[Congressional Bills 113th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[S. 2419 Introduced in Senate (IS)]
113th CONGRESS
2d Session
S. 2419
To protect America's veterans from dishonesty and malfeasance in the
delivery of medical services and to hold the Department of Veterans
Affairs accountable to those they serve.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
June 3, 2014
Mr. Toomey introduced the following bill; which was read twice and
referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To protect America's veterans from dishonesty and malfeasance in the
delivery of medical services and to hold the Department of Veterans
Affairs accountable to those they serve.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE.
This Act may be cited as the ``VA Accountability Act of 2014''.
SEC. 2. DEFINITIONS.
In this Act:
(1) Health information.--The term ``health information''
means any information, whether oral or recorded in any form or
medium, that relates to--
(A) the past, present, or future physical or mental
health or condition of an individual;
(B) the provision of health care to an individual;
or
(C) the past, present, or future payment for the
provision of health care to an individual.
(2) VA health record.--The term ``VA health record'' means
any item, collection, or grouping of information about an
individual that is maintained by the Department of Veterans
Affairs and that contains or relates to the health information
of the individual.
SEC. 3. PROHIBITED ACTS.
It shall be a violation of this Act for any officer, employee, or
agent of the Department of Veterans Affairs to--
(1) knowingly falsify any health information in the VA
health record of an individual;
(2) knowingly destroy any health information or exclude any
health information from the VA health record of an individual
with the intent to defraud--
(A) the individual;
(B) an employee or officer of the United States
Government; or
(C) a Member of Congress;
(3) direct another individual to commit conduct described
in paragraph (1) or (2); or
(4) know of the commission of conduct described in
paragraph (1), (2), or (3) by an individual under his or her
supervision, and fail to stop, if possible, or report to a
superior the commission of that conduct.
SEC. 4. CAUSE OF ACTION AND REMEDIES.
(a) Cause of Action.--
(1) In general.--An individual aggrieved by a violation of
this Act by an officer, employee, or agent of the Department of
Veterans Affairs may bring a civil action against the officer,
employee, or agent in an appropriate district court of the
United States for damages or other legal or equitable relief.
(2) Considerations.--In determining whether to award
compensatory damages or restitution in a civil action brought
under this section and in calculating the amount of any such
damages, the court--
(A) shall consider the amount of benefits the
officer, employee, or agent is entitled to collect from
the Department of Veterans Affairs relating to service
for the Department, including retirement benefits; and
(B) may include the amount of those benefits, or a
percentage of the amount of those benefits, in
calculating the amount of any damages awarded.
(b) Attorneys' Fees and Expert Fees.--
(1) Attorneys' fees.--In a civil action brought under this
section, the court, in its discretion, may award to the
prevailing party, other than the United States, reasonable
attorneys' fees.
(2) Expert fees.--In awarding attorneys' fees under this
subsection, the court, in its discretion, may include fees
related to the hiring of experts as part of the attorneys' fees
awarded.
(c) No Preemption.--The rights and remedies created by this section
shall be in addition to, and do not preempt, any other rights and
remedies available under Federal or State law.
SEC. 5. EFFECTS ON EMPLOYMENT AND BENEFITS.
Notwithstanding any other provision of law, including title 5,
United States Code, or any contract, on and at any time after the date
on which a court enters final judgment in an action brought under
section 4 in which the court determines that the officer, employee, or
agent violated this Act, the Secretary of Veterans Affairs may, without
prior notice--
(1) terminate the officer, employee, or agent without
cause; and
(2) may terminate any or all of the benefits of the
officer, employee, or agent relating to service as an officer,
employee, or agent, including retirement benefits, without
cause.
SEC. 6. RETROACTIVE EFFECT.
This Act shall apply to conduct committed before, on, or after the
date of the enactment of this Act.
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