,,ii #aaith ,,congress #ast ,session ,s4 #dbc ,,in ,,the ,,senate ,,of ,,the ,,united ,,states ,february #e1 #bjbe,mr4 ,sullivan 7for himself1 ,mr4 ,marshall1 ,mr4 ,budd1 ,mr4 ,wicker1 ,mrs4 ,blackburn1 ,mr4 ,scott of ,florida1 ,mr4 ,daines1 ,mr4 ,grassley1 ,mr4 ,ricketts1 ,mr4 ,tuberville1 ,ms4 ,murkowski1 ,mr4 ,tillis1 and ,ms4 ,ernst7 introduced the following bill2 which was read twice and referred to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs ,a ,,bill ,to protect regular order for budgeting for the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs1 and for other purposes4 #a4 ,short title ,this ,act may be cited as the ,protecting ,regular ,order for ,veterans ,act of #bjbe or the ,,pro ,veterans ,act of #bjbe4 #b4 ,protecting regular order for veterans 7a7 ,quarterly briefings on ,department of ,veterans ,affairs budgetary shortfalls 7#a7 ,quarterly briefings 7,a7 ,quarterly briefings required ,during the first quarter beginning after the date of the enactment of this ,act and in each quarter thereafter until the date that is three years after the date of the enactment of this ,act1 the ,secretary of ,veterans ,affairs shall provide to the appropriate committees of ,congress a quarterly briefing1 in person1 on the budget of the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs and any shortfall the ,department may be experiencing4 7,b7 ,plans ,in any case in which the ,secretary informs ,congress during a briefing under paragraph 7#a7 that the ,department is experiencing a shortfall1 the ,secretary shall1 during such briefing1 present the plans of the ,secretary to address or mitigate the shortfall4 7#b7 ,definitions ,in this subsection3 7,a7 ,appropriate committees of ,congress ,the term appropriate committees of ,congress means-- 7i7 the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,senate2 and 7ii7 the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs and the ,committee on ,appropriations of the ,house of ,representatives4 7,b7 ,shortfall ,the term shortfall1 with respect to a fiscal year1 means that the amount of appropriations required by the ,department of ,veterans ,affairs for such fiscal year to meet all of the statutory obligations of the ,department during that fiscal year exceeds the amount of appropriations requested for the ,department for that fiscal year in the budget of the ,president submitted pursuant to section #aaje7;a7 of title #ca1 ,united ,states ,code1 for that fiscal year4 7b7 ,limitations on provision of incentives for critical skills to ,senior ,executive ,service employees of ,department of ,veterans ,affairs ,section #gjf7;d7 of title #ch1 ,united ,states ,code1 is amended by adding at the end the following3 7#g7 7,a7 ,subject to subparagraph 7,b77ii71 a critical skill incentive may not be provided under paragraph 7#a7 to an employee of the ,department employed in a ,senior ,executive ,service position1 or a position in another comparable system for senior-level ,government employees1 as defined by the ,secretary1 whose position is at the ,central ,office of the ,department1 including the ,veterans ,health ,administration1 the ,veterans ,benefits ,administration1 and the ,national ,cemetery ,administration1 regardless of the actual location where the employee performs the functions of the position4 7,b7 7i7 ,a critical skill incentive provided under paragraph 7#a7 to an employee of the ,department employed in a ,senior ,executive ,service position1 or a position in another comparable system for senior-level ,government employees1 as defined by the ,secretary1 not described in subparagraph 7,a7 of this paragraph may only be provided-- 7,i7 on an individual basis and may not be provided to a group of such employees2 and 7,,ii7 upon approval of the following officers or those serving in an acting capacity3 7aa7 ,the ,under ,secretary for ,benefits1 the ,under ,secretary for ,health1 or the ,under ,secretary for ,memorial ,affairs4 7bb7 ,the ,assistant ,secretary for ,human ,resources and ,administration4 7cc7 ,the ,director of the ,office of ,management or the ,chief ,financial ,officer4 7dd7 ,the ,assistant ,secretary for ,accountability and ,whistleblower ,protection4 7ee7 ,the ,general ,counsel4 7ff7 ,such other officers as the ,secretary determines appropriate4 7ii7 ,in the case of an employee of the ,department employed in a ,senior ,executive ,service position1 or a position in another comparable system for senior-level ,government employees1 as defined by the ,secretary1 whose position is primarily at the ,central ,office of the ,department1 but who performs some portion of the employee's job function at other facilities of the ,department1 as defined by the ,secretary1 not at ,central ,office-- 7,i7 the employee shall not be considered described in subparagraph 7,a7 with respect to the portion of the employee's job function that is based out of non-,central ,office facilities of the ,department2 and 7,,ii7 any critical skill incentive provided under paragraph 7#a7 to the employee for the portion of the employee's job function that is based out of facilities of the ,department other than the ,central ,office shall be proportionate to the time spent at those ,department facilities4 7,c7 7i7 ,not later than one year after the date of the enactment of the ,protecting ,regular ,order for ,veterans ,act of #bjbe1 and not less frequently than once each year thereafter1 the ,secretary shall submit to the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,senate and the ,committee on ,veterans' ,affairs of the ,house of ,representatives an annual report on the employees of the ,department employed in a ,senior ,executive ,service position1 or a position in another comparable system for senior-level ,government employees1 as defined by the ,secretary1 who were provided a critical skill incentive under paragraph 7#a74 7ii7 ,reports submitted pursuant to clause 7i7 may be submitted by incorporating their contents into other congressionally mandated reports to the committees described in such clause4 7,d7 ,in this paragraph1 the term ,senior ,executive ,service position has the meaning given such term in section #cacb7;a7 of title #e4 4