,i  #aaith ,,congress  #b;d ,session    
,h4 ,r4 #hjaj  ,,in ,,the ,,house ,,of  
,,representatives  ,march #ai1 #bjbf,mr4
 ,kennedy of ,new ,york introduced the  
following bill2 which was referred to   
the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs   
,a ,,bill  ,to prohibit the downgrading 
of law enforcement positions in the     
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and  
for other purposes4  #a4 ,short title   
,this ,act may be cited as the ,,va     
,police ,recruitment and ,retention ,act
 of #bjbf4  #b4 ,prohibition on         
downgrading of law enforcement positions
 in the ,department of ,veterans        
,affairs  7a7  ,prohibition  ,no        
official in the ,department of ,veterans
 ,affairs1 the ,office of ,personnel    
,management1 or any other department or 
agency may propose1 initiate1 or carry  
out a position downgrade for any covered
 ,,va position1 and no ,federal funds   
may be used to propose1 initiate1 or    
carry out a position downgrade for any  
such position4  7b7 ,retroactive        

application ,any position downgrade for 
a covered ,,va position proposed1       
initiated1 or carried out during the    
period beginning ,october #a1 #bjbe1 and
 ending on the date of the enactment of 
this ,act shall have no force or effect4
 ,any such position subjected to a      
position downgrade during this period   
shall be returned to the status it had  
prior to the position downgrade4 ,any   
employee occupying such a position shall
 receive all pay to which they otherwise
 would have been entitled4  7c7         
,definitions ,for purposes of this      
section3  7#a7 ,the term covered ,,va   
position means a position carrying out  
law enforcement functions within the    
,department of ,veterans ,affairs1      
whether permanent1 temporary1 full-time1
 part-time1 or intermittent1 and without
 regard to the source of funding for the
 position4  7#b7 ,the term position     
downgrade means a consistency review1   
incumbent-only review1 or other         
classification action taken by the      

,office of ,personnel ,management or any
 other department or agency pursuant to 
chapter #ea of title #e1 ,united ,states
 ,code1 or similar authority1 that may  
result in a loss of grade or pay        
associated with a position or set of    
positions1 without regard to whether an 
employee occupying such a position is   
entitled to or otherwise provided with  
retained grade or pay4