Increasing the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability to Veterans Act of 2015
Latest action. Forwarded by subcommitteeA smaller panel inside a standing committee with jurisdiction over a slice of its subject matter. Most hearings and the first markup usually happen here.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) to Full Committee in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by voice voteA vote decided by which side sounds louder. No individual positions are recorded, so no member can be held to a position afterward.Read the full definition (opens a new tab) .
Increasing the Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability to Veterans Act of 2015
Requires the reduction of the federal annuities of individuals removed from the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) Senior Executive Service (SES) if they are convicted of a felony that influenced their performance while employed in such position.
Authorizes the VA Secretary to order the reduction of the federal annuities of individuals who were convicted of such a felony and were subject to removal or transfer from the VA SES, but who left the VA before final action was taken.
Reduces such annuities by excluding the covered service performed after the activity that subjects such an individual to transfer or removal occurs.
Requires the performance appraisal system for VA SES employees to provide for five specified annual summary ratings of levels of performance. Provides that in any given year no more than: (1) 10% of such employees may receive the outstanding level of performance, and (2) 20% of such employees may receive the exceeds-fully-successful level of performance.
Requires the Secretary to take any complaint or report from an appropriate person or entity related to any facility or program managed by an SES employee into account in evaluating that employee's performance.
Directs the Secretary, at least once every five years, to reassign each SES employee to a position at a different location that does not include the supervision of the same personnel or programs. Allows the Secretary to waive such requirement if the Secretary submits to Congress notice of, and the reasons for, such waiver.
Directs the Secretary to contract with a nongovernmental entity for a review of the management training program for VA SES employees.
Prohibits the Secretary from placing a VA SES employee on administrative leave, or any other type of paid non-duty status, for more than a total of 14 days during any 365-day period. Allows the Secretary to waive such prohibition with respect to such an employee if the Secretary provides Congress with a detailed explanation of the reasons the employee was placed on such leave or status and the reasons for extending that placement.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in House" stage on January 22, 2015. It describes the bill, it is not the legal text.
Where is it in the process, and what happens next?
4 steps remain before this bill could become law.
The record's latest action, on April 16, 2015: Forwarded by Subcommittee to Full Committee in the Nature of a Substitute (Amended) by Voice Vote .
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the House
- Passage by the Senate
- The President's signature. If the President vetoes it, two-thirds of both chambers must vote to override.
How likely is it to become law?
Civibrief does not forecast outcomes and this page has no opinion about this one. What the record supports is a base rate, which is a fact about the whole pile, not a prediction about this measure.
In the 114th Congress (2015-16), 329 of the 10,233 bills and joint resolutions introduced became law, about 3.2 percent. That count covers every measure at every stage, including the many that never left committee.
This one is not there yet: 4 steps are still outstanding, listed above.
Has anyone actually voted on it?
No. No roll call in this Congress cites this measure. That is the ordinary outcome: most measures never reach a recorded floor vote, and a committee ends most of them simply by not acting.
A vote is not the only thing that happens to a measure. Hearings, markups, and referrals are all recorded actions, and none of them is a vote of the full chamber.
Who is behind it?
Jeff Miller (R-FL) introduced it on January 22, 2015, and 7 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 7 Republicans.
Cosponsoring is a formal signature on the text. It is not a commitment to vote for the measure, it does not bind anyone's party, and a long list of cosponsors is a measure of attention rather than of prospects.
How long has it been in play?
It was introduced on January 22, 2015, 4249 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 4165 days ago, on April 16, 2015.
Measures do not carry over. Anything the 114th Congress has not finished by January 3, 2017 dies when the term ends, and has to be introduced again from the start in the next Congress.
Every answer above is assembled from this measure's own record on Congress.gov and from published counts of what Congress has passed before. Civibrief does not predict outcomes and takes no position on any measure.
Vote history
- HouseIn committee, no floor vote yet
- SenateAwaits House passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers