H.R. 7319

[Congressional Bills 119th Congress] [From the U.S. Government Publishing Office] [H.R. 7319 Introduced in House (IH)] <DOC> 119th CONGRESS 2d Session H. R. 7319 To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recoup amounts of awards, bonuses, and relocation expenses paid to former employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs under certain conditions. _______________________________________________________________________ IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES February 2, 2026 Mr. Self (for himself and Mr. Ciscomani) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Veterans' Affairs _______________________________________________________________________ A BILL To amend title 38, United States Code, to authorize the Secretary of Veterans Affairs to recoup amounts of awards, bonuses, and relocation expenses paid to former employees of the Department of Veterans Affairs under certain conditions. 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 Bonus and Relocation Recovery Act''. SEC. 2. AUTHORITY TO RECOUP AWARDS, BONUSES, AND RELOCATION EXPENSES PAID TO FORMER DEPARTMENT OF VETERANS AFFAIRS EMPLOYEES UNDER CERTAIN CONDITIONS. (a) Awards and Bonuses.--Section 721 of title 38, United States Code, is amended-- (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, or a former employee of the Department,'' after ``an employee of the Department''; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: ``(c) Authority To Collect From Former Employees.--(1) If the Director upholds an order of the Secretary under subsection (a) with respect to an individual who is a former employee of the Department, and such individual does not repay the amount of the award or bonus subject to the order within 180 days after the date of the final decision of the Director under subsection (b) with respect to the order, the Secretary may recover such amount from the former employee in the same manner as any other debt due to the United States. ``(2) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to permit the Secretary to waive the recovery of such amount under section 5302 of this title.''. (b) Relocation Expenses.--Section 723 of such title is amended-- (1) in subsection (a), by inserting ``, or a former employee of the Department,'' after ``an employee of the Department''; and (2) by adding at the end the following new subsection: ``(c) Authority To Collect From Former Employees.--(1) If the Director upholds an order of the Secretary under subsection (a) with respect to an individual who is a former employee of the Department, and such individual does not repay the amount of the award or bonus subject to the order within 180 days after the date of the final decision of the Director under subsection (b) with respect to the order, the Secretary may recover such amount from the former employee in the same manner as any other debt due to the United States. ``(2) Nothing in this subsection may be construed to permit the Secretary to waive the recovery of such amount under section 5302 of this title.''. <all>