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Department of Veterans Affairs personnel transparency

Title VI: Veterans’ Assuring Critical Care Expansions to Support Servicemembers · Subtitle C: Staffing Matters

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The Department of Veterans Affairs must provide updated and detailed information about its staffing, including vacancies and recruitment stages, on a public website, broken down by department and facility. The department is also required to review and improve how this information is presented and report these findings to Congress. Additionally, the VA must submit an annual report to Congress describing efforts to reach full staffing, improve hiring timelines, the funding needed, and any recommendations for legislative or administrative changes.

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Section Text · Sec. 637.
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(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)—

(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. ;

(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 or is not planning to initiate a recruitment action.

(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 a 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; and

(C)

in the case of information relating to Veterans Benefits Administration positions, by regional office.

(D)

in paragraph (6), as redesignated by subparagraph (B), by striking shall and all that follows and inserting the following: “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).

(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 the 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 second update under section 505(a)(3) of such Act beginning after the date of the enactment of this Act and each update thereafter.