[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 6638 Introduced in House (IH)]
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117th CONGRESS
2d Session
H. R. 6638
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements to
the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
February 8, 2022
Mr. Mann (for himself and Mr. Bost) introduced the following bill;
which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in
addition to the Committee on Appropriations, 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
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To amend title 38, United States Code, to make certain improvements to
the Office of Accountability and Whistleblower Protection of the
Department of Veterans Affairs, and for other purposes.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. MODIFICATIONS AND IMPROVEMENTS TO OFFICE OF ACCOUNTABILITY
AND WHISTLEBLOWER PROTECTION.
Section 323 of title 38, United States Code, is amended--
(1) in subsection (c)--
(A) in paragraph (1)--
(i) by striking subparagraphs (A) and (B);
(ii) by redesignating subparagraphs (C)
through (G) as subparagraphs (A) through (E),
respectively;
(iii) in each of subparagraphs (A) and (B),
as so redesignated, by inserting ``and
allegations of whistleblower retaliation''
after ``disclosures'';
(iv) in subparagraph (B), as so
redesignated--
(I) by striking ``subparagraph
(C)'' and inserting ``subparagraph
(A)''; and
(II) by striking ``the Office of
the Medical Inspector'' and all that
follows through the period at the end
and inserting ``the Office of Special
Counsel.''; and
(v) by striking subparagraphs (H) and (I);
and
(B) in paragraph (2)--
(i) by striking ``a toll-free telephone
number and Internet'' and inserting ``an
internet''; and
(ii) by inserting ``and allegations of
whistleblower retaliation'' after
``disclosures'';
(2) by striking subsection (f) and inserting the following
new subsection (f):
``(f) Reports.--(1) Not later than 90 days after the last day of
each fiscal year, the Assistant Secretary shall submit to the Committee
on Veterans' Affairs of the Senate and the Committee on Veterans'
Affairs of the House of Representatives a report on the activities of
the Office during that fiscal year.
``(2) Each report submitted under paragraph (1) shall include, for
the fiscal year covered by the report, the following:
``(A) A full and substantive analysis of the activities of
the Office, including such statistical information as the
Assistant Secretary considers appropriate.
``(B) Identification of any issues reported to the
Secretary under subsection (c)(1)(G), including such data as
the Assistant Secretary considers relevant to such issues and
any trends the Assistant Secretary may have identified with
respect to such issues.
``(C) Identification of such concerns as the Assistant
Secretary may have regarding the size, staffing, and resources
of the Office and such recommendations as the Assistant
Secretary may have for legislative or administrative action to
address such concerns.
``(D) Such recommendations as the Assistant Secretary may
have for legislative or administrative action to improve--
``(i) the process by which concerns are reported to
the Office; and
``(ii) the protection of whistleblowers within the
Department.
``(E) Such other matters as the Assistant Secretary
considers appropriate regarding the functions of the Office or
other matters relating to the Office.'';
(3) by redesignating subsection (g) as subsection (j);
(4) by inserting after subsection (f) the following new
subsections:
``(g) Transfer Authority.--(1) As the Secretary determines
appropriate, of the amounts made available for the Department for any
of fiscal years 2022 through 2026, the Secretary may transfer to the
Office of Special Counsel not more than $5,000,000, to be available for
the purpose of addressing whistleblower and retaliation claims, if the
Comptroller General of the Office of Special Counsel enters into an
agreement with the Secretary under which the Comptroller General agrees
to ensure that amounts transferred under this paragraph will only be
used--
``(A) to address whistleblower and retaliation claims
involving the Department; and
``(B) to supplement and not to supplant amounts otherwise
made available to the Office of Special Counsel.
``(2) Not later than 90 days after the last day of any fiscal year
for which the Secretary transfers funds under this subsection, the
Special Counsel shall submit to the Committees on Veterans' Affairs of
the Senate and House of Representatives a report on the use of the
funds transferred under this subsection during such fiscal year. Each
such report shall include, for the fiscal year covered by the report--
``(A) the total amount transferred and an accounting of the
expenditure of such funds demonstrating that such funds were
used only to address complaints related to the Department;
``(B) the number of whistleblower complaints received by
the Office of Special Counsel involving the Department;
``(C) the number of retaliation complaints received by the
Office of Special Counsel involving the Department;
``(D) the number of whistleblower complaints investigated
by the Office of Special Counsel involving the Department;
``(E) the number of retaliation complaints closed by the
Office of Special Counsel involving the Department and
disposition of each such complaint, including--
``(i) whether each such complaint was settled,
closed without a finding of retaliation, or received
another disposition; and
``(ii) for each such complaint that was settled,
the amount of the settlement; and
``(F) data regarding the amount of time it took the Office
of Special Counsel to close whistleblower and retaliation
claims involving the Department, including a distribution of
the closed cases by type.
``(h) Training.--The Assistant Secretary shall--
``(1) provide training on whistleblower protection and
related issues and make such training available to employees of
the Department; and
``(2) disseminate training materials and information to
employees on whistleblower rights, whistleblower disclosures,
and allegations of whistleblower retaliation, including any
materials created pursuant to section 733 of this title.
``(i) Availability of Information.--The Assistant Secretary shall
make publicly available on an appropriate website of the Department the
following information:
``(1) Templates that can be used to submit proper and
complete whistleblower and retaliation claims.
``(2) The standard operating procedures of the Office and
any applicable regulations.
``(3) Each report submitted under subsection (f).''; and
(5) in subsection (j), as so redesignated--
(A) by striking paragraph (1);
(B) by redesignating paragraphs (2) and (3) as
paragraphs (1) and (2), respectively; and
(C) by adding at the end the following new
paragraph:
``(3) The term `whistleblower retaliation' means the taking
or failure to take, or the threat to take or not to take, by a
supervisory employee (as such term is defined in section
7103(a) of title 5), of a personnel action because of a
whistleblower disclosure.''.
SEC. 2. PILOT PROGRAM ON COUNSELING FOR WHISTLEBLOWERS.
(a) In General.--The Assistant Secretary of Veterans Affairs for
Accountability and Whistleblower Protection shall carry out two-year
pilot program under which the Assistant Secretary shall offer
counseling to a Department of Veterans Affairs whistleblower regarding
the relevant laws and policies that affect the whistleblower, the
whistleblower's disclosure, and any allegation of whistleblower
retaliation.
(b) Implementation.--The Assistant Secretary shall begin
implementing the pilot program required under this section by not later
than one year after the date of the enactment of this Act.
(c) Report.--Upon the conclusion of the pilot program, the
Assistant Secretary shall submit to Congress a report on the program,
which shall include the number of employees who received counseling
under the program, trends identified by the program, an analysis of the
program, and such other matters as the Assistant Secretary determines
relevant.
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