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Amends the law governing collective bargaining for the Veterans Health Administration by removing three subsections from 38 U.S.C. §7422 and renaming another subsection. The text also explicitly says these edits do not limit the Secretary of Veterans Affairs’ authority to use incentive pay or expedited hiring under the existing statutory hiring authority in title 38. The change is legislative text only: it does not set an effective date or include any funding changes. It adjusts statutory language about bargaining but preserves the Secretary’s existing personnel authorities for pay incentives and quick hiring actions.
Amend Section 7422 of title 38, United States Code, by striking subsections (b), (c), and (d), and redesignating subsection (e) as subsection (b).
Provide a rule of construction stating that the amendments made by subsection (a) may not be construed to affect the authorities of the Secretary of Veterans Affairs regarding incentive pay and expedited hiring under section 706 of title 38, or other similar provisions of law.
Who is affected and how:
Veterans Health Administration (VHA) employees and supervisors: The statutory wording for collective bargaining within the VHA is being changed. That can affect what topics are negotiable or how bargaining units and VA management interpret rights and obligations. In practice, the immediate operational impact depends on VA’s internal guidance and bargaining-unit responses.
Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) leadership and hiring managers: The bill reaffirms that the Secretary retains authority to offer incentive pay and to use expedited hiring pathways under existing title 38 authority. That preserves VA managers’ ability to recruit and retain staff using those personnel tools.
Federal employee unions and collective-bargaining representatives: Removing specified subsections and renaming another may narrow, shift, or clarify bargaining language; unions will review the text to determine whether any practical bargaining rights are altered and may seek clarification or challenge interpretations.
Job applicants and hiring pipelines for VA positions: Because the Secretary’s expedited hiring and incentive-pay authorities are expressly preserved, the VA’s ability to fill vacancies quickly using those tools remains intact; applicants may continue to be hired under those authorities.
Veterans and health-care recipients (indirect): Any downstream change in staffing flexibility, recruitment speed, or use of incentives could indirectly affect staffing levels and service capacity at VHA facilities, but the text itself does not mandate program changes or funding.
Other considerations:
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Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced May 7, 2025 by Tammy Duckworth · Last progress May 7, 2025
Read twice and referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in Senate