VA Workforce Investment and Expansion Act of 2022

Pappas, Chris

VA Workforce Investment and Expansion Act of 2022 This bill addresses workforce and employment matters of the Department of Veterans Affairs (VA). Among other elements, the bill <ul> <li>requires the VA to develop and implement a national rural recruitment and hiring plan for the Veterans Health Administration (VHA);</li> <li>authorizes the VA to buy out non-VA service contracts of certain health care professionals in exchange for employment at rural or highly rural VA facilities;</li> <li>requires the VA to establish qualifications for each of its human resources positions and establish standardized performance metrics for such positions;</li> <li>increases the pay cap for certain employees of the VHA;</li> <li>expands employment opportunities for housekeeping aides by removing the requirement that competition for VA housekeeping aide positions is restricted to preference eligibles;</li> <li>modifies the authority of the VA related to hours, conditions and employment, and pay for certain employees of the VHA;</li> <li>authorizes the VA to establish an awards program for certain appointed personnel;</li> <li>authorizes the VA to waive any annual premium or aggregate limitation on pay for an employee of the VHA during the calendar year in which the official duty station of the employee is closed or the office, facility, activity, or organization of the employee is realigned;</li> <li>provides additional authority for the VA to provide recruitment and relocation bonuses, retention bonuses, merit awards, incentives for critical skills, and student loan repayments; and</li> <li>authorizes specified health care professionals to prescribe controlled substances through telemedicine. </li> </ul>