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H.R. 3995 116th Congress House

VET Protection Act of 2019

Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report to Congress relating to the use of official time… Show full official titleShow less

Official title: To amend title 38, United States Code, to require the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to submit an annual report to Congress relating to the use of official time by employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs, to limit the instances in which official time may be granted for certain purposes to employees of the Department, and for other purposes.

Introduced: July 25, 2019 Introduced by: Jodey C. Arrington Republican · Texas See on congress.gov
Armed Forces and National Security Congressional oversightDepartment of Veterans AffairsEmployee leaveGovernment employee pay, benefits, personnel management
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Labor-management relationsPersonnel recordsPublic participation and lobbying
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This bill died when the 116th Congress ended
It never became law before the 116th Congress (2019–2020) adjourned, and bills don't carry over to the next Congress. It would have to be reintroduced. You can still save it for reference, but it won't receive updates.
 Everywhere this bill has been 3 steps
Introduced
In committee
Reported out
Passed House
Passed Senate
To President
Became law
Aug 22, 2019
Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.
Jul 25, 2019
Introduced in House
Jul 25, 2019
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.
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 Latest action August 22, 2019

Referred to the Subcommittee on Oversight and Investigations.

 Plain-English summary Congressional Research Service

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.

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.

 Bill text 1 version

Source documents hosted by congress.gov.

 Committees of jurisdiction 4
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APA
U.S. Congress. (2026). H.R. 3995: VET Protection Act of 2019. 116th Congress. Open America. https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3995/
MLA
"H.R. 3995: VET Protection Act of 2019." 116th Congress, 2026, Open America, https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3995/.
Bluebook (legal)
H.R. 3995, 116th Cong. (2026), https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3995/.
Markdown link
[H.R. 3995: VET Protection Act of 2019](https://openamerica.io/bill/116-HR-3995/)
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