the amendment in the nature of a substitute as agreed to by the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union. (text: CR H2156-2158)

03/17/2017

The previous question was ordered pursuant to the rule.

03/17/2017

The House rose from the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union to report H.R. 1367.

03/17/2017

UNFINISHED BUSINESS - The Chair announced that the unfinished business was on adoption of the Hanabusa amendment No. 11, which was debated earlier and on which further proceedings had been postponed.

03/17/2017

The House resolved into Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union for further consideration.

03/17/2017

Considered as unfinished business.

03/17/2017

Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 1367 as unfinished business.

03/17/2017

On motion that the committee rise Agreed to by voice vote.

03/17/2017

Mr. Wenstrup moved that the committee rise.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the O'Rourke amendment No. 14.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Bost amendment No. 13.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Meng amendment No. 12.

03/17/2017

POSTPONED PROCEEDINGS - At the conclusion of debate on the Hanabusa amendment No. 11, the Chair put the question on adoption of the amendment and by voice vote announced that the ayes had prevailed. Mr. Walz demanded a recorded vote and the Chair postponed further proceedings on the question of adoption of the amendment until a time to be announced.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Hanabusa amendment No. 11.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Herrera Beutler amendment No. 10.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Gottheimer amendment No. 9.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Welch amendment No. 8.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Brownley (CA) amendment No. 7.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Shea-Porter amendment No. 6.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Buck amendment No. 5.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Hanabusa amendment No. 4.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Sewell amendment No. 3.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Meng amendment No. 2.

03/17/2017

DEBATE - Pursuant to the provisions of H. Res. 198, the Committee of the Whole proceeded with 10 minutes of debate on the Wenstrup amendment No. 1.

03/17/2017

Considered as unfinished business. (consideration: CR H2155-1268)

03/16/2017

Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union rises leaving H.R. 1367 as unfinished business.

03/16/2017

On motion to rise Agreed to by voice vote.

03/16/2017

Mr. Wenstrup moved that the committee rise.

03/16/2017

GENERAL DEBATE - The Committee of the Whole proceeded with one hour of general debate on H.R. 1367.

03/16/2017

The Speaker designated the Honorable Ted Budd to act as Chairman of the Committee.

03/16/2017

House resolved itself into the Committee of the Whole House on the state of the Union pursuant to H. Res. 198 and Rule XVIII.

03/16/2017

Considered under the provisions of rule H. Res. 198. (consideration: CR H2136-2139)

03/10/2017

Placed on the Union Calendar, Calendar No. 17.

03/10/2017

Committee on Oversight and Government discharged.

03/10/2017

Reported by the Committee on Veterans' Affairs. H. Rept. 115-35, Part I.

03/06/2017

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.

03/06/2017

Introduced in House

Public Record

Record Updated

Jan 11, 2023 1:35:44 PM