#aadth ,,congress  #b;d ,session  ,h4   
,r4 #cief  ,,an ,,act  ,to direct the   
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs to     
develop and implement a plan to hire    
directors of the medical centers of the 
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,,va     
,health ,center ,management ,stability  
and ,improvement ,act4  #b4 ,findings   
,congress finds the following3  7#a7    
,according to data from the ,department 
of ,veterans ,affairs1 several medical  
centers of the ,department are managed  
by acting or temporary directors4  7#b7 
,some of these medical centers have not 
been managed by a permanent director for
 a long period4  7#c7 ,pursuant to      
section #cag4ijc of title #e1 ,code of  
,federal ,regulations1 a member of the  
senior executive service who is detailed
 to a temporary position in a department
 or agency of the ,federal ,government  
may not serve in that position for      
periods longer than #abj-;day           

increments1 and no member of the senior 
executive service may be detailed to an 
unclassified position for a period      
longer than #bdj days4  7#d7 ,the       
inability of the ,department of         
,veterans ,affairs to recruit qualified1
 permanent candidates as directors of   
medical centers1 combined with the      
policies described in paragraph 7#c71   
leads to frequent turnover of directors 
at the medical centers which impedes the
 ability of system management to engage 
in long-term planning and other         
functions necessary to improve service  
delivery to veterans4  7#e7 ,the        
,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs should 
develop a comprehensive plan to recruit 
permanent directors at each medical     
center that lacks a permanent director4 
#c4 ,plan to hire directors of medical  
centers of ,department of ,veterans     
,affairs  7a7 ,plan ,not later than #abj
 days after the date of the enactment of
 this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans 
,affairs shall develop and implement a  

plan to hire highly qualified directors 
for each medical center of the          
,department of ,veterans ,affairs that  
lacks a permanent director as of the    
date of the plan4 ,the ,secretary shall 
prioritize the hiring of such directors 
for the medical centers that have not   
had a permanent director for the longest
 periods4  7b7 ,matters included ,the   
plan developed under subsection 7a7     
shall include the following3 7#a7 ,a    
deadline to hire the directors of the   
medical centers of the ,department as   
described in such subsection4  7#b7     
,identification of the possible         
impediments to such hiring4  7#c7       
,identification of opportunities to     
promote and train candidates from within
 the ,department to senior executive    
positions in the ,department1 including 
as directors of medical centers4  7c7   
,submission ,not later than #abj days   
after the date of the enactment of this 
,act1 the ,secretary shall submit to the
 ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of  

the ,house of ,representatives and the  
,senate the plan developed under        
subsection 7a74  7d7 ,semiannual reports
 ,not later than #ahj days after the    
date of the enactment of this ,act1 and 
each #ahj-;day period thereafter until  
,january #a1 #bjah1 the ,secretary shall
 submit to the ,committees on ,veterans'
 ,affairs of the ,house of              
,representatives and the ,senate a list 
of each medical center of the           
,department that lacks a permanent      
director as of the date of the report4  
#d4 ,compliance with scheduling         
requirements  7a7 ,annual certification 
7#a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of     
,veterans ,affairs shall ensure that the
 director of each medical facility of   
the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs   
annually certifies to the ,secretary    
that the medical facility is in full    
compliance with all provisions of law   
and regulations relating to scheduling  
appointments for veterans to receive    
hospital care and medical services1     

including pursuant to ,veterans ,health 
,administration ,directive #bjaj-jbg1 or
 any successor directive4  7#b7         
,prohibition on waiver ,the ,secretary  
may not waive any provision of the laws 
or regulations described in paragraph   
7#a7 for a medical facility of the      
,department if such provision otherwise 
applies to the medical facility4  7b7   
,explanation of noncompliance ,if a     
director of a medical facility of the   
,department does not make a             
certification under subsection 7a77#a7  
for any year1 the director shall submit 
to the ,secretary a report containing-- 
7#a7 an explanation of why the director 
is unable to make such certification2   
and  7#b7 a description of the actions  
the director is taking to ensure full   
compliance with the laws and regulations
 described in such subsection4  7c7     
,prohibition on bonuses based on        
noncompliance  7#a7 ,in general ,if a   
director of a medical facility of the   
,department does not make a             

certification under subsection 7a77#a7  
for any year1 each covered official     
described in paragraph 7#b7 may not     
receive an award or bonus under chapter 
#de or #ec of title #e1 ,united ,states 
,code1 or any other award or bonus      
authorized under such title or title    
#ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 during the  
year following the year in which the    
certification was not made4  7#b7       
,covered official ,a covered official   
described in this paragraph is each     
official who serves in the following    
positions at a medical facility of the  
,department during a year1 or portion   
thereof1 for which the director does not
 make a certification under subsection  
7a77#a73 7,a7 ,the director4  7,b7 ,the 
chief of staff4  7,c7 ,the associate    
director4  7,d7 ,the associate director 
for patient care4  7,e7 ,the deputy     
chief of staff4  7d7 ,annual report ,the
 ,secretary shall annually submit to the
 ,committees on ,veterans' ,affairs of  
the ,house of ,representative and the   

,senate a report containing1 with       
respect to the year covered by the      
report-- 7#a7 a list of each medical    
facility of the ,department for which a 
certification was made under subsection 
7a77#a72 and  7#b7 a list of each       
medical facility of the ,department for 
which such a certification was not made1
 including a copy of each report        
submitted to the ,secretary under       
subsection 7b74  #e4 ,uniform           
application of directives and policies  
of ,department of ,veterans ,affairs    
7a7 ,in general ,the ,secretary of      
,veterans ,affairs shall ensure that the
 directives and policies of the         
,department of ,veterans ,affairs apply 
to each office or facility of the       
,department in a uniform manner4  7b7   
,notification ,if the ,secretary does   
not uniformly apply the directives and  
policies of the ,department pursuant to 
subsection 7a71 including by waiving    
such a directive or policy with respect 
to an office1 facility1 or element of   

the ,department1 the ,secretary shall   
notify the ,committees on ,veterans'    
,affairs of the ,house of               
,representative and the ,senate of such 
nonuniform application1 including an    
explanation for the nonuniform          
application4  ,passed the ,house of     
,representatives ,may #bc1              
#bjaf4;,clerk4