PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Congressional Research Service
No official summary is available in the imported record yet.
People & committees
Rep. Gosar, Paul A. [R-AZ-9] · R–AZ
Legislative record
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Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
Text links open the official source. We also preserved the text version used in the PlainBill explanation below.
No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Oct 5, 2026. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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PlainBill explanation
Based on the full Introduced in House · 2026-09-24 text. This explanation has not received human editorial review. This overview describes the proposal’s major provisions; it does not establish what its real-world effects would be.
This proposal would bar hiring or keeping people in specified Department of Veterans Affairs positions when their knowing conduct leads to certain criminal convictions, civil judgments, or exclusion from federal health care programs. For the covered health care positions, the Secretary could also disqualify someone by determining that they knowingly participated in a scheme involving improper use of federal assistance. People facing that determination would receive notice, supporting evidence, and an internal process to challenge it.
A person may not be appointed or retained in the Administration to a position listed in section 7401(1) of this title if the person knowingly engages in conduct resulting in—
The Secretary may not appoint or retain any person as an additional employee under this section if such person knowingly engaged in conduct that resulted in— (1) a criminal conviction for fraud, theft, embezzlement, bribery, kickbacks, false statements, conspiracy to commit such offenses, or similar crimes involving Federal funds; (2) a final civil judgement establishing liability under sections 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’); or (3) exclusion from participation in Federal health care programs pursuant to section 1128 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7), as recorded in the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities maintained by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services;
a determination by the Secretary that the person knowingly participated in a scheme to improperly obtain, retain, divert, misuse, or conceal Federal funds, benefits, grants, contracts, reimbursements, or other Federal assistance.
Any person subject to a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) is entitled to advance notice of the determination and a file that includes all evidence on which the Secretary based such determination.
shall establish an internal grievance process through which a person subject to a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) may contest such determination.
The health care provision would prohibit both appointment and continued employment in positions listed in 38 U.S.C. 7401(1). It requires knowing conduct that results in one of the specified grounds for disqualification.
(a) Health care positions Section 7402 of title 38, United States Code, is amended—
A person may not be appointed or retained in the Administration to a position listed in section 7401(1) of this title if the person knowingly engages in conduct resulting in—
For covered health care positions, one disqualifying ground would be a criminal conviction involving federal funds for fraud, theft, embezzlement, bribery, kickbacks, false statements, conspiracy to commit those offenses, or similar crimes.
(A) a criminal conviction for fraud, theft, embezzlement, bribery, kickbacks, false statements, conspiracy to commit such offenses, or similar crimes involving Federal funds;
Two other disqualifying grounds for covered health care positions would be a final civil judgment establishing liability under the cited False Claims Act provisions, or exclusion from federal health care programs under the cited Social Security Act provision, recorded on the Department of Health and Human Services inspector general's exclusion list.
(B) a final civil judgement establishing liability under sections 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’); (C) exclusion from participation in Federal health care programs pursuant to section 1128 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7), as recorded in the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities maintained by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services;
For covered health care positions, the Secretary's own determination would be a separate ground for disqualification. It would cover knowing participation in a scheme to improperly obtain, keep, divert, misuse, or hide federal funds or other federal assistance, including benefits, grants, contracts, and reimbursements.
or (D) a determination by the Secretary that the person knowingly participated in a scheme to improperly obtain, retain, divert, misuse, or conceal Federal funds, benefits, grants, contracts, reimbursements, or other Federal assistance.
A person facing the Secretary's determination would be entitled to advance notice and all evidence used to make it. The Secretary, consulting with the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, would have to establish an internal grievance process—a way to challenge the determination within the agency. An uncontested determination would be final and conclusive under the proposed text.
(2) (A) Any person subject to a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) is entitled to advance notice of the determination and a file that includes all evidence on which the Secretary based such determination. (B) The Secretary, in consultation with the Assistant Secretary for Accountability and Whistleblower Protection, shall establish an internal grievance process through which a person subject to a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) may contest such determination. Any such determination that is not contested by the person subject to such determination shall be final and conclusive.
Someone challenging the Secretary's determination through that process would be entitled to an attorney or another representative of their choice. The proposal says the Assistant Secretary's decision through that process would be final and conclusive.
(3) If a person elects to contest a determination by the Secretary under paragraph (1)(D) through the internal grievance process required under paragraph (2)— (A) the person shall be entitled to representation by an attorney or other representative selected by the person; and (B) the decision of the Assistant Secretary with respect to the determination pursuant to such internal grievance process shall be final and conclusive.
For additional employees covered by 38 U.S.C. 7408, the proposal would prohibit appointment or continued employment when knowing conduct resulted in the listed criminal conviction, final civil judgment, or recorded federal health care exclusion. This subsection lists those three grounds; it does not include a separate Secretary-determination ground.
(b) Additional employees Section 7408 of such title is amended by adding at the end the following new subsection: (c) The Secretary may not appoint or retain any person as an additional employee under this section if such person knowingly engaged in conduct that resulted in— (1) a criminal conviction for fraud, theft, embezzlement, bribery, kickbacks, false statements, conspiracy to commit such offenses, or similar crimes involving Federal funds; (2) a final civil judgement establishing liability under sections 3729 through 3731 of title 31, United States Code (commonly known as the ‘False Claims Act’); or (3) exclusion from participation in Federal health care programs pursuant to section 1128 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 1320a–7), as recorded in the List of Excluded Individuals and Entities maintained by the Office of the Inspector General for the Department of Health and Human Services; and .
The supplied actions snapshot, updated October 5, 2026, records introduction in the House and referral to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs on September 24, 2026.
Source snapshot updated 2026-10-05T16:44:10Z. 2026-09-24: Referred to the House Committee on Veterans' Affairs. 2026-09-24: Introduced in House
A closer look
Reviewed version: Introduced in House · 2026-09-24. These findings describe provisions and who may benefit; they are not judgments of waste, corruption, or motive.
This review covers the supplied bill text. “None identified” does not rule out provisions in later versions or accompanying reports and disclosures.
Provisions outside the bill’s main subject, or policy changes attached to appropriations.
None identified in the reviewed text
No unrelated provision or policy change attached to appropriations was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not extend to other versions or accompanying materials.
Spending directed to particular recipients or places outside ordinary competitive or formula-based allocation.
None identified in the reviewed text
No congressionally directed spending for particular recipients or places was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. This conclusion does not establish the absence of earmarks in other versions or accompanying materials.
Narrow exceptions, exemptions, or preferential treatment that warrant a closer look.
None identified in the reviewed text
No materially narrow preferential benefit, carve-out, or special exemption was identified in the complete supplied introduced text. Procedural protections for people facing a determination do not alone constitute preferential treatment. This conclusion is limited to this text version.
Full text preserved for this analysis. Legislative record snapshot: Oct 5, 2026. How PlainBill uses AI