VA Patient Protection Act of 2015
Latest action. Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-252.
VA Patient Protection Act of 2015
This bill establishes an additional method for filing whistle blower complaints in which a Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) employee may file such complaints with his or her immediate and next-level supervisors, and ultimately with the VA after having properly filed a complaint at each supervisory level.
If a supervisor makes a positive determination regarding such complaint the VA shall: (1) inform the employee of the ability to volunteer for a transfer, and (2) give preference to such transfer.
The VA may not exempt any employee from such whistle blower coverage.
The central whistle blower office shall be responsible for investigating all VA whistle blower complaints, regardless of whether such complaints are made by or against an employee who is not a Senior Executive Service member.
The VA shall carry out specified adverse actions against a supervisor who commits a prohibited personnel action relating to a whistle blower complaint.
A supervisor who commits a prohibited personnel action shall not be paid any award or bonus for a one-year period, and any award or bonus paid during that period shall be recouped.
VA employees shall receive annual whistle blower complaint training.
Congressional testimony by a VA employee in his or her official capacity shall be considered official duty, and the VA shall provide any such employee with travel expenses, including per diem in lieu of subsistence, during the period when the employee is so testifying.
Written by analysts at the Congressional Research Service and published on Congress.gov, not by Civibrief. Summarized at the "Introduced in Senate" stage on November 17, 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 18, 2015: Committee on Veterans' Affairs. Hearings held. Hearings printed: S.Hrg. 114-252.
- 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?
MARK KIRK (R-IL) introduced it on November 17, 2015, and 12 members have since signed on as cosponsors.
They come from both major parties: 6 Democrats, 6 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 November 17, 2015, 3950 days ago. The most recent recorded action was 3949 days ago, on November 18, 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