[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 894 Enrolled Bill (ENR)]

        S.894

                    One Hundred Seventeenth Congress

                                 of the

                        United States of America


                          AT THE FIRST SESSION

           Begun and held at the City of Washington on Sunday,
          the third day of January, two thousand and twenty one


                                 An Act


 
  To identify and refer members of the Armed Forces with a health care 
   occupation who are separating from the Armed Forces for potential 
   employment with 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. SHORT TITLE.
    This Act may be cited as the ``Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act of 
2021''.
SEC. 2. IDENTIFICATION AND REFERRAL OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED FORCES WITH 
A HEALTH CARE OCCUPATION FOR POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT WITH THE DEPARTMENT 
OF VETERANS AFFAIRS DURING SEPARATION FROM THE ARMED FORCES.
    Section 207 of the VA Choice and Quality Employment Act of 2017 
(Public Law 115-46; 38 U.S.C. 7401 note) is amended to read as follows:
    ``SEC. 207. IDENTIFICATION AND REFERRAL OF MEMBERS OF THE ARMED 
      FORCES WITH A HEALTH CARE OCCUPATION FOR POTENTIAL EMPLOYMENT 
      WITH THE DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS DURING SEPARATION FROM 
      THE ARMED FORCES.
    ``(a) In General.--The Secretary of Veterans Affairs, in 
consultation with the Secretary of Defense, shall establish a program 
to identify and refer members of the Armed Forces with a health care 
occupation for employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs 
during the separation of such members from the Armed Forces.
    ``(b) Referral of Interested Individuals.--
        ``(1) In general.--If a member of the Armed Forces identified 
    under subsection (a) expresses an interest in working in a health 
    care occupation within the Department of Veterans Affairs, the 
    Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall refer the member to a recruiter 
    of the Department for consideration of open positions in the 
    specialty and geography of interest to the member.
        ``(2) Timing.--Any referral of a member of the Armed Forces 
    conducted under paragraph (1) shall be made not earlier than one 
    year before the separation of the member from the Armed Forces.
    ``(c) Rule of Construction.--Any identification of a member of the 
Armed Forces under subsection (a) or referral of such member under 
subsection (b) shall not be construed as a guarantee of employment of 
such member with the Department of Veterans Affairs.
    ``(d) Reports.--Not later than each of one year and two years after 
the date of the enactment of the Hire Veteran Health Heroes Act of 
2021, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs shall submit to the appropriate 
committees of Congress a report on the program established under 
subsection (a).
    ``(e) Definitions.--In this section:
        ``(1) Appropriate committees of congress.--The term 
    `appropriate committees of Congress' means--
            ``(A) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the Senate; and
            ``(B) the Committee on Armed Services and the Committee on 
        Veterans' Affairs of the House of Representatives.
        ``(2) Health care occupation.--The term `health care 
    occupation' means an occupation for which an individual may be 
    appointed for employment with the Department of Veterans Affairs 
    under section 7401 of title 38, United States Code.''.

                               Speaker of the House of Representatives.

                            Vice President of the United States and    
                                               President of the Senate.