,i  #aafth ,,congress  #ast ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #acfj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,february #bf1       
#bjai,mr4 ,bost 7for himself1 ,mr4      
,costa1 ,mr4 ,rodney ,davis of          
,illinois1 ,mr4 ,swalwell of            
,california1 ,mr4 ,bergman1 ,mrs4       
,dingell1 ,mrs4 ,hartzler1 ,mr4         
,o',halleran1 ,mr4 ,suozzi1 ,ms4        
,gabbard1 ,miss ,gonzlez-,coln of       
,puerto ,rico1 ,mr4 ,ryan1 ,mr4         
,lowenthal1 ,mr4 ,evans1 ,mr4 ,welch1   
,ms4 ,sewell of ,alabama1 ,mr4          
,mc,eachin1 and ,mr4 ,kildee7 introduced
 the following bill2 which was referred 
to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs
  ,a ,,bill  ,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 ,affairs4  #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 #bjba1 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