Veterans: Nursing Homes, VA Loans, and Increased Accountability of Senior VA Officials (H.R. 2072)

What is H.R. 2072?

(Updated July 13, 2017)

A portion of this bill arrives as a legislative response to the ongoing VA scandal. It has two main parts. The first of these requires the Inspector General (IG) of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA) to tell Congress when/if the VA Secretary is not appropriately responding to a "pubic health or safety issue." The second component deals with the turnaround time for the VA Secretary to submit names of VA managers involved in such issues. The details of the turnaround time are below. The bill also "prohibits the Secretary from paying a bonus award to any manager whose issue remains unresolved." 

The bill's second main component addresses veterans in nursing homes, stating that for a three-year period beginning on October 1st, 2014 (the start of Fiscal Year 2015), veterans who wish to move to a non-VA foster home may do so, upon that home getting the okay form the VA. 

The last primary component of the bill deals with fees attached to guaranteed loans offered through the VA. The Congressional Budgeting Office (CBO) states that the bill would 

would increase the fees charged to certain veterans who obtain loans guaranteed by the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). It also would extend VA’s authority to verify income reported by recipients of VA pension benefits using data from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS).     

Argument in favor

When things go wrong at the VA, Congress will know about it quickly. No bonuses for VA managers with unresolved issues. Gives veterans in nursing homes more options.

Argument opposed

There's more procedure than substance here, and the bill will do little to alleviate systemwide VA dysfunction. Increasing fees on loans to veterans feels inappropriate at this juncture.

Impact

If enacted, the bill would impact three main demographics: VA senior-level officials and managers, veterans in nursing homes, and veterans seeking loans through the VA.

Cost of H.R. 2072

According to the CBO, while the bill would decrease direct spending by $182 million from 2014-18 by means of increased fees on loans, the bill would also increase appropriations spending by $170 million over that same period.

Additional Info

As it relates to the VA scandal, this bill would, according to the Congressional Research Service bill summary, require the  VA Secretary, upon notification of a public health or safety issue to: 

(1) within 15 days after such notification, to submit to the IG a list of the names of each responsible VA manager and the matter for which the manager is responsible; (2) within 7 days after such submission, to notify each such manager of the covered issue; (3) to direct such manager to resolve the issue, (4) to provide the manager with appropriate counseling and a mitigation plan for resolving the issue; and (5) to ensure that a manager's performance review includes an evaluation of actions taken with respect to such issue.