Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2015
Latest action. By Senator Isakson from Committee on Veterans' Affairs filed written report. Report No. 114-163. Minority views filed.
Department of Veterans Affairs Accountability Act of 2015
(Sec. 2) This bill authorizes the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to remove or demote a VA employee based on performance or misconduct.
A determination that the performance or misconduct warrants removal or demotion may consist of any of the following:
neglect of duty;
malfeasance;
failure to accept a directed reassignment or transfer of function;
violation of VA policy;
violation of law;
insubordination;
purposeful omission, including by a supervisor, from an electronic wait list of the name of one or more veterans waiting for VA health care; or
other performance or misconduct as the VA determines warrants removal or demotion.
The VA may also remove such individual from the civil service or demote the individual through a reduction in grade or annual pay rate.
A demoted individual: (1) shall be paid at the demoted rate as of the date of demotion, (2) may not be placed on administrative leave or any other category of paid leave while an appeal is ongoing, and (3) may only receive pay and other benefits if the individual reports for duty.
The VA shall notify Congress of, and the reason for, any removal or demotion.
An employee shall have the right to an appeal before the Merit Systems Protection Board within seven days of removal or demotion. An administrative law judge shall have to make a final decision within 45 days of such appeal or the original decision becomes final. The Board or an administrative judge may not stay any removal or demotion.
Between the date on which an individual appeals a removal from the civil service and the date on which the administrative judge issues a final decision on the appeal, the individual may not receive any pay, awards, bonuses, incentives, allowances, differentials, student loan repayments, special payments, or benefits.
The VA may not remove or demote an employee without the approval of the Special Counsel if the individual seeks corrective action from the Office of Special Counsel based on an alleged prohibited personnel practice.
The summary continues for 2 more paragraphs. Read it in full on Congress.gov
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Reported to Senate with amendment(s)" stage on October 19, 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 November 3, 2015: By Senator Isakson from Committee on Veterans' Affairs filed written report. Report No. 114-163. Minority views filed.
- Clearing the committees it was referred to, and being scheduled for a floor vote
- Passage by the Senate
- Passage by the House
- 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?
Marco Rubio (R-FL) introduced it on April 23, 2015, and 21 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They are 21 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 April 23, 2015, 4158 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3964 days ago, on November 3, 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
- SenateIn committee, no floor vote yet
- HouseAwaits Senate passage
- PresidentAwaits both chambers