Border Patrol, Several VA-Related Bills Advance

The House has passed HR-1038, which would require the VA to maintain permanent records of any admonishment or reprimand of a department employee; such records can be important for management to build a later case for more serious discipline. The House also has approved HR-2252, which clarifies that Customs and Border Patrol agents will continue to receive “administratively uncontrollable overtime” pay under their traditional rules until a revised overtime system authorized by a law enacted last year takes effect; under a DHS policy decision, they otherwise face losing some of the AUO pay they have been receiving. A similar bill (S-1356) has been introduced in the Senate. Meanwhile, the Senate has passed S-136, which would extend to fathers the same veterans preference in federal hiring that currently applies to mothers of service members who died or were permanently disabled under certain conditions. Also, recently introduced legislation (HR-2193 and S-1257) would extend collective bargaining rights to most VA registered nurses, physicians, dentists, physician assistant and certain other clinical specialists.