PlainBillCongress, translated.Legislation. Context. Public interest.Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Congressional Research Service
Version 00 · Introduced in House · Jul 25, 2019
Veterans, Employees, and Taxpayers Protection Act of 2019 or the VET Protection Act of 2019
This bill directs the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to track the use of official time by VA employees without using estimates or time ranges.
Official time is time granted to an employee under federal labor-management relations provisions to perform representational or consultative functions, during which the employee would otherwise be in a duty status.
Showing the opening paragraphs of the official summary.
The bill prohibits (1) a VA employee from using official time to carry out political or lobbying activities; (2) specified health care employees, probationary employees, or employees above a certain salary level from using official time for any purpose without a waiver; and (3) any VA employee from spending more than 25% of the time such employee would otherwise be in a duty status on official time without a waiver.
The authority provided to the VA to grant a waiver shall not be subject to bargaining, and the exercise of (or failure to exercise) such authority shall not be an unfair labor practice.
An exclusive bargaining agreement shall allow a VA employee to terminate a voluntary dues allotment at any time.
A covered VA employee shall serve a two-year probationary period, after which the employee's supervisor shall determine within 90 days whether or not the appointment is permanent. A covered employee is any individual appointed to a permanent position within the competitive service or the Senior Executive Service and does not include specified health care practitioners.
People & committees
Rep. Arrington, Jodey C. [R-TX-19] · R–TX
Legislative record
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Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs, and in addition to the Committee on Oversight and Reform, for a period to be subsequently determined by the Speaker, in each case for consideration of such provisions as fall within the jurisdiction of the committee concerned.
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Primary sources
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No related bills are listed in this snapshot. This does not establish whether the proposal has appeared in earlier Congresses.
Source last updated: Feb 4, 2025. Consult Congress.gov for the current record.
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