Hearing Information
Amendment Deadline
Monday, March 13, 2017 - 3:00pm H-312, The Capitol View Announcement »
Meeting Information
Wednesday, March 15, 2017 - 3:30pm H-313, The Capitol View Announcement »
H.R. 1367 - 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.
Video
Bill Text
Rules Committee Print 115-6 PDF XML
Showing the text of H.R. 1367 as ordered reported by the Committee on Veterans’ Affairs.
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. (as reported)
H. Rept. 115-35 PDF
Report from the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
Hearing Documents
Rule Information
COMMITTEE ACTION:
REPORTED BY RECORD VOTE of 8-3 on Wednesday, March 15, 2017.
FLOOR ACTION ON H. RES. 198:
Agreed to by record vote of 229-187, after agreeing to the previous question by record vote of 227-185, on Thursday March 16, 2017.
MANAGERS: Buck/Hastings
1. Structured rule for H.R. 1259.
2. Provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
3. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
4. Makes in order as original text for the purpose of amendment an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 115-7 and provides that it shall be considered as read.
5. Waives all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute.
6. Makes in order only those further amendments printed in part A of the Rules Committee report. Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
7. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part A of the report.
8. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.
9. Structured rule for H.R. 1367.
10. Provides one hour of general debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
11. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
12. Makes in order as original text for the purpose of amendment an amendment in the nature of a substitute consisting of the text of Rules Committee Print 115-6 and provides that it shall be considered as read.
13. Waives all points of order against that amendment in the nature of a substitute.
14. Makes in order only those further amendments printed in part B of the Rules Committee report. Each such amendment may be offered only in the order printed in the report, may be offered only by a Member designated in the report, shall be considered as read, shall be debatable for the time specified in the report equally divided and controlled by the proponent and an opponent, shall not be subject to amendment, and shall not be subject to a demand for division of the question.
15. Waives all points of order against the amendments printed in part B of the report.
16. Provides one motion to recommit with or without instructions.
17. Closed rule for H.R. 1181.
18. Provides one hour of debate equally divided and controlled by the chair and ranking minority member of the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
19. Waives all points of order against consideration of the bill.
20. Provides that the bill shall be considered as read.
21. Waives all points of order against provisions in the bill.
22. Provides one motion to recommit.
Amendments (click headers to sort)
| # | Version # | Sponsor(s) | Party | Summary | Status |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 11 | Version 1 | Bost (IL) | Republican | Directs the Department of Veterans Affairs to develop and implement a plan to hire a director for each VA medical center without a permanent director. | Made In Order |
| 13 | Version 1 | Brownley (CA) | Democrat | Clarifies that “medical facility” referenced in Sec. 10 includes each medical center, domiciliary facility, outpatient clinic, community-based outpatient clinic, and vet center. | Made In Order |
| 14 | Version 1 | Buck (CO) | Republican | Prevents 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. | Made In Order |
| 27 | Version 1 | Gottheimer (NJ) | Democrat | Adds additional modification to the annual determination of staffing shortages in the Veterans Health Administration to address shortages in states where veterans may have to rely more heavily on medical centers of the Department. | Submitted |
| 28 | Version 1 | Gottheimer (NJ) | Democrat | Adds 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. | Made In Order |
| 24 | Version 1 | Hanabusa, Colleen (HI) | Democrat | Allows for employees of a minimum level of GS-11 participate in Executive Management Fellowship Program. | Submitted |
| 25 | Version 1 | Hanabusa, Colleen (HI) | Democrat | Strikes 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. | Made In Order |
| 26 | Version 1 | Hanabusa, Colleen (HI) | Democrat | Requires the total number of employees that voluntarily separated and the percentage of those employees that took the voluntary exit survey. | Made In Order |
| 2 | Version 1 | Hastings, Alcee (FL) | Democrat | Allows the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to fill any vacant position within the VA, regardless of whether the position was vacated before or after the hiring freeze imposed on January 23, 2017. | Submitted |
| 22 | Version 1 | Herrera-Beutler (WA) | Republican | Strengthens 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. | Made In Order |
| 29 | Version 1 | Kaptur (OH) | Democrat | Late Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to carry out a pilot program to provide under graduate students a clinical observation experience at medical centers of the Department of Veterans Affairs. | Submitted |
| 12 | Version 2 | Keating (MA), Rothfus (PA) | Bi-Partisan | Revised Directs opioid prescribers with VA affiliation to receive regular pain management training. | Submitted |
| 21 | Version 1 | Kuster, Ann (NH) | Democrat | Requires all relevant VHA employees at all relevant VHA medical facilities to undergo training to administer naloxone, including training to account for the potency of the opioid taken in the overdose. | Submitted |
| 23 | Version 1 | Lujan Grisham (NM) | Democrat | Establishes the Office of the Ombudsman within the Department of Veterans Affairs. | Submitted |
| 6 | Version 1 | Lynch (MA) | Democrat | Exempts veterans from the federal hiring freeze by allowing all federal agency and department heads to fill vacant or new positions with veterans. | Submitted |
| 7 | Version 1 | Lynch (MA) | Democrat | Exempts veterans from the federal hiring freeze by allowing the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to fill vacant or new positions with veterans. | Submitted |
| 8 | Version 1 | Lynch (MA) | Democrat | Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, on a monthly basis, to report to Congress on the impact of the federal hiring freeze on veterans’ employment at the Department of Veterans Affairs and detailing what steps the Department has taken to assist veterans whose applications or offers of employment with the Department have been put on hold due to the federal hiring freeze. | Submitted |
| 9 | Version 1 | Lynch (MA) | Democrat | Requires the Secretary of Veterans Affairs, on a monthly basis, to list and report to Congress on the vacant and new positions at the Department of Veterans Affairs that cannot be filled due to the federal hiring freeze. | Submitted |
| 3 | Version 2 | Meng (NY) | Democrat | Revised Encourages the transition of military medical professionals into employment with the Veterans Health Administration upon discharge or separation from the Armed Forces. | Made In Order |
| 4 | Version 1 | Meng (NY) | Democrat | Requires the Secretary of the VA, when measuring the use and impact of special hiring authorities and flexibilities to recruit diverse candidates (which includes veteran, minority, and disabled candidates), to also include candidates willing to accept placement in rural communities so that the Secretary can better address the pressing need of VA healthcare professionals in rural communities. | Submitted |
| 5 | Version 1 | Meng (NY) | Democrat | Makes clear that the Inspector General of the VA must report, pursuant to 38 U.S.C. 7412, on at minimum five clinical and five nonclinical VA occupations that have the largest staffing shortages, which then triggers special hiring authorities for the Secretary to address such shortages. | Made In Order |
| 15 | Version 1 | O'Rourke (TX) | Democrat | Allows the VA to offer physicians conditional job offers two years prior to the completion of their residency program. Requires VA recruiters or similar official to visit each teaching institution with a residency program at least once annually. | Made In Order |
| 16 | Version 1 | O'Rourke (TX) | Democrat | Requires that the VA provide the Department of Defense (DoD) with a monthly report illustrating the national average wait times for mental health, primary care appointments, initial disability claims, and disability claims. Provides a Sense of Congress, stating that the VA must take a more effective approach to addressing veteran suicide and providing veterans access to mental healthcare. | Submitted |
| 17 | Version 1 | O'Rourke (TX), Rice (SC) | Bi-Partisan | Directs the Secretary of Veterans Affairs (VA) to contract with an experienced non-government entity to conduct an annual survey, over a five-year period, to determine the experiences of veterans in obtaining hospital care and medical services at each VA medical facility. | Submitted |
| 1 | Version 1 | Schrader (OR), Moulton (MA) | Democrat | Exempts the Department of Veteran Affairs from any federal hiring freeze. | Submitted |
| 10 | Version 1 | Sewell (AL) | Democrat | Allows the Secretary to select eligible employees for the Executive Management Fellowship Program who represent or service rural areas, to whatever extent practicable. | Made In Order |
| 18 | Version 1 | Shea-Porter (NH) | Democrat | Requires the Department of Veterans Affairs to make quarterly report on the top five mental health positions with the largest staffing shortages. | Submitted |
| 19 | Version 1 | Shea-Porter (NH) | Democrat | Requires the Secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs to list open mental health positions in the database established under the bill. | Made In Order |
| 30 | Version 1 | Welch (VT) | Democrat | Late Adds 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. | Made In Order |
| 20 | Version 1 | Wenstrup (OH) | Republican | MANAGER’S AMENDMENT Extends the timeline to implement the fellowship program from 90 days to one year and extends the GAO reporting deadline from one to two years. Additionally, it 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. | Made In Order |
Committee Votes
Rules Committee Record Vote No. 34
Motion by Mr. Cole to report the rule. Adopted: 8-3
Majority Member
Vote
Mr. Cole
Yea
Mr. Woodall
Yea
Mr. Burgess
Yea
Mr. Collins
Yea
Mr. Byrne
Yea
Mr. Newhouse
No Vote
Mr. Buck
Yea
Ms. Cheney
Yea
Mr. Sessions, Chairman
Yea
Minority Member
Vote
Ms. Slaughter
No Vote
Mr. McGovern
Nay
Mr. Hastings
Nay
Mr. Polis
Nay