Other Reforms in Circulation

Several other provisions in the bill drew opposition from committee Democrats and may yet be dropped, including one to shorten the period to appeal a disciplinary action from 30 to 15 days and one to require execs who are suspended pending disciplinary action to use annual leave. But even those ideas, and the changes that were accepted, don’t go as far as provisions already passed affecting the VA specifically. Congress could finalize this week a VA reform bill to boost VA staffing but also allow veterans to get more care outside the agency. The bill meanwhile would bar the department from using patient scheduling metrics in employee performance evaluations, a move VA has taken already. Still to be clarified is the extent of restrictions that would be added to performance awards and appeal rights in disciplinary cases for VA executives; also in circulation are proposals to “claw back” bonuses previously paid to VA employees who are found to have been involved in manipulation of patient scheduling records to make it appear goals were being met. Meanwhile the House has passed HR-4803, which would tighten policies on payment at TSA of “law enforcement availability” pay, a premium pay worth 25 percent paid to criminal investigators. An IG report questioned whether some who receive it at TSA should be eligible on grounds that they do not primarily conduct investigations themselves but rather have duties such as monitoring investigations conducted by others and carrying out inspections and internal reviews.